Clivia propagation: methods, technology, seeds, shoots, dividing the bush, choice of soil, growing conditions, possible problems and their solutions

During flowering, clivia surprises others with a high arrow with many flowers on it. Naturally, every gardener will want to have as many of these plants as possible. A flowerpot with an exotic plant can be presented as a gift to loved ones.

You can propagate any type of clivia in the following ways:

using seeds;
root shoots (children);
dividing the bush.

First, you need to decide on the container in which the tropical miracle will grow and its contents.

Propagation of clivia by side shoots

This method of propagating a blooming beauty is the most reliable and simplest. In a pot with an adult plant, over time you can find small sprouts on the sides. These are the “babies” that should be removed from the mother part of the flower when they already have four strong leaves.

The process of planting side shoots must be carried out by adhering to simple but mandatory rules:

each shoot should have 3-4 leaves;
the plant can be disturbed only after the end of its flowering period for the current year;
the “babies” should be separated carefully, taking care to preserve the integrity of the roots of the mother flower system and young shoots;
accidentally injured roots should be covered with a layer of wood ash in the areas of damage.

The shoots are planted in personal pots 7 cm in diameter. For an adult flower, a small pot is also used. The root system of clivia loves close quarters . With this condition of the roots, the leaves of the flower grow fleshier and richer green.

The first two days after planting, the plant is not watered and kept warm at 20-25 degrees. Then moderate watering is gradually resumed. Young plants will bloom for the first time in 2-3 years.

Propagation by seeds

The next method is more suitable for ideological people who are in love with floriculture. It is less efficient and more labor-intensive, but also more interesting. It becomes especially interesting if you already have several Clivias of different colors at home. In this case, you can try to get a hybrid of these two plants and feel like a real breeder.

Preparation

Of course, you can simply buy seeds in a store, but then they will require special preparation for planting . It involves soaking the seeds before planting in the ground.

But seeds obtained from the mother plant do not require soaking, and receiving them is much more interesting. During flowering, Clivia is cross-pollinated; it is possible to pollinate different flowers of the same plant, or pollinate two different Clivias. Readiness for pollination is determined by the flower itself.

When a small drop appears on the stigma of the pistil and the stamens begin to fall off, you can begin pollination. To do this, carefully move a damp cotton swab or toothpick along the stamen so that some of the pollen remains on the instrument, and why transfer it to the top of the pistil.

If pollination was successful, the flower will begin to fade, and a green ovary will form at its base . It is this that later forms the fruit. One plant can have several fruits at the same time, which will not interfere with each other’s development, but can spoil its appearance for some time. Over time, the Clivia berry will turn red and become soft, which will indicate its ripeness. But don’t rush to pick them before planting. It is recommended to plant seeds immediately from the fruit so that they do not have time to dry out.

Attention : Despite the attractive appearance of Clivia berries, they should never be eaten.

Sowing

The seeds are planted in a container with a nutrient medium, usually a mixture of sand, peat and turf. It is strictly observed that there is 2 cm between the seeds, and the planting depth is no more than 1-1.5 cm. If the seeds do dry out, then before planting in the ground they are kept for about a week in a warm place in a damp cloth or gauze. After 4-6 weeks, the first shoots will appear; in six months the plant can grow up to six leaves. With the appearance of the first leaves, the seedlings can be planted in separate containers. In the first year they are replanted twice, then once a year, increasing the diameter of the pot by 2-3 cm.

The first three years of Clivia do not allow a dormant period, allowing roots and leaves to grow . Young plants from seeds will bloom only after 4-5 years of life. Clivia is a poisonous plant; it is necessary that children and animals do not have access to the plant to avoid poisoning. After all manipulations carried out with the plant, you should thoroughly wash your hands and tools.

Seed propagation of plants

To propagate a plant by seeds, the easiest way is to purchase them in a specialized store. If you want to get seeds with your own labor, flowering clivia must be artificially cross-pollinated. To do this, use a thin watercolor brush to take pollen from one flower and carefully place it on the pistil of another flower. Thus, in a blooming clivia umbrella, which has about 60 flowers, half of them will be pollinated, and half will remain a source of pollination.

