Mealybugs can hide in leaf bases. Overwatering can cause yellow leaves and root rot, while insufficient cool or dry rest and excess feeding can favor leaves over flowers.
How to care for clivia
A cool, dry rest helps Clivia flower: use bright filtered light, increase water as spring buds develop, and keep it on the dry side in winter.
Plant coveredClivia miniataClivia · Kaffir lily · Setting described in this guide
Find a bright, steady position
Light and temperature
Use bright filtered or indirect light for Clivia miniata. Avoid direct summer sun because it can scorch the leaves. Any outdoor summer placement needs shade and acclimation.
A cool rest helps initiate flowering. RHS suggests about 10°C (50°F) over winter, and Iowa State describes around 50°F for six to eight weeks. Plants must avoid frost, and hybrids may respond differently.
Check the mix, drainage and pot
Watering, drainage and repotting
Increase water as spring buds develop, water regularly through summer and autumn, and keep the plant on the dry side in winter. Never keep the compost soggy. Iowa State uses a top one-to-two-inch dry check.
Use a peat-free loam-based mix with leaf mold and grit, and keep the neck above the compost. Repot only when roots are tightly packed or emerging. This may be roughly every three to five years, in early spring. Restricted roots can support flowering.
Feed only during active growth
Fertilizer and active growth
RHS suggests balanced liquid fertilizer weekly while the plant is growing until flower-bud formation. Iowa State suggests half-strength soluble fertilizer monthly during the growing season and stopping in late summer or early autumn, so do not treat either schedule as universal.
Check the visible signs before changing care
Common problems
Use the verdict for this exact plant
Pet safety
Sources
- Royal Horticultural SocietyQuick facts; planting; ongoing care; watering; temperature; propagation; problems
- Royal Horticultural SocietyHow to Grow; cultivation; propagation; pests and diseases
- Iowa State University Extension and OutreachLight, Water, and Fertilizer; Dormancy/Rest; Repotting and Propagation; Pests and Disease
- ASPCA Animal Poison ControlScientific name; toxicity; lycorine and other alkaloids; clinical signs
Pet-safety information for catalog plants uses ASPCA reference data where available. It is reference information, not veterinary advice.