Clivia: All The Nuances Of Flower Care At Home + Photos And Videos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

Clivia at home: an unpretentious beauty on your window

Clivia is an easy-to-care, but very effective plant in flowering. Many have already appreciated its advantages over other decorative tropical species. The popularity of clivia can be explained quite simply: it is unpretentious when grown at home, moreover, it usually blooms in the middle or towards the end of winter, when it is so pleasant to enjoy the bright exquisite inflorescences in anticipation of the coming spring.

Content

• 1 Flower named after a woman

  1.1 Table: clivia and vallotta - how to distinguish them?

• 2 Varieties

  • 2.1 Table: distinctive features of various types
  • 2.2 Photo gallery: cinnabar clivia, aka miniata, and other types

• 3 Briefly about the conditions of detention

  3.1 Table: what it takes for a flower to grow

• 4 Planting and transplanting

• 5 How to care

  • 5.1 Watering
  • 5.2 Top dressing

  • 5.3 Flowering time

    5.3.1 What to do to get the clivia to release its arrowhead and bloom

  • 5.4 When the clivia has faded and the peduncle is cut off: the dormant period

    5.4.1 Can a plant bloom twice a year

• 6 Care errors

  6.1 Table: why the tips dry, the leaves turn yellow, brown spots and other visible defects appear

• 7 Diseases and pests

  • 7.1 Photo Gallery: Enemies of the Clivia
  • 7.2 Table: flower treatment for diseases and pests

• 8 Reproduction of clivia

  • 8.1 How to germinate seeds
  • 8.2 How to seat children
• 9 Reviews of florists
• 10 Video: our pet clivia

Flower named after a woman

Clivia is a stemless indoor evergreen with long, dark green leaves. The false stem is formed from basal leaves, tightly covering each other. Domestic clivia reach a height of about half a meter, the flowers of the plant are collected in umbrella-shaped inflorescences with a diameter of about 20 cm. Flowering lasts about a month.

In nature, clivia grows up to a meter in height.

Clivia belongs to the amaryllis family. Under natural conditions, it grows in the humid subtropical forests of South Africa.

Often, amateur flower growers confuse clivia and vallota. Both plants belong to the same family and have similar leaf and flower shapes.

Table: clivia and vallotta - how to distinguish them?

Sign	Distinctive features
	Clivia	Vallota
Root system	There is no bulb as such, instead there is a white and thick, fleshy rhizome.	The bulb is elongated-ovoid with a massive neck.
Leaves	They are arranged like a fan in one plane, do not have a central longitudinal vein, but closer to the outlet, they "fold" a little along; dark green along the entire length; have noticeable longitudinal and transverse striae and a sharp tip.	Smaller (up to 25 cm in length), flat; base color - deep purple; the tips are rounded.
Flowers	Smaller ones; orange with a yellow center; 10-30 pieces per peduncle (sometimes more).	Larger; red; maximum 4-5 pieces per peduncle.
The juice	If the leaf is damaged, a yellow-orange juice flows from the wound.	Deprived of this feature.

In general, keeping the clivia at home is not a big deal. But it is worth knowing about the most comfortable conditions for her in order to provide the plant with maximum decorative effect.

Varieties

At home, three types of clivia are most often found: cinnabar, gardena and beautiful. Nevertheless, the flower is so good that new hybrid varieties are still being bred all over the world.

Table: distinctive features of various types

Clivia variety	Peduncle height	Characteristics of flowers	Flowering time
Clivia cinnabar, or red lead-orange (Clívia miniata)	40-50 cm	Rosette inflorescence with 10-20 flowers	February-May, but sometimes blooms at other times of the year
Clivia Gardena (Clívia gardenii)	45-50 cm	10-16 flowers	Second half of winter
Clivia beautiful, or noble (Clívia nobilis)	30-50 cm	Inflorescence with 40-60 flowers	Second half of winter

Clivia cinnabar turned out to be a very plastic plant, and on its basis more than a dozen new varieties with flowers of very different colors were bred.

