-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, I'm new to the forum. It caught my eye because I just recently bought some clivias online at ebay. I tried google for growing instructions, which gave me some good advice, but it's always nice to write to other growers, and get their advice too. I do have a couple of questions, if you don't mind. My clivias came bare root so I had to plant them. I used the type of soil I thought that they would like, but shortly after I planted them I noticed fungus gnats flying around them, so I put the yellow sticky tapes by them and reduced watering. My question is this. I've only had them for about 1 month. Do you think it's a good idea to repot them, using perlite for better drainage? I used packing peanuts in the bottom, and just a regular premium organic mix for soil. Any suggestions? Also, should I be fertilizing them now? I'm kind of afraid to water them too much because of the gnats. I haven't seen them for a while, but I just don't want that problem again. Thanks for everything, and I hope to hear from someone soon. Sue
You could go either way, and leave or repot. Just depends on you I guess. I like to mix perlite in my potting mix for aeration, and I think Clivia's like it too. However I bought another Clivia last year that was planted in what looks like very spare soil (no amendments like perlite, vermiculite etc.) and that bugger has sent out the biggest bloom and is growing another pup as we speak. As far as fertilizer, this is definitely the time of year to fertilize. I go 1/4 strength, and only after I have given plants a drink with plain water first and then waited for a bit. It's not a good idea to fertilize a dry plant. If you water thoroughly and then allow to dry, Clivias like that. Not too dry through the summer though. I too had a problem with fungus gnats last year. References would have you believe that it is from keeping the soil too wet, and I agree to a point. I also think it can come from soil that has been purchased infested with adult and eggs etc. I am not an over-waterer, and I had a heck of a problem. As memory serves, I purchased some sort of nematodes, or biological control, that I sprinkled on the soil. The problem didn't go away overnight, but it did go away. Oh ya, my clivia's also like a summer holiday outside during the summer, in dappled sun/shade with the emphasis on the shade. They scorch quickly. Well I hope this helps.
Hi Chester, Thank you for your thoughts on the Clivia's. I had read somewhere that Clivia's take a long time to recover from transplanting, so that's why I hesitated to take it out of the pot again so soon, although maybe it hasn't had a real chance to settle in just yet. That's interesting what you said about the fungus gnats. I really didn't think that I was over-watering either. You may be right about the soil having eggs in it already. Do you know where I can get some nematodes? Do they sell them in the garden centers? I haven't really ever seen any, but I haven't really looked for them either. As far as fertilizers go-do you use a bloom booster type, or just a plain all around fertilizer? Once again, thanks for responding. I really enjoy learning all I can about something I'm taking care of. You take care. Have a great day. Sue
I don't have any experience with clivias but if you decide to repot, you may want to consider removing the packing peanuts as they may actually hinder drainage. Have a look at this PDF document. As for the fungus gnats I think they are a fact of life when it comes to indoor plants. They shouldn't be a problem unless their numbers are great. I would aim for control rather than total eradication. In my case they actually serve as food for my sundews. If you decide to give nematodes a try, they're usually available at garden centers along with other predators.
Hi Junglekeeper, Thank you very much for your response. I read the article you posted. It was very interesting. I'll keep that in mind. As far as the fungus gnats go, I believe you're right. They seem to like the plants I have that are bulbs the best. Thank you again, Sue
I have heard that Clivia's get pouty after a repot too, but I'm thinking that if you are careful, and try not to damage those large, brittle roots, repotting so soon wouldn't cause any more of a setback. One thing I do know for certain, don't repot into a really large pot. One size larger is the rule of thumb. I recently responded to a question where someone wanted to root-prune their clivia, and put it into a smaller, and more shallow pot. That, I think, would be a case where a clivia would cop a serious attitude for a long time afterward. I suggested it would be better to split it in two than to monkey with the roots that much. I currently use a liquid soluble organic fertilizer with a pretty low fertilizer profile (4-2-3), and when I first see the beginnings of a bloom, I add a water soluble organic bloom booster to the mix (profile 0-12-0). That seems to be working very nicely. Now that the bloom is just about done, I'm back to the 4-2-3, but I don't fertilize into August. I let the plant slow down the growth, and set up for the winter dormancy. As far as fungus gnats, I did buy the nematodes at a Nursery/Garden Centre. I had a heck of a time with them for about 6 months, but now I haven't seen a one for about 2 years. I have about 25 houseplants right now, so I don't think that having them around is a done deal. Just my humble opinion anyway. Say, what color are your clivia's going to be?
