Houseplants FAQ
"I have a parlor maple that frequently has leaves turning yellow and then dropping. Is this too much sun or a watering problem. Thanks.......L. M."
Yellowing and dropping of leaves could be little more than normal attrition. I said, "could." On the other hand, any more than a very few over the space of weeks could indicate some sort of physiological or environmental stress. I suggest you look carefully at:
- Nutrition. Is the plant fed on a regular basis? Have fertilizer salts built up around the lip of the container or around drainage holes? I'd recommend weekly feeding with any commercial liquid fertilizer that has a slightly higher middle number to encourage flowering, and that also provides micro-nutrients ("trace" elements). I'd also encourage to give the plant a thorough fresh-water "flush" once a month to dilute any accumulated salts (that usually manifests as yellowish-brownish scale-like deposits on the container's lip, soil line, and drainage holes).
- Root ball. How many years has the plant been in that container. Most houseplants (those held captive in the oftentimes hostile environment of a container) benefit -- and appreciate -- repotting into fresh soil and a clean container every year...certainly no less frequently than every other year.
- Watering. Over-watering (that includes allowing the container to remain in a water-filled tray or saucer constantly) is a frequent cause of stress. Water when the soil surface dries out, then (and then only) water sufficiently that excess freely flows through drainage holes.
- Lighting. Parlor maples are low- to medium-light plants. They can handle brief periods of direct sun, but prefer to remain far enough away from south or southwest facing windows so the period of any direct sunlight is minimized. Too little light, on the other hand will cause the plant to "stretch" and become weakened...usually leaning in the direction of the most predominant source of light.
- Insects. Aphids and scale insects, or soil-dwelling aphid-like mealybugs, can all cause symptoms of physiological stress...including leaf-drop. Look for aphids on the undersides of upper leaves and along tender new top growth. Any natural insecticide like Safer's Soap or Pyrethrin will destroy aphids. (Pyrethrin is little more than processed Painted Daisies.) You might want to do the spraying out side or on the porch because the odor is a bit like rancid soap. Not offensive, but not something you want your guests to smell in the living room. Scale appears as very small (1/16th to 1/8th inch across) upside-down-saucer-like critters that hug stems (usually not leaves) in the upper half-to-third of the plant. An indication of scales would be blackish, sticky deposits on the surfaces of leaves below where the scales are. Scale is more difficult because they have a highly-effective protective shell made of chitin that must be penetrated before any insecticide can have any effect. Plain drug store rubbing alcohol straight out of the bottle dissolves that external shell...allowing the Safer's or Pyrethrin to do its job. After the spray has dried from the leaves, give the entire plant a good, fresh-water (room temperature) shower. Soil insects are a simpler matter. Repot, removing as much of the original soil as practical without damaging the root system, then flushing with a half-recommended-strength Safer's or Pyrethrin.
Clivia's Downward Slide. 7/10/2006
"I have a couple kaffir lilies in about 12” pots. We were on vacation for 3 weeks and my brother was watching them, but the leaves began turning brown. We live in Phoenix, AZ so I thought maybe it was too hot outside for them. I’ve brought them in the house and they only get direct afternoon sunlight, but have continued to brown. I’ve watered them moderately when the soil is a little dry. What do I do to save them? During the spring months and early summer they were growing like crazy and flowered (one flowered, the other did not). K. M."
Sounds to me like more than one of the clivia culture "rules" have been very badly abused. First...the heat and excessively bright light of the desert southwest -- especially if they're allowed to dry out -- is clearly not what clivia wants or needs. It doesn't surprise me in the least that your leaves are going brown.Alarms...yes. Then, in their deeply and severely stressed condition, to bring them into your home (where, I'm sure your air conditioner drastically alters both temperature and humidity) only to park them in an afternoon-sunshine window with only minimal watering......... well........ there's a pretty good chance that they're headed for the rubbish heap. And I'd hazard a guess that it's too late to do anything about it. When their "gets" fail to match their "wants"— that's when the trouble begins its inexorable downward slide.