If the process is successful, then berries will form at the end of flowering. At first they will be light green, and as they ripen they will darken to a brownish hue. Each ripe berry contains 4-5 seeds. This method of propagating clivia gives a guarantee of 1/3 of all flowering specimens received.

Features of reproduction at home

By shoots

Shoots suitable for reproduction appear by the age of five years of the flower's life, after several annual flowerings, when the plant has already grown abundantly.
Not every baby shoot is suitable for transplantation. It is considered ready to be separated from the main plant when at least 4-5 leaves appear on the stem.
Children grow close to the stem of the main plant or nearby, emerging directly from the root system.
The shoot is separated during the period after flowering has completed. The ideal time for replanting is the first week after the end of flowering.
Watering the planted shoot is done with extreme caution so as not to create excess moisture, which will lead to root rotting.
Flowering occurs in the second year of the seedling's existence separately from the adult plant.

Seeds

This is the most troublesome option and is used much less frequently.
Read also: Mealybug: how to fight, remedies and preparations
To obtain seeds at home, it is necessary to use an artificial method of pollinating inflorescences.
The maturation process takes nine months.
A green berry emerges from the flower, which gradually turns red towards the end of ripening.
The time when the seeds are ready for collection is determined by the fact that the clivia berry becomes soft.
They germinate best in the first days after separation from the bush and extraction of the berries from the pulp.
The seeds can germinate provided that they are in sufficiently moistened berry pulp. In this regard, the berry is cut off right before the seeds are extracted.
You need to make preparations for sowing seeds immediately after collection, and after carrying out the necessary manipulations, immediately begin planting.
During ripening, seeds draw a lot of vitality from the plant. The process of creating seeds leads the flower to a state of exhaustion.
Therefore, it is better to purchase seeds.
The plant is best propagated by seeds - from October to April, but it is optimal to sow before early spring.
Flowering when propagated by seeds should be expected only after three to six years of clivia life.
Seeds can only be obtained from plants that are at least eight years old.
The development of a leaf from the seed, when the seedling becomes suitable for planting, lasts about one and a half months.
A quick germination option is to keep the seeds warm before sowing, wrapped in a damp cloth.

The sword-shaped leaves of the beautiful clivia are poisonous , so you should not neglect to wash your hands after handling the transplant, and it is best to protect your skin with rubber gloves or cotton gloves coated with rubber. The plant should not be ingested, so be careful if there are small children or animals in the house.

Important! Clivia poisons cause vomiting and diarrhea.

Clivia: planting and care (video)

Planting seeds in the soil has preliminary measures and subsequent rules:

soak the seeds for a day in warm water, leaving them in a warm place to swell;
plant the seeds in a box with a properly prepared soil mixture, to a depth of 1 cm, at a distance of 2 cm from each other;
covered with film or glass, creating a greenhouse. provide moderate watering and a temperature of 20-25 degrees;
If necessary, the seed box is ventilated by removing the greenhouse cover and watered a little.

After 1.5 months, the first shoots will appear. When one strong leaf is formed on each sprout, they are planted in separate pots with soil from the mixture:

deciduous soil (2);
clay soil (1);
humus (1).

Now young flowers are cared for like adults, but they are left with a little more warmth. Clivia from seed develops very slowly:

The first year - 2-3 new leaves appear.
Second year – 3-4 pairs of leaves will be added.
The third year and beyond - 2 pairs of new leaves per year.

Clivia will bloom for the first time only after 5-6 years.