Photo gallery: cinnabar clivia, aka miniata, and other types

Clivia cinnabar blooms with bright orange-red flowers

A distinctive feature of Clivia Gardena flowers is a tubular shape and green tips

Clivia Nakamura Red has bright red flowers

Clivia citrine is a variety of clivia miniata with creamy yellow flowers

Clivia yellow - one of the hybrids derived from the cinnabar clivia

Clivia noble has drooping tubular flowers of red color with a white tip

Briefly about the conditions of detention

Caring for clivia does not cause special problems for flower growers. The most important thing for active development and flowering is to provide the flower with diffused light and a reduced temperature for rest in the autumn-winter season.

Table: what it takes for a flower to grow

Season	Temperature	Shine	Watering	Top dressing	Air humidity
Summer	20 ° C to 25 ° C	Better to put the plant outdoors in partial shade.	Moderate, as the substrate dries	Once every 2 weeks	For clivia, this parameter is not important, therefore, the leaves are washed more for hygiene reasons.
Autumn-winter (dormant period)	12 ° C to 15 ° C	North window; limiting light.	Limited, from 1 time per week to 1 time per month	Not required
Winter-spring (from the appearance of the peduncle)	20 ° C to 25 ° C	East, west window; it is important that there is a lot of light, but without direct sunlight.	Moderate, as the substrate dries	Once every 2 weeks

Planting and transplanting

Clivia is quite patient with adverse conditions of detention. But she really doesn't like to be disturbed. Therefore, it is important to take the clivia transplant process seriously. The plant should be repotted when its roots begin to crawl out of the pot. Before that, the flower cannot be transplanted.

Young flowers can be replanted every year, but be careful not to damage the roots. If this still happens, it is necessary to crush the coal and sprinkle the wounds on it, otherwise the roots will rot.

Old plants (about 10 years old) can no longer be transplanted. They just change the topsoil every year - about 5 cm.

It is important to ensure that there are drainage holes in the clivia pot.

The pot should be chosen not too large, about 3 cm wider than the previous one - the clivia should be a little crowded. This helps to extend the flowering period.

When choosing a vessel, it is important to ensure that there are drain holes. They help ensure air flow to the roots and excess moisture out of the pot.

When planting clivia, drainage is placed on the bottom of the pot without fail. Such measures help regulate soil moisture. The following can be used as drainage:

• expanded clay, which can be purchased at any flower shop;
• broken brick;
• pebbles, rubble or any other small stones.

The most suitable soil for clivia is loose, slightly acidic. You can cook it yourself by mixing in equal proportions sand, leafy soil and turf. If you decide to buy ready-made soil in the store, you should choose soil for orchids. Clivia feels very comfortable in it, its roots develop well, and it blooms easily.

An important condition for preparing the soil for planting is its processing for the purpose of disinfection. To do this, it is enough to take any of the following actions:

• spill with boiling water or a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
• preheat in the oven at maximum temperature for about 10 minutes;
• soak in a microwave oven at full power for 2-3 minutes.

Such measures help get rid of bacteria that cause diseases, as well as pest larvae that may be present in the soil.

In the disinfected soil, you can add about 30 g of fertilizers, which include phosphorus. This will increase its nutritional value. Superphosphate or phosphate rock can be used for this purpose.

Transplanting clivia should be done only when absolutely necessary using the method of careful transshipment

Transplant process:

1. Water the clivia several hours before transplanting. Carefully remove the clod from the pot. If the plant is young, the roots can be rinsed. When removing the plant from the pot, it is important to ensure that the delicate, fleshy roots are not damaged. Affected or rotten roots must be cut off. Sprinkle the places of breaks and cuts with crushed charcoal or activated carbon. Try not to damage the roots of the plant, cut off the damaged and diseased parts and sprinkle with crushed coal

   

   Try not to damage the roots of the plant, cut off the damaged and diseased parts and sprinkle with crushed coal

2. Pour drainage at the bottom to the height of a quarter of the pot.

   

   Drainage fills a quarter of the pot height

3. Pour 3 cm of prepared soil on top and plant clivia: place an earthen ball, fill the voids around the edges of the pot with soil. When transplanting, it is important to monitor the depth of the clivia's embedding in the soil: the root collar must be left above the soil surface, otherwise the lower leaves may rot.

   

   It is important to plant the clivia in such a way that all the roots are covered with earth, and the neck remains above the surface.

How to care

Clivia is a plant that does not require special skills from a grower. To provide her with a comfortable growth, it is enough to follow the rules of watering and feeding, as well as create certain conditions during rest.

