Just wanted to add that I just pulled them out of the pots. The smaller is almost all root---the bigger is as I feared, a lot of the outer roots are rotting. How do I repot? Wash off all the old dirt and use new? The medium in the larger pot is too dense I'm afraid.

Hello! Is anyone on the Clivia forum?

Sorry no one is answering your question. I noticed right away in your biggest pot that it didn't look like there was any perilite in your soil. And possibly not a drainage hole. If it were mine, I would remove it from pot, cut off rotting roots, dust with sulfur ( can be bought at garden supply store), repot in like cactus soil, perilite, and 1/3 bark. Then don't water for a couple weeks to discourage any further rot. Then if your using the same pot (make sure it has drainage) put something under pot so water can drain more freely instead of being flush with the ground.

I had one given to me in the same situation. I couldn't get the roots to stop rotting until I used sulfur. I hope this helps. I'm not the most experienced, but I've been reading alot on growing Clivias. I think yours are very pretty and well worth the effort put into saving them.

To get your smaller one to have a longer bloom stem, plants need at least a 6 week coldness and withhold water at that time. So from like end of October till February, try to place them in like 55 degree temps. This will encourage flowering and make long blooms.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!!

This post was edited by teisa on Thu, May 23, 13 at 1:09

Teisa, thanks for replying. I don't know why anyone is answering either. Usually including pictures entices people to post--guess the Clivia forum isn't busy enough.

Anyway, I did take them out of the pots and pulled off all the rooted roots and really flushed all of the soil out of the roots. Don't know how, but there were big clods of mucky clay like material under the roots. Certainly didn't plant in clay.

I repotted in potting soil mixed with a ton of perlite, vermiculite and coarse bark chips. I am only going to water infrequently for the first couple weeks. Trouble with a very thick leaved plant like clivia is it isn't that easy to see if the plant is responding to the changes you've made.

My clivias stay outside at least 360 days of th year, I only bring inside on the rare nights we are forecast to go into the 20s. So they get plenty of time at 55 degrees and under. I really never consciously fertilized them on any set schedule before, and probably went several years without ever fertilizing them. That was probably my issue.

Sounds like after years, your soil broke down and became that mucky "clay" you mentioned. You did exactly the right thing by changing the media and washing the old mix off the roots and trimming away rot. You should see improvement in your larger Clivia now.

This forum can go weeks or longer with no activity. If you try searchng at the bottom of the clivia forum home page, you will find some older posts that address your questions. I have found the container gardening forum very useful for information about potting mixes and fertilizing. I use the gritty mix and Foliage Pro fertilizer discussed there on my clivias and many other tropical plants. The truth is most plants need the same care.

I have been growing clivias for about 10 years and got so hooked on them that I have about two dozen mature clivias and as many young ones. They need very fast draining soil and can go a long time between waterings. You may get enough rain that they would rarely need watering. If you want a better chance of getting them to bloom, you need to fertilize regularly with a fertilizer that includes micronutrients. I use a soluble fertilizer with a 3-1-2 NPK ratio (Foliage pro) at least every two weeks from spring through fall. Many people use Osmocote controlled release fertilizer according to package directions as well as soluble fertilizers. I also suspect your clivias would benefit from getting brighter light. They will burn in your summer sun, but could benefit from a little early morning sun or at least dappled shade for part of the day.

I have always grown my clivias in one of the light potting mixes like Pro-mix. That mud like substance you talked about could be broken down bark... Never a good addition to houseplant mixes.. I keep them outdoors where they get some sun for part of the day, but not the hot midday sun, they get watered more often in summer due to the higher temps and greater airflow than in winter when indoors, lower temps and less air movement. The lower winter temps and dryness induce them to flower more readily. I grow a number of varieties including the 'Light of Buddha' types, and dwarf 'Henglan' types. I breed them and raise the seedlings, though most are given away before I see them bloom.

Jock, you're located in Louisiana like me. (I'm in northwest LA). How did your clivias do? I'm growing mine in pots. I wanted to know if I can keep them outside for most of the winter. (I"d bring them in when the weather gets less than 30 degrees.)

I'm in Zone 8b.