Clivia seedling question

Need some advice - just got four clivia miniata seedlings on ebay, all four planted in a 6 oz. cup. Each seedling has two leaves (one has a third coming in). Plants are 5" high. When and how should I pot them in their own pots? And what size pots? What kind of potting mix? I just received them day before yesterday and am afraid of losing them when I repot them! Also, what if the roots are all tangled together and I break too many? Should I repot now or wait until next spring? Thank you.

Randi

Hi Randi: I don't know a lot about the Clivia but received 2 little teeny sprouts from another DG'er a few months ago. They have grown a little and the seed thingy fell off. I am hoping to keep them alive to see them grow and bloom in the next 3 or so years! Here's a link to some info that is good reading for this plant. They apparently like being very rootbound so you probably should leave them in the pots they came in. I wouldn't distrub them at all but would leave them in the little cups they came in. Or, if you want to put them in pots, you shouldn't pot them into anything larger than they are in now. Maybe the little 2" pots. If it were me, I would leave them in those cups and just sit the cups down into a more decorative container. Do the little cups have drainage holes in the bottom? If not, you will need to poke a few holes in the bottom so the plants don't get waterlogged and rot.

Good luck with your plants ... keep us posted on how they do for you! Here's the site I referred to: http://www.gaygardener.com/gardenspot/bulbs/bulbs026.phtml

And, here's the link to Plant Files for the Clivia: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2201/

Thank you for the link! I'll check it out right now. I did state that all four seedlings are in the SAME cup. Maybe you didn't see that in my post. I was wondering if they should be separated, or if its okay to leave them all the way they are.

Randi

Oh, I misunderstood. I was thinking they were in separate cups. Everything I've read states they like to be root bound so maybe you should leave them all together until next year ... give them time to grow more. I'm really not sure. Hopefully someone will come along with some good advice for you. Maybe you could try sending a d-mail to the young lady who gave me mine in a trade. Here's a link to her home page: http://davesgarden.com/members/Missy99912/

She seemed very knowledgeable about these plants and I'm sure would try to help. Let me know what you find out .... my plants are still very, very tiny and I'm hoping they grow and thrive! I had been wanting to try a Clivia for a long time!

Thank you! I also posted on a clivia board, so hopefully I'll soon know for sure what to do with them. What you said though, makes sense about keeping them together until next spring. I have also been wanting a Clivia for some time. They have BIG ones in 8" pots at my local HD (and even yellow ones!) but those are mature, and I kind of wanted to raise my own from a seedling. The Clivias at HD, for anyone who wants to know, are only $15 here in California! And for yellow ones, too! From what I've heard, they are much more expensive in other states. Perhaps its because you do see them growing wild here in the slightly warmer areas. So if anyone is planning a trip to CA, be sure to grab a Clivia while you're here to take home with you.

Randi

Wow!! $15 for an 8" pot?? I've NEVER in my 40 years of being in Florida, seen a Clivia for sale here!! We have friends going to Southern California for 10 days to visit their son .... sure wish I could convince them to run by a HD and buy me one while there, but she is not into plants and I don't think she'd feel comfortable trying to pick one out to mail back home to me! :(

I have seen them for sale on line, but are quite expensive! Guess I need to plan on a trip to California someday, just to find a mature Clivia to adopt! I have high hopes for my teeny little babies ... I just went out and found them drenched ... sitting in water! We have been so dry here for so long and then Friday and yesterday had tons of rain! I just moved them to full sun, so hopefully they will dry out quickly and not rot! Here's a picture of them on June 7th ... they have not grown much at all, still about this size, so they must be slow growers! They are the two little pots in the center of the table!

http://davesgarden.com/tools/mail/pmailpic.php?pid=877741

Your pic didn't show up for me! It said Not Found! Wanted to see your babies.
Please try again.

Randi

Hi Randi: Let me try again. This photo was taken June 7th and they still look the same:

Awwww.. . . . . . . they're precious! How exciting to grow your own from little sprouts! I hope they continue to do well for you.

Randi

Thanks Randi, I am hoping they will mature and grow too! I am babying these Babies!

I too have seen yellow clivias at HD in Minnesota for a very reasonable price, in early summer. I am guessing that the plant pricer there doesn't know what the value is, but it could just be a supply/demand thing, where few people know and want the plant. I have a plant sale every year, and I have tried to sell a mature clivia for a very reasonable price, and have had no takers.

Susan in Minneapolis

And, I would love to find a mature clivia at a reasonable price! I am wondering why I have never seen this plant for sale down here in Florida. It is such a beauty, I would think everyone would want to have at least one!