My Clivia Will Not Bloom

Question

I bought a clivia over 10 years ago and it has only bloomed 1 time. I live in zone 7b in North Carolina and keep it on my shady back porch during the summer, bringing it in when the nighttime temperatures go down to the 50’s. I keep it in my garage giving it just a sip of water each week to keep it alive. In January I put it in the living room of the house in indirect light, start regular watering and fertiize monthly. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

The only thing that I see that could be wrong would be nutrient ratios in the plant food. Sometimes, if nitrogen exceeds phosphorus and potassium levels, it can halt flowering. Nitrogen build up in soil can do this, as well.

Make sure that the container allows for all extra water to drain out, so that once it has soaked up as much water as it can from watering the rest in the saucer can be dumped out.

They will not tolerate wet roots, and this can happen in a container with no drainage or little drainage.

As long as your soil is well draining, you can flush it out. Run water through it, and let the extra drain out freely, until it runs clear. Make sure no water pools up in the saucer, and you will have flushed your soil. You can begin to feed again, after.

Here is an article for the care of the plant:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/clivia/clivia-plant.htm

This article will offer a little more insight into force blooming:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/clivia/getting-clivias-to-rebloom.htm