How often are you watering it? How much? They like to be sort of dry, in my experience.

Kasima,

Thank you for getting back to me. In answer to your question on watering. Right now, I am watering when soil dries out and I understand that after October, the plant goes into the rest period and no water at all until the following April. One thing I recently learned is that these plants need calcium so I took one of my calcium tablets and dissolved it in water and poured in the container and since then I have not noticed any browning or yellowing of the leaves. It is supposed to bloom now but I have not seen any sign of a flower bud. I got my info from a web page online but am still learning about this plant. I will pay more attention after the blooming period is over and I'm no longer watering it. I was also told that you need to water them so the roots go down to the bottom of the pot and not stay at the top. Thank you again. I hope something changes and it is sure putting out a lot of leaves. Noel

Well, they are going to lose some bottom leaves, so maybe it was just time for it to do that. I always water mine with water I have boiled eggs in to give it calcium.

Kasima,

Enjoyed hearing from you regarding the Clivia. What I have been doing with the plant is following a schedule that I have from a site I found when I purchased the plant. The site says to only water the plant after the rest period. Do not give it any water while it is resting from October until April. Then you give it water as needed until it runs out of the bottom of the pot. It says that if you don't give it water during this period, the roots will stay at the top of the plant and you don't want them to do that but grow to the bottom of the container so I have a water meter and give it water when the meter reads dry. I am to stop using fertilizer after mid-September and after the end of October, it goes into the rest period, no water, fertilizer, just leave it alone until April. These are the rules I have been following. It didn't bloom during the bloom period but that does not concern me right now. I have not lost any more leaves and instead of pulling off the ones that were turning brown, I just cut away the brown portion and they look ok. One thing I noticed cutting into a leaf is there is a syrupy fluid that comes out of the leaf that is messy. One positive thing is the plant is growing new clumps of leaves all over in the pot. Noel

I don't think the advice you are getting from the website is standard. In my experience anything more than 2-3 months of not watering would be a problem. I feed my clivias a complete fertilizer in a 3-1-2 ratio with all minors (Foliage Pro, which includes calcium) from January through October. In November and December, I try to give them a cold period as well as withholding water. They need 6-8 weeks of temperatures under 50 F to bloom. With that treatment, mature clivias (4 years old or older) should bloom by March. One of my favorote sources of clivia information is from Jim Shields, a long time grower in Indiana. Check out his advice at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clivia Care

Noel, this is the first time I've posted in this forum, but I've been growing Clivia for a long time (got my first in the 70's so at least 25 years) and they flower every spring.

I put them outside toward the end of May (after any chance of frost). I'll water them when they're almost dry (not bone dry). Sometimes they get lots of rain and stay almost constantly moist, but they're in a fast draining mix and are fine with that.

In the fall I bring them in before chance of frost and put them in my greenhouse. The thermostat is kept set at 42ð. During this time I keep them dry. I do water lightly maybe once or twice. I used to not water them at all, but found that when I did start watering again, they sometimes lost some roots.

Around Jan. 10 I turn the heat up to 55ð and start watering regularly (let them dry between waterings). I start feeding them the end of January. I generally see flowers buds starting on some of them within a week or two of turning up the heat. Most flower in February or March.

It's normal for bottom leaves to sometimes yellow, just take them off. The syrupy stuff when you cut a leaf is normal - just sap.

As far as feeding, when they're inside I use Dyna-Gro and I give them osmocote when I put them outside.