Prevention and Solutions for Clivia "Arrow Trapping"
A gardening friend once said that every year when the Clivia flowering season arrives, he starts to worry. Why? It turns out that for several years in a row, his Clivia was just about to bloom, but the flower scape stayed trapped in the gap between the leaves and could not emerge. Seeing everyone else's plants bloom so beautifully year after year, he was truly envious! Have you ever encountered this situation too? In fact, this phenomenon is called "arrow trapping." If you want your Clivia to avoid arrow trapping, these 5 points are the key!
Clivia arrow trapping
1. Suitable temperature
The most suitable temperature for Clivia growth is 15—25°C. If it is below 15°C, the plant will grow poorly. Especially before the scape emerges, if the temperature does not reach above 15°C, the Clivia flower scape will be very difficult to push out. Therefore, before the Clivia blooms, you should often observe whether the bulb of the potted plant has any bulging marks. Once you find the bulb bulging, it means the arrow may be about to emerge. At this time, you must adjust the temperature promptly to facilitate the emergence of the Clivia flower scape.
2. Suitable temperature difference
The growth habit of Clivia is to prefer a large temperature difference between day and night. If the temperature difference between day and night is small, the organic matter in the Clivia cannot accumulate, causing difficulty in scape emergence. Therefore, after the Clivia flower buds differentiate and before the arrow shoots up, the temperature needs to be controlled at 25°C, and the temperature difference between day and night should be maintained at about 10°C. In this way, the Clivia will shoot its arrow relatively easily; otherwise, arrow trapping will occur.
3. Timely fertilization
Another reason for Clivia arrow trapping is insufficient fertility. Entering autumn, Clivia is in its reproductive growth stage, and its fertilizer demand will become greater and greater. If fertilization is mistaken at this time and fertility is insufficient, it is very likely to affect scape emergence. For this reason, after Clivia has been grown for 3 full years, once autumn arrives, the number of fertilizations must be increased. It is best to apply liquid fertilizer with a relatively high phosphorus content, preferably applying nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers in coordination and alternately. If necessary, you can also add a 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate foliar fertilizer to help the Clivia flower buds form and bloom earlier.
4. Reasonable watering
When the Clivia arrow emerges, if the plant lacks water, the growth of the flower scape will also be hindered, leading to arrow trapping. Generally speaking, when Clivia is shooting its arrow, its water demand is high. You should break the conventional watering method of watering when dry and letting it dry between waterings, appropriately increase the amount of watering, and keep the potting soil moist. Never wait until it is completely dry before watering. Otherwise, the bulb and leaves will suffer from severe water shortage, which will hinder the plant's normal physiological activities, resulting in arrow trapping and affecting flowering.
5. Control bulb pressure
For mature Clivia, when the plant shifts from vegetative growth to reproductive growth, you should always observe changes in the bulb. If you find the bulb bulging, it means the flower arrow is developing. At this time, stop fertilizing for 2 weeks; otherwise, the leaf sheaths and bulb will become harder and the pressure will be greater. If arrow trapping is caused by excessive bulb pressure, you can use a sharp knife to cut open the leaf sheath clamping the arrow scape by 1.5 cm, reducing the pressure of the leaf sheath base on the arrow scape and promoting scape emergence.
If you do the above 5 points well, you will not need to worry that your Clivia will fail to produce beautiful flowers.