Hi Chester, Sorry I was away from my computer for a couple of days for the 4th. The clivia's that I received came bare root, and the guy that sold them to me told me to use a 6" pot, so that's what I did. I have about a dozen clivia's. Some I started from seed,(but that seemed pretty hard-I didn't end up with many that way), and some I got from people on ebay. I have mostly oranges and reds, but I do have a couple of different yellows, and a couple of ginny x Victorian peaches, and a couple of Major Clivia Gardeni's. I just started collecting them this last fall. I didn't really hear much about them before that, but I like to collect "different" things. Most of the ones I do have aren't old enough to bloom yet. So I've never gotten one to bloom myself. I'm hoping to soon. I heard that they need a resting period in order to bloom so I generally put the older ones down in my basement for the winter. It stays about 55-60 degrees down there in the coldest part of the winter. I'm not sure if I should put the ones down there this winter that have only been growing for about 3 months. That might be too hard on them. I really appreciate all the good advice you've given me. It really helps. Thanks, Sue
Well that is exciting. In Canada, you can only find the orange, sometimes red, and if you are really lucky, I once saw a yellow for sale ($100.00). There doesn't seem to be a demand/market for specialty colors/varieties of houseplants up here as there is in your fair country. But just when I started to feel really sorry for myself about the lack of Clivia colors to chose from, my newest clivia (owned for a year) bloomed. Now it was just the typical bright orange with yellow throat, but the size of the bloom was unbelievable. There were 23 individual flowers, and the whole thing was about 8 - 9 inches across. And, it sent the spike up nice and high instead of hanging low in the leaves. I don't have a basement, and so cannot give a proper cool dormancy, although my little house gets nippy in the winter. Well, anytime you want to talk Clivias, I'm your girl. I just love them. Let me know when something exciting happens with your youngsters. Kelly (aka Chester)
Sad but true. What's available in the stores seems so pedestrian and boring. At least with the advent of the web, enthusiasts in Canada have venues such as these forums to help them locate sources for plants.
Hi Kelly and Junglekeeper, Wow, I didn't realize that you both were from Canada. I'm sorry to hear that you can't get too many clivia's there. I was at my local Bachman's garden center last winter, and they actually sold some yellow, and some orange and yellow flowering clivia's for only $30.00. I thought THAT was expensive. I didn't realize that they sold them in Canada for $200.00. I wish there was some way I could help you get some. Did you ever try ebay? Some of the sellers there send to Canada. Maybe you could get some seeds, or something. I don't have a clue how long it would take a plant to reach Canada from here. I'm not sure if a plant could last that long. They do usually send them bare root though, so maybe it can be done. I'm happy for you that your clivia is so beautiful. I can't wait to see mine bloom. (if I ever get them to live that long.) I have another problem with my clivia's that I was telling you about that I wondered if I should transplant them. I took one out of the pot yesterday, and the middle root seemed kind of mushy. The othe ones were fine. Do you think that I should let them air-dry for a bit and repot them in different soil? What about that rooting hormone. Do you think it would be a good idea to do that? I'd hate to kill these new ones. They're the light of Budha clivia's. Even though it would be more expensive I wish they would send them in the soil that they grow them in. I can't seem to get that right. I asked the woman at the garden center which soil to use, and she said she had hers growing in this regular premium soil and they were doing fine. I don't know why mine are having a problem. Well, thanks for eveything. It's great to be able to talk to other people that love clivia's. Hope to hear from you soon, Sue
Hey Sue: Yup, I'm a canuck. Thanks for the offer of help with plants. It's a slow and expensive process to get plants into the country. Ebay is iffy. Your plants may not reach you, payment or not. We can order from the States, but if very expensive and can be held up at the border (ours). Usually I reserve that for just what I absolutely must have, and then am prepared to take out a loan... Oh well, like I said, I was well rewarded this year with my orange one. I can google pictures, which is nice too. As far as the roots, I would cut off the mushy one into healthy tissue. Repot and then do not water for a week or so. That will let the cut tissue heal over and help with preventing root rot. I wouldn't use rooting hormone on a plant with a root system, could burn the other ones. Better to baby along the plant so that it will be encouraged to grow more roots. If the plant is wilting from a too-small root system, you could make a mini-greenhouse for the plant which will slow down water loss. You will know this by shrivelled leaves. As far as soil. I usually make up my own mix. I find a really nice dark and loam soil. I add some washed sand, some vermiculite and perlite, and voila. Seems to work with just about everything I have. I add some peat and make it even lighter and airier for my begonias and ferns. Plants grow well, and I usually have to repot every year except for the odd plant. One thing though, do not be tempted to go out into the garden and collect that. That's a whole other bag of worms, literally. Well, nice talking again. Gotta go make supper for the kiddies and husband. Have a great weekend, Chester
