Re: clivia

Hi Barbara,

I don't grow clivias in your climate, but there is one point to keep in mind in all climates: They require 3 to 4 weeks of chilling at 50 F or cooler to trigger development of the bloom scapes. Temperatures below freezing will damage the leaves in obvious ways. Your temperatures depend on your microclimate, and as I recall, Berkeley stretches from the shore of S.F. Bay up to the crests of the hills. (At least it did when I was a grad student there 40+ years ago.) There is lots of room for variability in that space.

If they are getting too much sun, the leaves will show scorch marks. If the foliage is healthy, too much direct sun is not the problem.

If they have gotten too wet, the roots might have rotted off. They do develop huge root systems, which they need. If you can dig them up without destroying too much of the root system, they will transplant well. If you accidentally rip off all the roots but keep the crown intact, the plant will recover and grow new roots; it will be set back but should go on and bloom after a year or so.

Maybe we need to know a bit more about your micro-environment to give any more specific advice.

I garden in central Indiana, where we have hot summers and cold winters and precip about evenly spaced throughout the year on average. My clivia are in a greenhouse in winter and outdoors in a lath house in summer. They are currently getting their January chilling, a rest period with little or no water. The critical factor however is the temperatures: 45 to 50 F overnight for a month.

Best wishes,
Jim Shields
in central Indiana, where chilling is not a problem

At 09:01 AM 1/25/03 -0800, you wrote:
I'm gardening in Berkeley, CA and have two clivias which have multiplied
but haven't flowered in several years. One of the original two did flower
in the first year but never has again.

They're planted in an area that gets shade and some sun, summer and winter.
But in the summer the late afternoon sun hits and I'm wondering if that's
the problem.

I seem to remember that they don't take well to being transplanted.

Thanks for any advice.

Barbara - in Berkeley

*************************************************
Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5             Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92              WWW:    http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA                   Tel. +1-317-896-3925
Member of INTERNATIONAL CLIVIA CO-OP
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