How do you treat your Clivia plants in the winter months?
meyermike_1micha
12 years ago
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monet_g
12 years agologan33
12 years agoRelated Discussions
How has the winter treated you!!
Comments (17)My sympathies to all lost plants :/ On the bright side that leaves room for more? :) Being so close to the great lakes, and a river. Flooding has been an issue, but the huge mounds of broken ice was a sight to see. I'm tired of the ice everywhere. We've had it since the beginning of January and it's all finally melting....but leaving enormous puddles everywhere. Today was 50F....I took a very long walk. So far everything has survived outside, but with expected damage. Went outside to prune roses for the first time and I was so excited I forgot to put gloves on! My hands seem to be in rough shape for some reason....I have lots of new stuff I go crazy just thinking about if it will survive, and what they might look like. Might have been a bit too happy with pruning....but I've also pruned my ficus benjamina, serissa foetida, and Carissa macrocarpa to try my hand further at bonsai tree's. Trying to root all the cuttings to either give away or trade. Have not watered my schefflera arboricola since October...and hard pruned it (to eliminate bug problem) after watering it for the first time. If it dies....oh well. If I lives...gonna bag it and try banyan style bonsai! :) Am I rambling?....this winter has me stir crazy. Hope spring comes soon....See MoreWhen do you move your plants indoor for winter.
Comments (12)Although I don't plan it this way, this is pretty much how the timeline works out: First you have to have a few ratty old blankets & sheets. Then, when the nighttime temps get down to about 35°, you run outside with'em and carefully cover up the plants you're most worried about. This stage will often continue for 10 or more days. As the nighttime temps fall and the morning dew becomes ever heavier, you'll probably need to add to your stash of plant covers. I recommend nearly-worn-out rugs & towels. Ignore the dirty looks your neighbors give you on the days you don't have time to remove the covers before leaving for work. In my area Ma Nature usually begins to get serious about the whole Fall thing the 2nd week of October, sometimes with nighttime temps as low as 29°F. When this happens, a body has to shift into overdrive. First you must snatch any and all quilts, comforters, etc. off the beds, drag them outside, and heave them over the plants. Then back inside to the bathroom - grab every single towel you've got and artfully arrange them over the quilts & comforters. If you're still not sure, go for the throw rugs. Because all this stuff can get pretty heavy, you may have to haul a few chairs/stepstools/ladders outdoors to hold the weight off the plants. Remember, don't worry about the neighbors. Odds are that within a few days of you being left with no household linens the first real Hard Frost will occur. Here, Big Frost Day always starts off bright, warm, & sunny. You won't be at all worried about frost because earlier in the week the weatherguy told you not to be. On the way home from work you may notice that it's getting a wee bit cloudy - but you're still not worried as you once again go through the now-familiar nightly ritual of plant-covering. After supper you'll be watching the news on TV, all toasty in your jammies, and that damned liar of a weatherman will come on and cheerily inform you that there's a Hard Frost Warning for tonight. This news will play utter havoc with your happy thoughts and for a second - just a second! - you'll consider leaving your precious plants to fend for themselves. Then that little part of your mind that's somewhat unhinged will kick in and you'll leap to your feet and head to the rescue. After you've taken 5 or 6 steps you'll come to realise that it's raining and you're wearing slippers. Oh well, this won't take long! First you have to lift and drag the soaking-wet rugs, towels, sheets, old sweatshirts & boxer shorts, quilts, tablecloths, comforters, doilies, bedskirts, curtains, pillow shams, armrest covers, and every single afghan Grandma ever gave you off the plants without breaking anything. Obviously, this'd be a lot easier if it wasn't so dark. After all the coverings have been lumped in a giant, muddy heap, you can begin carrying the pots indoors. Well, I say 'carrying', but since the icy-cold rain is now pouring down, the pots will, by this time, be completely soaked. And really, really heavy. I'm pretty sure that cold water weighs more than warm. So drag/lug/roll the pots inside to their winter homes. For mine this is the carpeted front porch, which is horribly unfortunate, of course, since all the freakin' throw rugs will be outside in the soon-to-be-mouldering heap. Once you have all the plants inside that can fit, be sure to pick up the worms, chunks of mud, and gobbets of stuck-together leaves that fall off the bottoms. Before shutting the door to the porch you need to locate any cats or other small animals/children and remove them (they'll be digging in the pots). Luckily, you don't need to worry about cleaning anybody's paws since there're no dry towels. At this point you may want to remove your slippers and toss them outside. The first hard frost never happens on a Friday or Saturday night so you'll absolutely have to go to work the day after. Try not to worry about the neighbors... And that's how I decide when to bring in the plants....See MoreHow do you prepare your garden for winter?
Comments (15)I feel just like you Cybersunday, the interior of my house has been neglected and really needs a good cleaning. Spiders have been active this summer and I can't count the cobwebs I've swept up on walls and ceilings. For me, cleaning the garden in fall depends on the weather and the amount of time I have. I prefer to clean it up now because otherwise it's a massive job in spring and since I plant spring blooming bulbs, I find that it is more attractive when the garden is cleaned. For whatever reason, the leaves on the trees haven't fallen much yet and this will be another mammoth task as we have many trees on our property. I am like Glen and Bonnie as I have loads of potted tropicals and tender perennials throughout the garden. I started to bring the orchids and begonias inside for the winter and we've been kind of lucky because we haven't had frost yet so I have a few more days to cut back all those plants. Unfortunately, I can't save them all so I take cuttings of many tenders too. Although I too use to protect my plants, I haven't in the last 8 years. It is just alot of additional work and sometimes the end result wasn't worth the trouble. My philosophy is that if I have to protect plants with burlap or leaves, then they aren't intended for this climate. There are so many beautiful hardy plants that I can grow that I no longer bother with those that I know won't survive the winter....See MoreWhat do I do with the clivias over the winter
Comments (5)Hi, The seedlings are best grown under ideal conditions for as long as possible. They can tolerate more "natural" conditions including drought, chill, etc., but ideal conditions accelerate growth. As for mature clivias (12+ leavevs produced), holding off on watering and nitrogen during autumn and winter is what many of us tend to do. The nitrogen encourages leaf growth over flowering. We tend to use 0-10-10 (bloom rite)with our last watering(s)in Oct./Nov. The bud then forms with the "chill" and starts developing. About Feb. or so, add nitrogen back in with your usual fertilizer. Of course, colder areas of the country need to add another month or so to this. Hopefully this helps. Craig Sacramento, CA...See Moremeyermike_1micha
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