Maintenance methods of Clivia bonsai

1. Use soil

The native habitat of Clivia is under large trees in the forests of high altitude areas in southern Africa, and its roots are rooted in the layer of leaf mold accumulated over the years. Clivia bonsai should use loose, fertile neutral or weakly acidic humus soil. The cultivation soil can be mixed with 65% humus soil, 20% clean sand and 15% fine ash. The relative humidity of the soil should be around 40%. If the soil is compacted and drainage is poor, it will cause root rot. When changing the soil in spring, it is best to buy special soil for planting. Special soil is leaf mold, which is very suitable for the growth of Clivia.

2. Fertilization

Solid fertilizer should be applied to Clivia once in winter, with less nitrogen fertilizer and more phosphorus fertilizer and potassium fertilizer. Eggshell powder and fermented fish water are good phosphorus fertilizers, while rice bran ash and cigarette ash are easily available potassium fertilizers. You can also apply nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compound fertilizers to promote the germination of more new plants and leaves. Be sure to apply fertilizer in moderation and avoid applying concentrated fertilizer and unfermented raw fertilizer, otherwise it will easily cause the leaf tips to burn or rot. If spots appear on new leaves and the roots turn yellow in winter, it means too much fertilizer has been applied, while narrow, thin new leaves that are particularly light in color are a sign of insufficient fertilizer.

3. Watering

The soil should not be too dry or too wet. Be sure to water thoroughly each time you water it, and water it more after buds appear. Every 20 days or so, you can combine watering with fertilizing by applying fermented bean cake water, light fish water, and water chestnut water. When the room temperature is low, you should control watering to prevent the soil in the pot from being too wet. Too wet soil in the pot will cause the plant's roots to rot and die, but the soil in the pot should not be too dry either.

4. Temperature

The suitable temperature for Clivia's growth in winter is 15-20℃, and it is best not to be lower than 10℃. After the flower arrow shoots, the temperature should be maintained at around 18°C, and the temperature difference between day and night should be around 10°C. Otherwise, the flower arrow will not bloom before it grows to an appropriate height, which may easily lead to "sandwiched arrows". When the outdoor temperature is below 10℃ at night, the Clivia should be moved indoors. When the indoor temperature is below 10℃, in addition to covering the surface of the potting soil with a 1 cm thick layer of charcoal powder for insulation, the flower pot should also be placed in a sunny and warm place indoors. When the indoor temperature is particularly low, you can cover the flower pot with a film to raise the temperature, but the temperature inside the cover must not exceed 25°C. If it exceeds this, ventilate and cool down in time.

5. Lighting

Clivia blooms easily under short-day conditions. Exposure to the scorching sun and direct sunlight in summer can cause sunburn and inhibit growth. From May to September every year, it should be cultivated under a shade shed or in a semi-shaded environment without direct sunlight. But the longer the sunlight exposure in winter, the better. Low light during flowering can prolong the flowering period. It likes warm and cool weather and avoids severe cold or heat. It generally grows well in temperatures between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius and stops growing below 5 degrees Celsius. After the Clivia is brought indoors, the light is limited and the flower pots need to be moved manually to adjust it. Under normal circumstances, the flower pots should be placed in a sunny place indoors during the day so that sunlight can reach the plants. Before flowering, the flower pot should be placed under fluorescent light at night to supplement the light. Because the two rows of leaves of Clivia are opposite each other, if the light is kept in one position for a long time, the leaves will grow unevenly, affecting the ornamental effect. Therefore, when adjusting the light, you should pay attention to the direction of the leaves and change the sunny side every 10 days or so. There are two ways to place flower pots indoors: one is to place the leaves parallel to the sunny windows, and the other is to place the leaves perpendicular to the sunny windows. The latter is better than the former.

6. Flowering period control

The flowering period of Clivia is mostly from December to March of the following year. The way to prolong the flowering period is to place the flowers in a dark place when they are about to bloom, control watering appropriately, and keep the temperature at 8-12℃. In this way, the flowering period can be extended by 10-20 days.