A Detailed Guide to Sowing and Raising Clivia from Seed

From flowering and setting fruit to seed maturity, Clivia takes 8 to 10 months. The sign is that the skin of the fruit gradually turns from green to red or brownish red; by then the seeds inside the fruit are also mature and must be harvested in time. While removing the seeds, select them individually, and discard any poorly developed or shriveled seeds. Put the selected mature, well-developed good seeds into a gauze bag, attach a label, and record the variety name or code for later sowing.

Sowing time is mostly between November and February of the following year. Sowing is usually done in a shallow pot or wooden box. The substrate can be clean river sand or 2 parts river sand mixed evenly with 1 part horse manure soil; if conditions allow, it can be disinfected with formalin (40% formaldehyde solution). Put the treated substrate into a seedling pot or box, scrape it level with a wooden board, and sow. When sowing, arrange the seeds on the sand in the seedling pot or box with the seed hole facing down, at a spacing of about 2 cm.

After sowing, cover the seeds with another layer of river sand, with a thickness just enough to cover the seeds. Then water thoroughly, and move the seedling pot or box onto a radiator or a heated brick bed (kang), but place a thick wooden board under the bottom of the pot or box to avoid scalding the seeds from excessive heat. The seed germination temperature should be controlled at 20-25°C, and the substrate must be kept moist. To reduce water evaporation in the seedling pot or box, cover the sowing container with a piece of glass; this way you can water once every 3-5 days, and each watering must be thorough.

Generally, from the date of sowing, the seeds will grow radicles in 10-15 days. After 30-40 days, the coleoptile grows. The coleoptile is the first cone-shaped sheath-like structure to emerge; it protects the young leaves in the plumule, preventing them from being damaged when they emerge from the soil. According to research, the coleoptile contains plant growth hormones and plays a great role in the growth of seedlings and young plants.

At about 50 days after sowing, the seed grows its first leaf; at this point the plant begins its own growth and development, and once the first leaf grows out of the coleoptile, it can carry out photosynthesis. As the seedlings gradually grow, transplant them in time according to their leaf growth. When transplanting, select the seedlings: seedlings with poor growth vigor should be cultivated separately, seedlings with no cultivation value should be discarded, and vigorously growing seedlings should be grouped together for cultivation.

The nutrient soil used for transplanting is made by mixing 70% decomposed horse manure soil or forest humus soil with 30% river sand. The plants at the seedling stage are very small, so 5-6 or 10 seedlings can be planted in one flower pot. When transplanting, the front side of the seedlings' leaves should all face the same direction; do not plant them irregularly at random. After transplanting, water thoroughly, then move them to a suitable position, placing them with the front side of the leaves facing the sun.

After the seedlings are transplanted, they enter the seedling stage management. The quality of seedling stage management directly affects the plant's vegetative growth and reproductive growth. The growth temperature at the seedling stage should be controlled at 10-20°C, and must not exceed 25°C; pay attention to ventilation, and keep the moisture content at 20%-30%. In summer, because the weather is hot and water evaporation is high, the nutrient soil tends to dry out. Generally, water once a day; on cloudy and rainy days, when evaporation is low, water once every 2-3 days. When watering, be sure to water thoroughly.

For fertilization at the seedling stage, according to the plant's growth and development, appropriately apply diluted cake fertilizer water as a top dressing. Generally, apply it once every 10-15 days. When applying liquid fertilizer, be careful not to let it drip onto the leaves or into the pseudobulb; otherwise, dripping onto the leaves will burn them, and dripping into the pseudobulb will burn the entire plant to death. If it accidentally drips in, rinse it off immediately with clean water.

Sowing and Raising Clivia from Seed

From flowering and setting fruit to seed maturity, Clivia takes 8-10 months. The sign is that the skin of the fruit gradually turns from green to red or brownish red; by then the seeds inside the fruit are also mature and must be harvested in time. While removing the seeds, select them individually, and discard any poorly developed or shriveled seeds. Put the selected mature, well-developed good seeds into a gauze bag, attach a label, and record the variety name or code for later sowing.

Sowing time is mostly between November and February of the following year. Sowing is usually done in a shallow pot or wooden box. The substrate can be clean river sand or 2 parts river sand mixed evenly with 1 part horse manure soil; if conditions allow, it can be disinfected with formalin (40% formic acid solution). Put the treated substrate into a seedling pot or box, scrape it level with a wooden board, and sow. When sowing, arrange the seeds on the sand in the seedling pot or box with the seed hole facing down, at a spacing of about 2 cm.

After sowing, cover the seeds with a layer of river sand, with a thickness just enough to cover the seeds, then water thoroughly, and move the seedling pot or box onto a radiator or a heated brick bed (kang), but place a thick wooden board under the bottom of the pot or box to avoid scalding the seeds from excessive heat. The seed germination temperature should be controlled at 20-25°C, and the substrate must be kept moist. To reduce water evaporation in the seedling pot or box, cover the sowing container with glass; this way you can water once every 3-5 days, and each watering must be thorough.

Generally, from the date of sowing, after 10-15 days the seeds will grow radicles. After about 30-40 days, the coleoptile grows. The coleoptile is the first cone-shaped sheath-like structure to emerge; it protects the young leaves in the plumule, preventing them from being damaged when they emerge from the soil. According to research, the coleoptile contains plant growth hormones and plays a great role in the growth of seedlings and young plants.

At about 50 days after sowing, the seed grows its first leaf; at this point the plant begins its own growth and development, and once the first leaf grows out of the coleoptile, it can carry out photosynthesis. As the seedlings gradually grow, transplant them in time according to their leaf growth.

When transplanting, select the seedlings: seedlings with poor growth vigor should be cultivated separately, seedlings with no cultivation value should be discarded, and vigorously growing seedlings should be grouped together for cultivation. The nutrient soil used for transplanting is made by mixing 70% decomposed horse manure soil or forest humus soil with 30% river sand. The plants at the seedling stage are very small, so 5-6 or 10 seedlings can be planted in one flower pot. When transplanting, the front side of the seedlings' leaves should all face the same direction; do not plant them irregularly at random. After transplanting, water thoroughly, then move them to a suitable position, placing them with the front side of the leaves facing the sun.

How to sow and raise Clivia from seed?