Clivia

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Growing Clivia indoors. Types of clivia

Among the most famous plant growers, according to the horoscope of the

zodiac sign Sagittarius (November 23 - December 21), include tetrastigma Vuagnier (indoor grapes), sheflera radiant ("umbrella tree", "octopus tree"), sacred ficus, citrus (lemon), sanseveria three-sheeted and cinnabar clivia. Like amaryllis, clivia belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family. These are largely related and biologically similar plants, however, the natural habitat where these plants are forced to grow is very different.

So, amaryllis is a plant of dry habitats, therefore, it is forced to shed its leaves during the dry season. Clivia is native to the plains and foothills of the province of Port Natal on the western coast of South Africa, which is separated from the Karoo Desert by the Drakensberg Mountains, thanks to the protection of which it has enough moisture in the lowlands of its growth, therefore, does not suffer from drought.

If nature helped the amarylis survive the drought due to the formation of a bulb in it, then in clivia growing in a humid climate, which does not need protection from drying out of the soil, the leaves do not fall off, and the bulb is absent.

The clivia's generic name - Clivia - was given in honor of a noble English lady (Lady Clive Clive). There are 4 types of this genus; of these, only two are usually cultivated in indoor floriculture. Clivia noble (C. nobilis Lindl. ), Despite such a sonorous name and beautiful tubular (light yellow inside, orange outside) flowers, is still much less common in home practice.

Among flower growers , red red clivia (C. minima regel) is more popular, in which bell-shaped flowers are more open than in noble clivia (variegated forms are also bred).

Clivia is an evergreen herbaceous perennial stemless plant 20-60 cm tall with a large, short, bulb-like rhizome and thick white fleshy roots. Beautifully curved dense, almost leathery, ribbon or belt-like vaginal leaves 50-60 cm long of dark green color depart from the rhizome with a bilateral bundle.

Each year, 4-5 new leaves grow, which last for several years. From the middle of the plant between the leaves comes a straight thick fleshy strong arrow with rather large orange-red flowers from 15 to 30 pieces and more with a diameter of 3-4 cm, collected at the end of this flat flower arrow in a lush umbrella.

Flowers bloom in late winter - early spring, - from March to early May, for a long time, gradually, therefore, plants admire the colorful outfit, as a rule, for more than a month. Sometimes it blooms again, but already in summer, and on windows of any orientation, including those facing north or northwest. True, this happens with careful care and regular fertilization. Clivia flowers are erect, funnel-shaped, like amaryllis, but smaller. Fruits are orange-red berries.

Klivia, which is characterized by exceptional unpretentiousness, is considered by experts to be one of the most hardy and grateful plants for indoor culture. It is extremely shade-tolerant and resistant to various adverse factors in a shaded room, but for successful lush flowering, it still needs to find a fairly bright place.

In summer, the optimum temperature for keeping clivia is considered to be 16 … 20 ° C. During this entire period, it can be exposed to the air (but due to its high endurance, it can also be kept in rooms all year round). She does not like either too strong sun heat, or excessive heat.

In winter, clivia is able to be content with a temperature of 6 … 8 ° C (optimally 12 … 13 ° C), but it can also winter in living rooms with a higher temperature, however, in this case it will bloom worse. Plants kept in a cool room should be moved to a warmer place when a flower arrow appears.

In order not to miss the appearance of an arrow, the clivia should be periodically inspected, carefully pushing the leaves apart: experienced flower growers sometimes manage to notice from a slightly bent leaf that the plant is going to bloom. If it is immediately rearranged to a warmer place, you can achieve the appearance of flowers as early as January.

Wet places of natural growth of clivia also determine its needs during flowering: it requires abundant regular watering and dressing. The culture also needs neat maintenance - periodically wiping the leaves with a damp soft cloth.

Under such conditions, the plant produces up to 4-6 new leaves. Although clivia does not shed leaves for the winter when kept at home, after flowering (usually towards the end of summer) this plant should be rearranged to a cooler place and watering should be significantly reduced.

Clivia is propagated by seeds, cuttings and preferably by daughter offspring. Its seeds are usually purchased from a commercial network. But if a grower is going to get seeds on his own, then cross-pollination is necessary for this purpose.

The stamens are removed from two flowers (before they ripen), and the flowers themselves are entirely covered with gauze bags. When the stigmas become wet, the flower is fertilized with pollen, transferring it with a watercolor brush from the anthers to the stigma of the pistil (it is better to do this around noon). With successful pollination, large, beautiful, orange-red berries will form on the arrows, requiring at least 9-10 months to fully ripen.

A clivia stalk is a young bunch of leaves cut at the base, which takes root in the sand for two months, after which it is planted in a spacious bowl, where it grows for several years without transplanting.

Root offspring appear near an adult plant. More often they are separated when transplanting old specimens: they are first planted in small pots. The offspring taken should have several roots of their own. Plants grown from offspring bloom for 2-3 years, from seeds - only after 5-6 years.

Young plants are transplanted annually, old specimens - after 2-3 years. Thick, fleshy roots in clivia indicate that heavy (but sufficiently nutritious) soil is preferable for it: for example, the soil substrate is composed of clay, sod and leafy soil in a ratio of 2: 2: 1 (it is useful to add a little bone meal to the mixture) …

Or such a mixture is also possible: turf and leafy soil, sand (in a ratio of 4: 2: 0.5). Very favorable for the development of plants (especially young specimens) feeding with solutions of mullein and mineral fertilizers.

Klivia can be considered an indispensable material for landscaping rooms with low solar illumination or predominantly equipped with artificial light.

It should be noted that recently, breeders have obtained excellent varieties of clivia with larger flowers than the original species (C. nobilis) and their brighter color. Among themselves, these large-flowered varieties differ in the size and shape of the petals, the intensity of their color, the density of the arrangement in the umbrella and other features.

There are forms in which up to 30-40 flowers are located on one flower arrow. In such varieties, flowers bloom in each inflorescence not simultaneously, but gradually.

On clivia, the appearance of pests is possible - scale insects and mealybugs. The scutellum usually appears on the upper side of leaves along the veins, but with a large number it can spread over the entire leaf blade and to other parts of the plant. It has an oval body (3-4 mm in size), brown or greenish-yellow in color.

It is advisable to get rid of this pest mechanically, cleaning each individual with a needle or razor blade. Sometimes some amateurs advise wiping the leaves of the plant with a 70% aqueous solution of alcohol. But, if possible, it is better to treat the clivia leaves with actellic solution (2ml / 10l of water) in a non-residential area, repeating this procedure if necessary after 7-8 days, but no more than three times per season.

The presence of mealybugs can be identified by the presence of their abundant and ubiquitous waxy secretions, resembling small lumps of cotton wool, scattered throughout the plant. Individuals of this pest are washed off with an aqueous soap solution of liquid potassium soap (20 g / 10 l).

The treatment of foliage infested with worms with an aqueous solution of actellik also gives high efficiency. The appearance of brown spots on the leaves is possible, which can be caused by a pathogenic fungus - the causative agent of anthracnose. Severely affected leaves are carefully removed by cutting with a razor blade, after which the plant is recommended to be treated with a 0.1-0.2% solution of copper oxychloride.