How to care for clivia in summer? Save this cultivation guide

Clivia is deeply loved for its upright, graceful plant shape, brilliant flowers, and dark green, thick, neat, and orderly leaves. Its flowering period is relatively long, making it an excellent choice for both flowers and foliage, and a fine indoor ornamental plant.

Clivia is native to southern Africa and prefers a humid, cool, semi-shaded environment. It grows best at temperatures from 15°C to 25°C. In summer, with high temperatures and strong light, improper care can scorch the leaves, turning them yellow-white and hindering healthy growth. To help clivia get through the hot summer smoothly, the following points must be noted:

1. Fertilizing

Summers are hot and often rainy, so fertilizing should generally be stopped to avoid root rot. If clivia is placed in a cool, ventilated spot, it will not go completely dormant, but fertilizing at this time cannot be done as normally as in spring and autumn; instead, fertilizer must be reduced, and the concentration should be correspondingly diluted. Generally, a thin soybean cake liquid fertilizer can be applied once every 10 to 15 days. Before fertilizing, the potting soil should be dry so it can absorb the nutrients. At this time, fertilizing must absolutely not be too frequent or too concentrated, because clivia has fleshy roots; otherwise, poor "digestion" will lead to root rot. Also be careful not to get fertilizer water on the leaves, as this can cause leaf wrinkling; you can spray water on the leaves after fertilizing.

2. Watering

Summer temperatures are high and evaporation is great, so generally water once every morning, with the specific situation depending on the weather and how wet or dry the potting soil is. In summer, watering should follow the principle of not watering until the soil is thoroughly dry, and watering thoroughly when you do water; do not let the pot remain neither wet nor dry, otherwise the leaves will grow thin and weak. It is best to use stored rainwater for watering; tap water must be left to settle for 24 hours before use to prevent the soil from deteriorating. If there are continuous showers, promptly tilt the pot to drain the water or move it indoors; if the potting soil drains poorly and water accumulates for a long time, the plant's fleshy roots are prone to rot.

3. Removing Flower Stalks

Clivia's normal flowering period is from New Year's Day to the Spring Festival, when light conditions are most suitable for it to form flower buds and bloom. Clivia needs only 3 to 5 hours of light per day; to extend the flowering period, the light duration can be shortened to 2 to 3 hours, and the plant can be placed in a low-temperature spot.

Clivia's winter-spring flowering period can last as long as two months, but if too many flower stalks emerge in summer (20 to 30 flowers), it will not produce good flowers in winter and spring, and will bloom for only 15 to 20 days. Therefore, in summer the flower stalks should be cut off promptly to prevent nutrient consumption and ensure the plant grows and blooms normally in winter and spring.

4. Pest and Disease Control

During clivia's summer dormancy, if ventilation is poor and humidity is too high, this is unfavorable for plant growth, leading to reduced disease resistance, making it susceptible to pathogens and scale insects; a 1000 to 1500 times dilution of dichlorvos solution can be sprayed on the leaves to kill them.