For A Sure Thing Try Clivia

It would be hard to find a houseplant more ideal than the Clivia (pronounced kly-via). This plant will tolerate partly sunny to shady conditions and low humidity. It doesn’t care if you forget to water it occasionally, and it actually likes being pot-bound. In additioin, like clockwork, it sends up flower stalks in late winter with beautiful, fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers that vary from pale orange to deep red-tangerine. Each flower has a yellow throat and flower stalks can carry up to 15 blooms.

 

In the same family as amaryllis, clivias are handsome at any time. Their glossy, dark green, strap-shaped leaves fan out from a leek-like base consisting of thickly layered leaf bases. The roots are thick and fleshy, and as they fill the pot begin to appear on the surface of your potting mix.

 

The clivia is a South African plant named in honor of Lady Florentina Clive, the granddaughter of Baron Robert Clive who founded the British Empire in India . The genus consists of three species; the one most commonly available is C. miniata or Kafir lily. The only trick to growing clivia is in learning how to coax forth the stupendous flowers.

 

Clivias like bright light with early-morning or late-afternoon sun. They grow most actively from very spring through fall. During these months a night temperature above 50 and a day time temperature of 70 degrees or warmer is best. Feed them every month and water them regularly, allowing the soil to dry out slightly between deep waterings.

 

During late fall (November and December) give them a short rest by withholding fertilizer and watering them only enough to keep the leaves from wilting. During their rest period try to keep them in a location where the night temperature is in the forties.

 

If you can’t provide cool nights, the flowers may bloom prematurely on a stalk that doesn’t rise completely above the foliage. Warm temperatures will also shorten the life of the flowers.

 

Clivias are fairly expensive. The best way to get one is to buy a young plant even though most clivias need 2 or 3 crowns before they start blooming. In general, it takes a young division (comprised of at least 3 leaves 8-10 inches long) several years to grow to bloom size. Even though a young plant doesn’t bloom it is still important to provide a yearly rest period.

 

Clivias don’t like to have their roots disturbed, so re-pot them only every 3 years or so. My pot-bound clivia hasn’t been moved in 5 years and this year I will have 2 flushes of bloom, the first of December and the second in a couple of weeks when the new flowers pen. Clivias really do bloom most profusely when they’re at least slightly pot-bound.

 

When necessary, re-pot clivias in the spring after the flowers have faded and the new vegetative growth cycle had begun. Use a well-drained soil-less mix and heavy clay azalea pot (Clivias tend to be top-heavy).

 

If you plant to propagate by division, wait until the division is a year or two old: the larger the division, the higher the success rate. To divide a clivia you can either try to tease the thick, wormlike roots apart (a task requiring the patience of Job) or use a sharp knife (carefully) at the point where the offset meets the parent plant.

 

Division is the preferred method of propagation since it takes seed a full year to mature on the stalk, and several more years beyond that before a young plant blooms. Because maturing seed saps a lot of energy, it’s a good idea to cut off flower stalks after the petals drop.

 

The size of the clivia you grow will be limited only by the size of the pot or tub you plant in. Mature plants can easily reach 3 feet in diameter. So take a look at clivia this spring at the flower and garden shows ( Boston always has several), and then try one. I guarentee you won’t be sorry.

 

By Margaret Hagen, Extension Educator University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, Hillsborough County

 

Call the UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Education Center 's Info-Line toll-free at 1-877-3984769 for "Practical Solutions to Everyday Questions." Trained volunteers are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday from 9 am to 2 pm .