Watering

Clivia is a plant that does not like high soil moisture. Therefore, it should be watered only after the earthen lump dries up. Drain excess water from the pan. If you neglect this rule, the roots of clivia can rot.

When the plant enters the resting stage, and the temperature in the room is reduced, watering is practically stopped, it is enough to moisten the soil every 10 days. After flower stalks are formed on the clivia, the plant begins to water again as the soil dries.

Tap water must be defended before watering. It is important that it is soft enough and free of chlorine.

Air humidity is not critical for clivia. Therefore, it is not required to spray it from a spray bottle. Nevertheless, the plant is responsive to removing dust from leaves with a damp cloth.

Top dressing

Clivia is susceptible to feeding. They help her to develop intensively and make her outwardly more decorative. Top dressing should be started from the first year of life in the summer. Clivia should be fertilized during the period of growth and flowering once every 2 weeks, alternating organic and mineral products.

It is best to use organic fertilizers based on biohumus. It can be Ideal, Giant, Breadwinner and others. For their use, 1 tablespoon of fertilizer is diluted in 2 liters of water.

Mineral complexes are diluted in warm water in a ratio of 2 g of fertilizer per 1 liter. Most often used are Ammophos, Kemira, Nitrofoska.

After the onset of the rest period (approximately from the beginning of autumn), feeding should be stopped, and resumed when the flower releases the arrow of the peduncle.

Flowering time

Clivia usually begins to bloom in late winter or early spring and lasts about a month. When the flower arrow has become high enough (more than 10 cm), you should end the rest period and transfer the flower from an unheated room to a warm and well-lit place.

During flowering, you should increase the watering of the clivia and fertilize it regularly. For irrigation, it is better to take warm water, with a temperature 3-4 degrees above room temperature. If you do not start leaving on time, the flower stalk will be short and the flowering time will be significantly reduced.

What to do to make the clivia release its peduncle arrow and bloom

Usually the lack of rest prevents clivia from blooming. If in the autumn-winter time you do not reduce watering and lower the temperature, it will hardly be possible to make the clivia bloom.

When the arrow appears, the plant should be washed with warm water from the shower, increase watering and start fertilizing. The first top dressing is high in potassium (potassium chloride, potassium salt, potassium sulfate).

If clivia does not bloom by this time, it needs a long rest. For this, the plant is transferred to a dimly lit place with an air temperature of no higher than 16 ° C for 3-4 weeks.

Another reason for the lack of peduncles is too spacious a pot: clivia will not bloom until the roots fill it completely.

When the clivia has faded and the peduncle is cut off: a dormant period

It is important for Clivia to create conditions for rest during the winter. At this time, you can take the flower pot out to a glassed-in loggia or to another cool room. The main thing is that the air temperature is not below + 12 ° C, otherwise the plant may die.

The older the clivia, the longer it will take to rest. It is enough for young plants to rest for two months - from the end of September to November. When the flower is more than five years old, the dormant period should be increased. From this moment, the clivia needs rest for the entire autumn-winter period - from mid-September to early February.

Can a plant bloom twice a year

It is better to transfer the faded clivia to fresh air - a balcony or a garden. The place for the plant should be shady and windless.

If you want to get the plant to bloom again this year, after a short break in nature, the clivia should be taken to a low-light place and stop fertilizing, and also reduce watering to 1 time per month. Leaves may start to turn yellow, but that's okay. In about a month, wait for a new arrow to appear.

Care errors

Despite the fact that the clivia is not capricious, various troubles can sometimes happen to it. It is important to know why they appear and how to fix them.

Table: why the tips dry, the leaves turn yellow, brown spots and other visible defects appear

External manifestation	Causes	What to do
Leaves turn yellow	Natural aging, when old leaves die off and new ones grow instead	Requires no action
	Insufficient or excessive watering	Check the roots (so as not to rot), cut the damaged ones and treat the cut with charcoal, transplant the flower into fresh soil; water in moderation.
	Little fertilizer	Top dressing during the flowering period is applied every 2 weeks
	In the case of plant pollination, the leaves turn yellow due to the redistribution of flower nutrients to the fruit	Remove fruits and peduncle when it begins to dry out
	Anxiety in the form of transplant, transfer, or drafts	Move the pot only if absolutely necessary
Brown spots on the leaves	Sunburn	Remove the plant from direct sunlight
Pale leaf color	Lack of nutrition	Conduct feeding according to the rules
Leaves rot	The roots were damaged during transplantation	Watering is stopped until the earthen coma is completely dry
Brown leaf tips	Excess moisture	Water more moderately, remove water from the sump