Brief description of cultivation

Temperature regime . In summer - around 25 degrees, and in winter - from 12 to 15 degrees. After the first bud is formed, the bush is moved to a warmer place.
Air humidity . About 40 percent. Too low air humidity does not harm the flower. Systematic moistening from a spray bottle is recommended.
Illumination . The light should be bright, but diffused. Western and eastern window sills are best suited.
Watering . After the buds are clearly visible, the plant is provided with abundant watering. In the summer months, the bush is watered once a week, and in the winter - once every 1.5 weeks.
Substrate . A ready-made universal soil mixture for indoor plants is used. Mix humus, turf soil and peat in a 1:2:1 ratio. A high-quality drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the container.
Fertilizer . Feeding is carried out from the first days of spring until the end of summer 2 times a month. To do this, use a universal liquid fertilizer for flowering plants. No fertilizing is carried out during the winter months.
Transplant . While the bush is young, it is replanted every year, and older specimens - as needed. After transplantation, the bush is sick for a long time. For large adult clivia, it is recommended that instead of replanting, regularly replace the top layer of the soil mixture with fresh one.
Reproduction . By shoots and seed method.
Features of care . When the bush fades, you must cut off the peduncle at the base. If seeds form on the bush, this may cause a lack of flowering and growth cessation in the next season. The plant does not react well to being moved to a new location. This can also cause the bush to refuse to bloom.

Houseplant Clivia - Kaffir lily | A favorite of flower growers. An unpretentious plant - a holiday.

Reproduction technology by dividing the bush

This method is applicable at the time of transplantation. In this case, the root system is divided into equal parts, and the cut areas are covered with a layer of charcoal. The plants are placed in pots filled with the correct soil mixture and not watered for the next three days. Then resume modest watering. The soil should dry out well between each watering.

Flowering of clivia, propagated by dividing the bush, will resume only after a few years.

The flowerpot matters

The clivia pot should not be too large. The flower has one peculiarity - it first fills the entire space with roots, and only then begins the flowering process. In a container that is too large, all the energy will be spent on the formation of the root system, and there will be no left for leaves and flowers.

It is advisable to choose a cone-shaped flowerpot. This will make it easier to remove the root system during transplantation without damaging it. The material for the container is plastic. Drainage holes can be easily made in such a pot.

Recommended soil mixtures and growing conditions

The soil in the clivia pot should be loose and slightly acidic. The best mixtures would be:

turf soil (2) + humus (1) + peat (1);
turf soil (1) + peat (0.5) + sand (1);
turf soil (1) + leaf soil (1) + humus (1).

Clivia loves light and warmth, but leaving her in the hot sun is destructive. It is better to place a flower pot on the windowsill of an east or west window. On the south side of the house, clivia must be protected from direct sunlight at midday. In summer, it is useful to take the flower out into the garden or onto the balcony, leaving it there in the fresh air in partial shade.

Which pot is best for the plant?

The dishes should be taken in the shape of a cylinder. From the point of view of convenience, when handling, narrowed shapes are often preferred, from which it is easier to remove the plant. However, for the health and strength of the seedling itself, this particular shape is required, since the root system must develop downwards and rest against the walls of the pot on the sides. That is, it is necessary to allocate sufficient space for the development of roots.
Clay pots are usually preferred, but in the case of clivia, which has a fragile root system that is vulnerable to rotting, it is better to take a plastic container or earthenware varnished on the inside. It is easier to remove the plant from such a pot.
By the way, in the case when a plastic pot is used, it can simply be carefully cut when transshipment, thus protecting the roots as much as possible from damage and reducing the risks of rotting roots and drying of leaves after transshipment.
The pot should have drainage holes to drain excess water.

Propagation of clivia by seeds (video)

Watering clivia should be moderate so that the soil has time to dry out well. If water collects in the pan during watering, it must be drained to avoid root rotting. You should not spray the flower. But when the leaves become covered with dust, they are carefully washed with a soft, damp sponge.

Clivia is fed every two weeks from the moment it is in the pot. For this purpose, use organic and mineral fertilizers for indoor leafy plants, strictly observing the dosages indicated on the packaging.

The resting period of Clivia lasts from September to November. During this period of time, the flower is placed in a cool place and watering is completely stopped. In this case, the leaves may turn yellow and fall off, which is a natural process of overwintering the plant.

Types and varieties

The most popular is the orange Clivia miniata or, as it is also called, Clivia cinnabar. The height of the flower is 50-60 cm, the inflorescences are bright orange in color, often with a yellow center. This species has become the main one in the selection of new varieties and hybrid forms.

The well-known hybrid of this species is Clivia miniata var. citrina has creamy yellow flowers, often tinged with orange at the base.

