If you grow it like this, the Clivia will bloom every year. If it doesn’t, come to me!

1. Clivia does not bloom

Excessive light exposure

Clivia is a medium-day flower and is mostly displayed in the living room when cultivated indoors at home. If the indoor lighting is high-wattage or fluorescent, and the lights are turned off relatively late, the daily lighting time may reach 16 hours.

The daylight hours in their place of origin (South Africa) generally do not exceed 13 hours. Therefore, under long-day conditions, they can only grow leaves but cannot differentiate flower buds, and therefore are slow to bloom.

Workaround

1. Clivia should be cultivated under a shade shed or in a semi-shaded environment without direct sunlight from May to September every year, and the lighting time (including light exposure time) should not exceed 12 hours.

2. If there is no shade when you turn on the lights at home at night, you can put the Clivia in a paper shell, block the light from above, and open two sides to keep ventilation.

Too little light

Although Clivia is shade-tolerant, if it is placed in a dark place for a long time or lacks light for a long time, the leaves will lose their luster, the old leaves will turn dark green, and the new leaves will become thinner and yellow or yellow-green. Some people call this yellow leaf phenomenon Yin yellow. This situation will also cause no flowering.

Workaround

Clivia should be moved to a place with slightly stronger light. If it is not suitable to move, you can use lights to supplement the light.

Malnutrition

Clivia has different requirements for various nutrients in different growth stages. Nitrogen and potassium fertilizers should be used mainly during the vegetative growth period. After entering the reproductive period, part of the nutrients should be supplied to the development of reproductive organs for flower bud differentiation. If too much nitrogen fertilizer is used and phosphorus fertilizer is lacking, it will cause the plant to grow too tall, making it impossible for flower bud differentiation to proceed normally, thus affecting normal flowering.

Workaround

Before the flower buds of Clivia differentiate, the amount of nitrogen fertilizer should be appropriately controlled, and fertilizers rich in phosphorus, such as potassium dihydrogen phosphate, should be applied 1-2 times to facilitate the formation of arrows and flowering.

In addition, failure to change the soil for a long time will also cause nutrient deficiency, so when necessary, you should change the soil and turn the pot over and add more scale-containing base fertilizers such as bone meal, fish scales, etc. Adding base fertilizer means adding some fried or cooked shelled oil crops, such as hemp seeds, perilla seeds, sunflower seeds, castor seeds, bone meal and other fertilizers to the bottom of the pot when changing the pot and soil. The method is to put a layer of soil at the bottom of the pot first, sprinkle a layer of fertilizer evenly on the soil, cover it with another layer of soil, and then plant the flowers directly on it to complete the whole process of adding the bottom. Remember not to put fertilizer in direct contact with the roots.

The temperature is too high and the environment is too dry

The suitable temperature for Clivia growth is 15-25 degrees. It will stop growing when the temperature is lower than 10℃ or higher than 30℃. During the growth period and before flowering, too high or too low room temperature will cause poor plant growth and affect bud formation and flowering.

Workaround

When the weather is dry and hot, the Clivia should be placed in a ventilated, cool place with relatively humid air, and water should be sprayed on the leaves and the surrounding environment to lower the temperature and increase the humidity. Before the frost, when the temperature drops to around 10 degrees, it must be brought indoors, and the indoor temperature should be kept at around 15 degrees to ensure safe wintering.

Soil alkalinity

Clivia likes acidic soil with a pH value between 6 and 7. If it exceeds 7, it will be alkaline, and its growth and flowering will be affected. Therefore, when growing Clivia, you must use fertile, acidic, loose, breathable, slightly acidic culture soil!

Workaround

The soil in northern regions is often alkaline. For weakly alkaline soil or soil with alkaline fertilizer, you can use ferrous sulfate or rice vinegar mixed with water for irrigation, but it must not be too concentrated! (It must be rice vinegar, not blended white vinegar or vinegar essence)

2. Causes and solutions of Clivia's arrow clipping

Too much pressure

When the Clivia shoots out its arrows, the pressure from the leaf sheath and pseudobulb is too great, which can easily get the arrowhead caught inside, preventing the flower arrow from coming out.

Workaround

Tie the leaves on both sides with a wide ribbon, and use a sterilized blade to cut the leaf sheath holding the stalk by 1.5 cm, loosening the pressure of the leaf sheath base on the stalk, allowing the leaves to leave growth space for the pedicel and promoting the stalk to emerge.

Temperature difference is too small

The most suitable temperature for Clivia to bloom is 15-25℃, and the temperature difference between day and night is about 10℃, which is most conducive to its flowering. If the temperature difference is less than 6-10℃ after the flower arrow of Clivia is formed, especially in homes with heating and air conditioning, the temperature difference between day and night is only 2-3℃, and the "sandwich arrow" phenomenon is likely to occur.

Workaround

Increase the temperature during the day and decrease the temperature at night. The temperature difference between day and night remains around 8-10℃. Close the windows and open the curtains during the day to keep the temperature of the Clivia on the windowsill at around 23°C. At night, you can open the windows and draw the double curtains to keep the temperature of the Clivia at around 15°C. Note: the minimum temperature cannot be lower than 15°C, otherwise frost damage will occur). It is believed that by creating a large temperature difference for the Clivia, the flower arrows will emerge after a few days.

Excessive light exposure

When pruning the Clivia, you can use the shading and arrow-raising treatment. The principle is to keep the Clivia out of light, allowing the flower arrow to grow taller, and after the arrow grows taller, it will not be clamped.

Workaround

If you find that the Clivia has a pinched arrow, you can move it to a shaded and ventilated place for about a week. You can also cover the flower buds with tin foil to delay their development and allow the arrow to grow normally.

Temperature is too low

If the ambient temperature of Clivia is lower than 15℃, its growth will be slow, and if it is lower than 10℃, it will stop growing.

Workaround

If the temperature at home does not reach 15 degrees, you can place the flower pot on an electric blanket to heat it, or you can place it on a radiator with bricks or a heated kang with wooden boards. Of course, the temperature cannot exceed 25 degrees, otherwise the Clivia will dry up.

Improper fertilization

Clivia needs sufficient phosphorus and potassium fertilizers during the flowering period and in the early stage. However, some flower lovers neglect the fertilization management of Clivia on a daily basis. It is easy to encounter insufficient phosphorus and potassium fertilizers or excess nitrogen fertilizers when the Clivia is sprouting, resulting in pinched arrows.

Workaround

Clivia enters its growing season in autumn, and its demand for phosphorus and potassium fertilizers increases, so the frequency of fertilization should be increased. After entering the room, apply some organic fertilizers such as: decomposed sesame residue, fried bone meal, etc., and fermented bean cake water can be applied once every 20 days. When you find the arrows emerging, you can spray 0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution on the leaves to promote flower bud differentiation and quickly grow arrows.

Insufficient watering

The roots of Clivia are fleshy and afraid of waterlogging. However, if the plant is only watered for a long time or the soil in the pot is too dry, it can easily cause the roots to suffocate and wilt. This will damage the root system, and the water and nutrients needed for the growth of Clivia's flower arrows cannot be supplied, which can easily lead to arrow pinching.

Workaround

When the temperature at home is above 18 degrees, break the usual watering pattern of Clivia and keep the humidity of the potting soil at around 35%. You can use warm water at 25 degrees to water the flowers.

So many flowers that can be planted

You can try it.

What gardeners care about is never the results.

It’s the fun of growing flowers!

Are you willing to give it a try?