Diseases and pests

Pests rarely annoy clivias, but in order to cope with them, it is important to notice the beginning of the attack in time and prevent them from breeding. If there are too many pests, it will be very difficult, and sometimes pointless, to fight them. The most common enemies of clivia are scale insects and mealybugs, rot.

The shield, also known as the shield aphid, has a protective waxy shield that protects the pest's body. The adult aphid is motionless, but the larvae can crawl all over the flower. Mealybug forms colonies.

Photo gallery: enemies of clevia

A sign of a scale insect - red sticky spots and brown plaques on the leaves

The mealybug forms a cottony bloom on the leaves

The most common disease of clivia is rot

Table: flower treatment for diseases and pests

View	What does it look like	What to do
Shield (shield aphid)	Dark spots on the leaves	The larvae are destroyed by washing the flower with a soap solution (a small amount of kerosene or denatured alcohol can be added to it for efficiency). Adults are removed with a damp soap swab, but after that the plant must be sprayed with an insecticide.
Mealybug	Looks like white cotton wool on the leaves	A small number of pests can be simply removed with a damp swab, but if there are too many of them, it is necessary to spray the clivia with insecticide weekly until it recovers.
Rot	Leaves turn yellow, the plant begins to die off	The reason is most often in the defeat of the roots, therefore, the damaged roots should be cut off, sprinkled with crushed coal and the plant should be transplanted into new soil.

Reproduction of clivia

Clivia can be grown from seeds or young side shoots - babies. The easiest way is to propagate the flower in the second way. In this case, the clivia will bloom faster. Nevertheless, it is also quite possible to grow your own plantation of young clivias from seeds.

How to germinate seeds

The easiest way to get seeds is to buy them at the store. Self-obtaining seeds at home greatly depletes the plant, so you should not resort to it unless absolutely necessary. If, nevertheless, such a decision is made, it will be necessary to carry out artificial pollination using a soft brush.

During this time, the fruits will become soft, after which the seeds can be harvested. They should be sown immediately, as they very quickly lose their germination.

Instructions for growing clivia from seeds:

1. Soak the seeds in water for a day until they swell.

   

   Clivia seeds need to be kept in a humid environment for a day before sowing.

2. After soaking, plant in a mixture of equal proportions of peat and perlite (or sand, peat and turf). You need to sow seeds at a distance of 2 cm.

   

   Seeds are sown at a distance of 2 cm from each other

3. Place the container with seeds under a plastic wrap or, if the size allows, under a glass jar, thus creating a greenhouse environment.

4. The greenhouse should be ventilated daily for 10 minutes, and the soil should be moistened as it dries.

   

   Seeds need greenhouse conditions, regular ventilation and spraying of the substrate

5. When the first true leaf appears, the seedlings dive into small pots (soil composition: clay, humus and deciduous in equal proportions), and then the plants are annually transferred to new containers.

How to seat children

Clivia can be propagated by shoots, this method is faster and easier than growing a flower from seeds. Children are separated from the faded plant during transplantation.

A healthy plant forms daughter shoots

It is necessary to separate the children carefully: the roots should be cut with a sharp knife, the cuts should be processed with crushed coal and dried before planting for half an hour.

The roots, if necessary, are cut with a knife, the cuts are sprinkled with crushed coal

Young plants need to be placed on a light windowsill, care for them is the same as for an adult flower. The only difference is that you need a little more heat and a little less water. Such clivias will bloom in 2-3 years.

They care for the planted young plants in general in the same way as for the mother, but provide them with more warmth during the growing period

Florist reviews

Video: our pet clivia

Clivia can bloom orange, yellow or white, depending on the variety. This shy girl needs minimal care: she easily tolerates dry air and does not require annual transplants. Try to provide the flower with a permanent place with diffused light and take it out for the winter in an unheated room, giving it a rest, and then your beautiful clivia will delight you with its graceful inflorescences for many years.