Clivia miniata var. citrina

Numerous varieties differ in the color of their inflorescences.

Variety "Chubb's Peach" - peach flowers,
"Chubb Peach Green Bird" - white and light green,
"Cindy" - pale pink,
white and pink “Cinderella”,
bright orange “Clorine Meese”,
variety "Clementine" - lemon with light green and orange color at the top of the petals,
white clivia Aurea,
the Variegata group and its cultivar "Striata" with variegated leaves and many others.

Clivia nobilis from the Cape of Good Hope. Apart from flowering, it is practically no different from Clivia cinnabar.

Its leaves are slightly narrower, and the flowers, in the form of unopened buds, are drooping, crimson-red. There is also a rare pale yellow form of the species.

Most hybrids are created as a result of interspecific crossing, for example, Clivia cyrtanthiflora or the magnificent interspecific hybrids of Chanel, Parfait and many others.

Possible problems in development and ways to solve them

If you take proper care of your clivia, it will feel great. But it happens that clivia leaves dry out, turn yellow or become stained, trying to signal errors in its maintenance:

The leaves dry out and wrinkle, indicating overdried soil. We must not forget about watering the flower.
Rot spots on the leaves, their yellowing and falling off during the active state of the plant, indicate excess moisture in the roots. To save the flower, it urgently needs to be transplanted into a new substrate and henceforth do not exceed the permissible watering and allow the soil to dry well.
Dry spots on the leaves are sunburn on clivia. The flower must be removed from direct summer sunlight, which burns it.

Possible problems

If clivia is not provided with suitable conditions for growth or is not properly cared for, this can lead to the following problems:

Rot on the roots . Stagnation of moisture in the substrate. Replant the bush by cutting out all affected parts of the roots. Adjust the watering mode.
Flowers are flying around . The bush is often moved from one place to another.
Lack of flowering . Poor lighting or keeping the bush warm in winter.
Light-colored spots appeared on the foliage . This is a sunburn. Cut off all injured leaf plates, do not forget to shade the flower from direct rays of the sun.
Brown spots have formed on the foliage . During watering, droplets of water fall on the leaves, while the plant stands in the sun. Watering is carried out very carefully and is done in the evening or early morning.
The peduncle has grown very short . During its formation, the bush felt a lack of moisture or the room was too cold. Water it promptly and move it to a warm place.
Yellowing and drying of foliage in autumn . This is a completely natural process.
Twisting sheet plates . The plant is watered too sparingly or rarely.
Stopping the growth of the bush. The room temperature is too low or too high.
Faded foliage . The plant needs urgent feeding.
The tips of the leaf blades become brown . Too much or frequent watering. Let the substrate dry well without moistening it for several days, or replant the bush into fresh soil mixture.
Peduncles are not formed . The plant experiences an acute lack of nutrients.
Rot appeared at the base of the stem and lower leaf blades . During transplantation, the root collar was buried + regular stagnation of moisture in the substrate. Replant the bush without deepening the root collar, cut out the rotten parts of the bush, and adjust the watering regime.
Scanty flowering . The plant needs urgent feeding.
Pests . Homemade clivia is most often inhabited by mealybugs, false scale insects, scale insects and aphids. To destroy them, special insecticidal agents are used.

Benefits and harms

Clivia is a very cheerful plant. Its bright flowers and luscious leaves create a wonderful mood and a sense of harmony, and it is also believed that the presence of clivia in the house normalizes the circulatory system.

The roots and leaves of Clivia cinnabar are actively used in pharmacology , and indigenous people of Africa use clivia for fever and as a pain reliever for poisonous snake bites.

IMPORTANT! It should be remembered that parts of the plant are very toxic! Replant the plant only with gloves on! Do not try to experiment with clivia treatment, it is very dangerous!

However, if you follow the simplest precautions and with proper care, clivia will delight you with beautiful flowers and fresh, bright leaves for a long time.

