Detailed Guide to Clivia (Kaffir Lily) Home Care Knowledge and Key Points
Clivia is suitable for indoor cultivation, mainly determined by its internal structure and physiological functions. Clivia is an evergreen perennial herbaceous plant with strong shade tolerance, thick and large dark green leaves. The leaf mesophyll contains a large amount of chlorophyll, which can absorb carbon dioxide and water in sunlight, synthesize organic matter for its own growth and development needs, and release oxygen at the same time. In addition, the broad and thick leaves of Clivia have many stomata and fine hairs, which can secrete a large amount of mucus. During gas exchange, it can absorb a large amount of dust, dirt and harmful gases indoors, making the indoor air clean. Therefore, Clivia is also praised by people as an "absorption machine" and "dust collector," and a guardian of human health. So how can you make this health guardian grow healthily in your home too? Home care of Clivia should mainly start from aspects such as temperature and humidity, soil, water, light, and nutrients.
Since Clivia originated in the mountain forests of South Africa, where the natural environment is like spring all year round, the various organs of the Clivia plant have already adapted to this kind of neither-cold-nor-hot natural environment. Therefore, in daily care, the temperature should be controlled between 15-25 degrees. When the temperature drops below 10 degrees, the growth and development of Clivia slow down, and when it drops below 0 degrees, it will freeze to death. Similarly, when the temperature reaches or exceeds 30 degrees, it will also seriously affect the normal growth and development of Clivia.
Water is an important component of the Clivia plant. According to measurements, Clivia contains 60%-80% water, and especially its fleshy roots have a strong water storage function, giving it relatively strong resistance to drought.
Clivia prefers neutral water. Clean, pollution-free tap water, well water, river water, etc. can all be used for watering, but because fresh tap water and well water have a lower temperature than the soil and contain some impurities, they should be left to stand for 1-2 days before use. As for watering, there is also quite a lot of attention to detail here. For small Clivia seedlings, the best method is to use a spray bottle for spray irrigation. Point the nozzle upward and spray toward the leaves. The advantage of doing this is that besides achieving the purpose of watering the plant, it can also wash off dust, and at the same time leave mist droplets on the leaf surface, ensuring a certain degree of humidity on the leaf surface. In sunlight, water evaporation can lower the leaf surface temperature and prevent sunburn. However, for Clivia that is blooming, spray irrigation should not be used for watering, to prevent water from entering the leaf sheath and causing heart rot. For Clivia in the flowering period, water can only be poured into the pot. So when should you water and how much water is appropriate? This mainly depends on the ambient temperature where the Clivia is located.
The general watering principle is "wet then dry, do not water if not dry, water thoroughly when completely dry." Watering thoroughly means making all the roots of the Clivia be in the same degree of moisture. To judge whether the water has been watered thoroughly, you cannot decide only based on whether water flows out from the bottom of the pot. Because sometimes after the pot soil dries, it hardens and shrinks into a ball. After watering, the water quickly flows from the pot wall to the bottom of the pot and runs out through the bottom hole. But the central part of the pot soil has not even touched a little bit of water. If watering is stopped at this time, the Clivia leaves will wilt, and when it is shooting up its flower stem, it may form a "clamped arrow."
A simple and effective watering method is to immerse the entire flower pot in a basin or bucket full of water, soak for half a minute, and then take it out. However, the disadvantage of doing this is that nutrients in the soil are relatively easy to lose, so if you want Clivia to have deep roots and large leaves, you should also pay attention to supplementing nutrients in time. The nutrient elements needed by Clivia mainly come from organic fertilizers, such as soybean cake, peanut oil cake, animal offal, etc. Under normal circumstances, applying them once in spring and once in autumn within a year is enough. In spring, apply once after flowering, around late April to early May; after the fruit is harvested in autumn, apply once more from around mid-September to late October.
Clivia is a moisture-loving plant and has relatively high requirements for the humidity of its growing environment. Its most suitable humidity range is 70%-80%. Clivia grown in such an environment has tender green leaves, clear leaf veins, and short, wide, neat leaves, with high ornamental value. However, limited by home environmental conditions, ordinary households find it very difficult to reach this standard. This is also the main reason why many people cannot grow Clivia well. Clivia is a intermediate-day plant and does not have strict light requirements. As long as the temperature is suitable, it can bloom normally whether the light duration is a bit longer or shorter, and short-day conditions in winter and spring are more favorable for flowering. Good light is an important condition for ensuring that Clivia flowers are large and brightly colored. But it still prefers relatively weak light, and especially dislikes strong light.
The leaves of Clivia have phototropism. If it is placed in one place indoors for a long time, the leaves will definitely turn toward the direction of the sun. As far as its plant shape is concerned, it will then be difficult to achieve the ornamental effect of forming a line when viewed from the side and appearing like an open fan when viewed from the front.
Clivia must be placed in a north-south direction. If it is not in a north-south direction, the leaves will grow crooked. So what should you do if the leaves grow crooked? You can pull two leaves evenly and clip them together. You can use a playing card to wrap around them so as not to damage the leaves. Under normal circumstances, the leaves will be corrected in 15-20 days.
The thick fleshy roots of Clivia not only store enough water, but also place higher demands on the soil on which it depends for survival. Only nutrient soil with good air permeability, loose texture, and rich humus content is suitable for the growth of Clivia's fleshy roots.
Clivia's rot-resistant tree leaves or pine needles must be fermented before use. They cannot be used without fermentation. If not fermented, they can easily burn the roots. Clivia must have its soil changed once a year.
The time and frequency of repotting and soil changing for Clivia depend on the size of the seedling and the season. Mature Clivia like these need to have their soil changed once a year. The best time to change the soil is in spring and autumn, because at this time Clivia grows vigorously and changing the soil will not affect the plant's growth. Take the Clivia out of the pot, cut off rotten roots and old roots with no absorption capacity, and remove the spent soil. Cover the drainage hole of the flower pot with a piece of broken pot, fill in 2-5 cm of nutrient soil, grab a handful of soil and fill the interior of the roots firmly, then place the plant in the pot, and when filling the pot with nutrient soil to half the height of the pot, gently press down along the edge of the pot with your hand, so that the roots all stand in the pot and are not easily bent. The key point in changing the soil is to fill the root area firmly with soil. Otherwise, if there is no soil around the roots, water and nutrients cannot reach the roots, which can easily cause root rot and "clamped arrows." After changing the nutrient soil, water thoroughly.
In fact, when it comes down to it, the care knowledge for Clivia is far more than just this. Much care knowledge still depends on growers to explore and accumulate through practice. But you do not need to worry, because many Clivia enthusiasts also know that growing Clivia well is quite difficult, but killing it is not easy either. Although this is a joke, it also shows from another aspect that Clivia is not so delicate. As long as you are hands-on and attentive in ordinary times, you will certainly be able to cultivate Clivia with lush branches and leaves and bright flowers and red fruits, and life will naturally gain a bit more beauty and pleasure.