How to care for clivia in spring? Master these care essentials

Spring sunshine is gentle and temperatures are mild, making it the best period for the growth of the clivia. Carrying out spring care for clivia in good time is crucial to its growth and development and to bud formation and flowering that year and in the years to come.

Move outdoors in good time: For clivias overwintered indoors, as spring temperatures rise, they should be moved outdoors for care in good time. The suitable time to move them out is generally around Qingming Festival in temperate regions, and must be delayed by about half a month in cold regions.

You can also time it for when temperatures are above 15°C. One or two days before moving them out, open the windows for ventilation; after moving them out, first place them in a sheltered, semi-shaded spot, and once they have gradually adapted to the outdoor environment, move them to a sunny, well-ventilated place to receive full light.

Repotting and division: The repotting time for mature clivias is generally after flowering in spring; plants that do not bloom in spring can be repotted when they are moved outdoors. After removing them from the pot, remove the old soil and dead roots, and replace with fresh potting soil to increase nutrients and permeability. Established plants should still be grown in pots of the original size, while growing plants should use a pot one size larger.

For plants that have offshoots at the base with 3 to 4 leaves and a height above 10 cm, division should be carried out together with repotting. Those that can be separated with roots should be cut away from the mother plant with a sterilized small knife; those that cannot be separated with roots should be broken off by hand, and the wounds coated with sulfur powder or plant ash as an antiseptic. Single plants with roots should be planted in small pots; those without roots should first be cultivated in fine sand and potted for care after they have rooted.

Watering and fertilizing: As spring temperatures keep rising and the plants enter the early stage of growth, water demand increases day by day. The frequency and amount of watering should go from less to more, but the aim is to keep the potting soil moist. After the slow growth of winter, the clivia has little nutrient reserve left in its body; especially after sending up a scape and flowering, its nutrients are almost exhausted, so nutrients must be supplemented in good time and in the right amount to meet the plant's requirements for spring growth and development.

In spring the plant is at the stage of sending out new leaves and widening and lengthening its leaves, so fertilization should focus on nitrogen fertilizer. After moving outdoors, generally apply a dilute liquid fertilizer once about every 10 days; the concentration should be adjusted flexibly according to growth vigor and temperature. If using a compound fertilizer, it should be applied at the edge of the pot, and the amount should be small rather than large.

Promoting buds and flowering: For clivias that habitually send up a scape in late winter and early spring and bloom in early spring, to avoid the scape being trapped at this time due to low temperatures and other reasons and affecting flowering, 2 to 3 weeks before the scape emerges, raise the indoor temperature, increase the amount of watering, and apply a liquid fertilizer once every 7 to 10 days, or a compound fertilizer based mainly on phosphorus and potassium once every half month.

You can also water the soil with water at 20°C to 25°C and spray the leaves with water at 25°C to 30°C, keeping the indoor temperature at 10°C to 15°C as far as possible. This can promote the plant to send up a scape and form buds rapidly and bloom on time. Once the flowers open, water less, stop fertilizing, and move the plant to a low-temperature place to prolong the viewing time.

Pest and disease control: As temperatures rise, pests and diseases in their dormant period begin to become active and spread, attacking the plants and affecting their growth and development. Lime sulfur mixture at 0.3 to 0.5 degrees Baume can be used to spray the plant's leaves and bulb once every 10 days for 2 to 3 consecutive times, which both prevents disease and kills overwintering pests.