Hi Kelly, Wow, I didn't realize it was so hard to get plants in Canada. That's too bad. Like you said though, you can see the flowers any time you want because of the internet. I like looking at the beautiful flowers there also. I would just be happy if I could get one of my clivia's to bloom. Hopefully next year. How many kids do you have? What are their ages? I'm a wife, and mother of two, (girl-26, boy-22 on Monday), and my daughter has a little girl, who is 6, and my son is soon going to be a dad in November. I have a blast with my grand-daughter. She loves flowers, and I just recently introduced her to weeding my garden. She loves to do it. My daughter hasn't gotten into flowers yet, but I wasn't either at her age. Once again, thank you for all your advice. It's just really nice to get other people's ideas about things. You have a great week-end also. Sue
Hey Sue: I'm a wife and mother too. My boys are 8 and 3, which makes me seem young, but I'm not. I just had my kids late. How exciting to be a Grandma! And another one on the way. Lovely. There is no pressure for my boys as long as they provide me with about 5 granddaughters...no pressure though. Well, come to think of it, 5 grandsons would be pretty sweet too...ah hell, may a few of each. That's a ways off I guess. Say, I was in your neck of the woods about 15 years ago. I used to live and go to school in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and one of my friends drove us to Minneapolis. The two cities are connected, or very close, are they not? That was my first trip into the U.S. and I was very excited. We did some dandy shopping and went to a wonderful art gallery. I can't remember the name of it though. Kind of a blur, as we were there about 24 hours before we had to head back to school. It was also February, so we didn't do too much site-seeing. Say, regarding clivias. Have you heard about the Chinese doing breeding work with them? I hear they have bred them to be quite small, like 6 to 8 inch long leaves. I've also read that some specialty colors and sizes can go for several thousand a plant. I can't remember what site I read that on though. Do you collect other kinds of houseplants as well? I do. I've been through orchids, ferns, begonias, and am just finishing up my fascination with cacti and succulents. The house is really small though, so I have to be careful what I acquire. I've sent most of my houseplants outside for the summer, and you know, the house looks better without so many plants all over the place. I think I'm going to have cut some from the team this fall. I'll think about that later though. I don't want to promise my husband that I'll get rid of a bunch, and then not have the heart to really thin things out whole hog. Well, UBC Garden Forum must think I'm nuts. It is kind of nice to write to someone though. It seems to be all work and no play lately. Well, speaking of work, my turn to do the dishes. Goodbye for now, Kelly
Hi Kelly, Nice to hear from you. Yes, you're right. St. Paul, and Minneapolis are very close. In fact I live one mile from what they consider the Midway area, which is Midway between Downtown St. Paul, and Downtown Minneapolis. In fact I go right through Mpls. to take my husband to work because he works in a suburb of Mpls. It's about 10 minutes from my house to downtown Mpls. The only thing between us is the river. It is a beautiful area. I love Minnesota. A lot of people from the southern states think we're crazy, and that we freeze to death in the winter, and all that, but I love spring and fall. They're beautiful. As far as the snow-it's not my favorite, but it's all part of it, so you have to take the bad with the good. We have a lot of wonderful places to visit here. You probably went to the Mpls. Art Institute. I've been there. In high school I was an art major. I haven't done a lot of it since then, but that was BC. (before children) Anyway in answer to your question-yes I have a lot of house plants -mostly orchids, and hibiscus, and a couple of angel trumpets, and some cacti, and some succulents. Last time I counted, I had over 75 plants. God only knows how many I have now. My sister and I have been getting some of the same plants and going to garden centers when she's in town, and we've been saying that we need to go to plants anonymous. Before we were working on inside plants-now we're working on outside plants. I put most of mine out for the summer too, but I have to put a lot of them inside cages, or the animals get them, and dig them up. No, I didn't know that the Chinese have been doing breeding work on Clivia's. I don't doubt it though. I heard some of them get quite big. It would be nice to have them smaller because then you could get more. (ha ha) I was just wondering something. Do you think the people at the forum here will get angry because we're kind of writing back and forth to each other? I wonder if we should contact each other another way. I don't want them to be upset. It's really nice to be able to write to some one with similar interests. As far as being a grandma goes. It's ten million times better than being a mom. At least in my opinion. Even though you can't let them get by with murder or anything, you're not the main person in charge, so they get angry at their parents rules, they don't get angry with you. Besides, I helped take care of Schemsi while my daughter worked, and went to school, so she's practically my daughter anyway. We have a real close bond. But on the other hand, my sister has 5 grandkids, and they're all boys, and she wouldn't trade them for all the money in the world. So they're all wonderful in their own ways. Well, I have to go. I have to get lunch here. Hope to talk to you soon. Sue
I've no problem with the two of you having a conversation on here, although you might want to check out the private messaging system that you can both access. To send a message, click on the person's user name, then "Send a private message to..."