Pests and diseases

Of the insect pests, clivia is affected by mealybugs, aphids or scale insects. Scale insects leave brown plaques on the leaves and stems - the calling cards of a pest that sucks cell sap from the plant, causing the leaves to turn pale and dry. Mealybugs deform the leaves, shoots and flowers of the plant. To combat all these pests, wipe the leaves with a soapy sponge, and then spray the plant with a fifteen percent Actellik solution (a couple of milliliters per liter of water).

From too frequent and too abundant watering, clivia can be affected by gray rot - a fungal disease that manifests itself as brown spots on the leaves of the plant. If the infection is superficial, spray the clivia with Bordeaux mixture, Topaz or Champion. If treatment with fungicides does not produce the desired effect, use copper-containing preparations of combined or contact action - cuprosate, vitriol.

Why doesn't clivia bloom?

Very often site visitors ask the question of how to make clivia bloom. But in order to find incentives, it is necessary to find out the reasons why clivia does not bloom. There may be several reasons: firstly, a warm winter, or rather, a period of rest spent in a warm room; secondly, non-compliance with the rules of the dormant period - abundant watering or unnecessary feeding at this time; thirdly, the cause may be an excess of nitrogen fertilizers, which promote the growth of greenery, but prevent clivia from flowering. Re-read the rules for growing a plant and determine where you went wrong.

Clivia leaves are turning yellow

If the lower leaves of a plant turn yellow and die and this happens during the dormant period, everything is in order, you are witnessing the natural course of things. But if the problem is not related to the rest period of the clivia, then your concern is justified. So, why does clivia turn yellow?

Sometimes this is a plant’s reaction to replanting, so you need to add a few drops of Kornevin or another root growth stimulant to the water for irrigation for one and a half to two months. But most often the problem is improperly moistening the clivia: you either do not water it enough, or, on the contrary, pour too much water, or do it too often. If watering is insufficient, this is easy to fix, but if you overdid it with moisture, you will have to change the substrate to save the flower, after cutting off the rotten roots and disinfecting all the cuts.

Sometimes clivia leaves turn yellow due to lack of nutrition. In a word, the problem is in violating the rules of caring for the plant - it’s in them, in the rules, that you look for the cause of the disease, and having discovered the cause, it’s not difficult to find its solution.

Clivia leaves are drying up

The tips of the leaves turn brown and dry, usually due to waterlogging of the soil. It is worth remembering that the rhizome of a plant is a repository of moisture reserves and other substances useful to the plant, so do not try to water the plant once for its entire life - in this matter, as in any other, you need to observe moderation.

General information

In February, indoor clivia grows flower stalks up to half a meter in length. On each of them an inflorescence is formed, consisting of about two dozen funnel-shaped buds with a diameter of about 8 cm. The plant blooms slowly, but blooms for a fairly long period. It may have several peduncles. The inflorescences can be yellow, orange, red, apricot or white. The center of the flower is usually yellow. Blooming clivia exudes a light, pleasant aroma. Ripe fruits are bright orange. The roots of clivia are yellow and light brown.

The flower is quite unpretentious to humidity and light in the room. With proper care, a houseplant will bloom a couple of times a year and can live up to 40 years.

Soil mixture for clivia

I prepare the bulk of the soil mixture from turf soil, pieces of clay, loose compost, top peat and sand. I add some old sawdust with dry horse manure to the soil with which I fill the lower part of the pot. Excess organic matter leads to the fact that the plant will fatten to the detriment of flowering.

An amateur gardener I know, who has been growing beautiful clivias for many years, advises not to make the soil mixture too light. He believes that the basis should be loam. Often, for clivias, they take ordinary garden soil, which is pre-steamed or spilled with potassium permanganate.

I do not moisten the soil before transplanting, because... dry soil makes it easier to fill all the voids between the roots. It is more difficult to distribute wet soil.

Description of the houseplant Clivia

Clivia blooms every year if it is properly watered and not left in a warm room for the winter.
It needs a lot of space, and in winter it needs to be given a rest period in a cool room with very limited watering. Clivia does not like to be disturbed - they touch her too much and move her from place to place. Clivia is a very long-lived plant; under appropriate conditions, it can live up to 40 years. Old plants growing in tubs are not replanted, but only fertilized with fertilizers. The best specimens from old plants form up to 40-50 peduncles. The leaves of the plant, the decorative effect of which can decorate your interior even without flowering, are collected in a rosette and arranged in a kind of fan. The bright, cheerful orange inflorescences of clivia, set off by shiny dark green foliage, are extremely beautiful. Clivia flowers bloom in winter. Currently, various varieties of clivia have been bred: from light ocher to dark red flowers with a whole range of warm orange and yellow tones.

