Clivia Seedling Transplanting, Root-Setting, Pot Division, and Mushroom Fertilization Techniques and Methods

The Clivia seedling management we discuss here refers to seedlings after sowing, when the seedlings are relatively small, along with some later care notes. Overall it is still fairly simple. Seedling management can mainly be divided into three parts: transplanting, root-setting, and pot division and transplanting.

I. Transplanting Clivia Seedlings

After 50-60 days of seedling raising, when the new roots are 5-6 cm long and pointed leaf bases have already grown, this is the best time for transplanting. If the new roots grow too long, transplanting becomes inconvenient. Once the new roots reach 8 cm they will branch, making transplanting even more inconvenient (remember, do not transplant just because leaf bases have emerged; a certain proportion must be reached, and about 60% is best). The benefits of transplanting at this time are:

1. With leaf bases as a reference, the direction of the true leaves can be identified.

2. It avoids multiple transplantings affecting the growth of the small seedlings.

3. It makes transplanting easier, as the roots are small and short, and the new roots will not have exceeded 8 cm and branched.

4. The small seedlings grow quickly in humus soil.

5. It saves time and effort and causes little damage.

Seedling lifting method:

According to the markers made on the seedling tray, lift all of them out classified by variety. When lifting seedlings, pinch the lower part of the leaf base with your thumb and index finger and pull out. Do not pull by pinching the fruit, as the fruit is easily knocked off. The fruit is the nutrient reservoir of the small seedling, and later growth of the seedling still depends on it for nutrients.

Items to prepare before lifting seedlings: (1) Prepare flower pots. (2) Seedling soil (75% humus soil, 7% charcoal ash, 5% buckwheat husks, 3% small stones, 10% sawdust previously used for seedling raising); mix the sawdust used for seedling raising into the humus soil to help with recovery after transplanting, but do not mix all of it in. Keep the lower uncontaminated part aside for separate use. Fill the pot with humus soil and press it firm. (3) A chopstick.

Transplanting small seedlings

1. Use the chopstick to make holes, with depth matching root length. For those whose new roots exceed 2 cm and whose leaf bases are clearly visible, transplant all of them into the humus soil.

Small seedlings after transplanting

2. When transplanting small seedlings, pay attention to several details: (1) Transplant separately by variety. (2) Put 2-10 plants per pot. (I put 13 plants per pot because there were too many seedlings and nowhere to place them; the number per pot can be decided according to your own actual situation.) (3) Properly widen the spacing, so that they form rows when viewed horizontally and the front and back plants are staggered, making it convenient for the seedlings to get light as they grow, and so the front does not block the light for the seedlings behind. (4) Classify by size; do not transplant seedlings of unequal size into one pot, as this makes future management inconvenient. (5) Then carefully insert the fleshy roots of the seedlings and press the soil firm. (6) The fruits all grow on the back side of the leaves. When transplanting, check the positions of the fruit and the small seedling to ensure the fruit is in one direction. The first leaf that comes out will definitely have its leaf surface in one direction!

3. Transplanting method for those whose new roots are less than 2 cm and whose leaf bases have not yet grown out (it is impossible for hundreds of seeds to all grow to the same length; some will be less than 2 cm). Put humus soil in the bottom of the transplanting pot and press it firm, then add sawdust from the bottom of the seedling-raising material that has not been contaminated. The thickness of the sawdust is determined by the length of the new roots of the transplanted seedlings. The new roots must not directly touch the humus soil; that is, if the new roots are 1 cm, the sawdust thickness must exceed 1.5 cm. When the small seedlings grow leaf bases, the new roots will have grown into the humus soil.

4. When the small seedlings have already grown leaf bases out of the sawdust, remove all the sawdust at this time and carry out selection. In this pot there are already more than 10 plants with fruits in the same direction. The remaining ones not in the same direction can be gently turned and corrected to ensure the fruits face one direction, then fill with humus soil and press firm, until the soil is changed and the pots divided in spring.

II. Dry cultivation for root-setting: The normal growth rate of small seedlings averages 1 mm per day. When the small seedlings grow to about 2 cm, control the water supply a little and cultivate them dry for about 20 days, so that the seedling leaves become a bit thicker and the plants sturdier. This is beneficial for transplanting and recovery later.

III. Pot division and transplanting:

When the first leaf of the plant grows to 5-8 cm, the pots can be divided according to variety and size. Choose good pots and prepare good soil, with two to four plants per pot; for premium ones, two plants are enough. You can also decide the number of plants to transplant according to the actual situation. There is no need to wait until April and combine it with soil changing before transplanting. If the plants are too large, transplanting becomes difficult. Transplanting small seedlings in February and March is also fine and has no effect on their later growth.

IV. Later management:

Within 30 days after transplanting the small seedlings, absolutely do not supply fertilizer, otherwise it will kill the small seedlings. After 30 days, observe whether the small seedlings are growing. If growth is good, you may appropriately apply a light liquid fertilizer at 70:1, once every 20 days. If growth is poor, do not fertilize; give them a chance to recover. This is like people: if you are healthy, your absorption function is good. If your body is unwell, can you stand being served rich meat and fish?

Normally, mature seeds sown will send out root sprouts in about 10 days, can grow leaf bases in about 50 days, have true leaves of 2-5 cm at about 90 days, and produce the second leaf at 150 days. At this time, care must be especially meticulous to ensure healthy and vigorous growth. This is like animals: if there is no guarantee of a healthy physique when young, it has a great impact on later growth. It is common for some small seedlings at 3 years old not to be as large as one-year-old ones. You should observe frequently in daily care. If an individual plant stops growing, then something has definitely gone wrong. Everyone knows that normal plants grow every day. Normally, from sowing, a plant can grow 4-6 leaves in a full year. This is the standard. If a one-year-old plant does not reach 4-6 leaves, it proves that your cultivation skill is not up to standard and you still need to work harder.