Clivia is a genus of perennial evergreen herbaceous plants of the amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). Botanist John Lindley named the genus in honor of the Duchess of Northumberland Charlotte Clive, governess of the future Queen Victoria of Great Britain. The genus Clivia includes approximately five species of plants in the amaryllis family.

Evergreen perennial herbaceous plants, stemless, multi-flowered. The leaves are vaginal, tightly covering each other, forming a false stem, linear or xiphoid. Under the ground, clivia develops a rhizome, to which thickened leaf bases and the leaves themselves are attached. Clivia is sort of in the middle between bulbous and rhizomatous plants. The flowers are bell-shaped, red or orange, collected in an umbrella.

One of the most common is Clivia miniata (lat. miniatus - painted with cinnabar, covered with red paint from lat. minium - cinnabar or red lead) - a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Clivia of the Amaryllis family. In greenhouse and indoor culture it is used as a flower- and foliage-decorative potted plant. The plant's homeland is South Africa.

In the literature it is found under Russian names: orange clivia (matte red, meerkotsvetnaya, red lead), or kaffir (Cape).

General description with photo

Clivia is classified as a member of the Amaryllis family. It is a flowering perennial with bright bell-shaped flowers and dark green, strap-shaped leaves of even width, growing almost in the same plane at an angle of 180⁰. The growth of leaf mass occurs very slowly; in a year the plant can add only 5 new leaves. However, each of them lives for a very long time, which is why the plant very slowly changes its appearance, maintaining its decorative appearance all year round.

The kaffir lily blooms for about a month, during which one bud replaces another, which creates the effect of long-term flowering. At home, clivia remains compact in size, despite the fact that wild specimens can reach truly gigantic sizes.

This is interesting. It is believed that the Kaffir lily protects people born under the constellation Sagittarius, promoting their more positive perception of life and protecting them from outside aggression.

Bloom

At the end of winter or at the beginning of spring, an arrow-peduncle appears. When it becomes at least 10-15 centimeters in length, the flower is transferred from a cool room to a warm one and they begin to water it with warm water and regularly apply fertilizer. From this moment on, the clivia can no longer be turned or moved! - otherwise you risk losing your flowers. Flowers open sequentially over 3-4 weeks.

After flowering, watering is reduced and fertilizing is stopped - clivia needs rest. But sometimes, if the plant is mature and strong, a shoot may appear... and then by autumn a second flowering period will begin.

It happens that clivia stops blooming. There can be many reasons: too warm wintering, excessive watering or unnecessary fertilizing during the dormant period, excess nitrogen fertilizers, which promotes the growth of greenery to the detriment of flowers, or... a pot that is too large in which the plant fattens.

Flower varieties

At the moment there are 23 varieties of this flower. Main types and their distinctive features:

Clivia miniata. The bush has a basal rosette with long, sharp, dark green leaves. The leaves have oblong stripes of white or yellow color. The length of the foliage reaches 60 cm. The height of the bush varies between 45-50 cm. During flowering, inflorescences with funnel-shaped buds of a red hue are formed. Clivia miniata is most often grown by gardeners;
Lemon clivia (Clivia miniata Citrina). The bush is very similar to the cinnabar variety. The main difference is the creamy yellow color of the leaves. The resulting berries also have a yellowish tint;
Clivia nobilis (Clivia nobilis). This is a perennial stemless plant with leaves collected in a rosette that look like a sword. Umbrella-shaped or racemose inflorescences of 14 pieces are formed from bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are orange with a pinkish tint. The height of orange clivia can be 30-50 cm.

For your information! The genus of the flower was named by the English botanist D. Lindley, who described the plant, in honor of the Duchess Charlotte Clivia.