You might read the article at http://www.hillgardens.com/clivia.htm that'll list their "wants".
Clivia—Feeding for flowers. 7/1/2006
"We live in a retirement home...have a beautiful sun room where our clivia resides...however, it has been here for two or three years and no blooms....what are we overlooking? It's a beautiful foliage plant, but we would like some blooms...perhaps not enough fertilizer...? F. S[Webmaster's note: It never ceases to amaze me that people who send in questions rarely think to tell me where they live! Forces me to guess...not a practice which guarantees a satisfactory solution.]
Not knowing for certain where you live, I'm guessing it's not in a cold or cool climate. Also guessing your sun room stays very bright and relatively warm throughout most of the year. Clivia need a cool period of several weeks -- not full dormancy -- just a chance to rest and catch their breath in a cool spot....something in the range of 50F or so. They also need to be given a chemical signal to bloom. That would be a "blossom-booster" liquid fertilizer about once a week when it's actively growing (but not while resting). Peter's makes a 10-30-20 blossom-booster that you mix with water. It comes with a little plastic scoop....one scoopful in a gallon of water. Water with enough of this solution so a small amount runs out the drain hole. So.....move it into a cooler spot for 5 or 6 weeks but still with bright light (no direct sunlight); then, after it's rested, bring it back into the warmth and start feeding with the new fertilizer. It should begin sending up flower spikes in 45 to 90 days. It'd be best if you snip off the spent flowers as soon as they fade and go by...that way it won't waste valuable energy making seeds that you'll probably never put to good use. That will also encourage it to bloom more.
Clivia—Give it a break...and the right food! 6/6/2006I have a beautiful full leaved Kaffir Lily, but it has only bloomed once in the 10 years I've owned it. I keep it near a well lit window, water it once a week as well as feed it every few weeks. After reading the details on your web page about the lily, I may have found the answer, but would welcome any more insight you may have. I haven't placed it in a solitary cool area over the fall and winter months as you have suggested and wonder if that could be the problem. I didn't realize I needed to do that. What do you think? I also have never had any "babies" develop as you also mentioned. It grows leaves like crazy, though. D. W.
As you probably already know, fertilizers high in nitrogen stimulate fast, lush foliage growth. For example, lawn fertilizer is always very high in nitrogen (who wants a lawn to bloom?). Combine that high nitrogen with lower phosphorus.....and all you get with practically any flowering plant is all leaves and no flowers.Fertilizers that force the plant to produce flowers are called "blossom-boosters" and have a very high middle number (phosphorus is for flowers). Peter's and Miracle-Gro (both owned by Scott's) market "blossom-booster" blends of liquid fertilizer that are available just about anywhere. Peter's 10-30-20 is the one.
So.....take a close look at your fertilizer formula. If it doesn't have a higher middle number (P), think about fixing that. And, while you're at it, consider backing off on the frequency of fertilizer. Sounds to me that your clivia is becoming "obese." Plants reproduce themselves (bloom and produce seeds) because they feel threatened. Plants that are fat and lazy (all lush green foliage) don't perceive any stress or threat to existence and, therefore, see no need to make babies (flowers/seeds)—unless they're tricked into it. High phosphorus feeding does that.
Also....there are some plants that simply must go through a chilling period to trick them into thinking they've just gone through a winter rest. Clivia is one of those. That should take care of the problem. For more on fertilizers, take a look at this article: http://www.hillgardens.com/fertilizer-sortpuzzle.htm.
"I bought a clivia last February that bloomed for a while after. Then the stem developed some berries that were at first green, then red. Some of the berries were like pods and turned brown. Are these seeds? Are they plantable? L. M."
Yes, they are.... and yes, you can. When they are loose enough to drop off in your hand when touched or lightly tugged, clean them up and plant them in any standard seed-starting mix (your local garden center or farm-'n-garden), covering about a 1/4", keep moist, and maintain temperature at about 70 to 75 F (+/-). They'll germinate erratically within a few weeks. Then keep them under bright lights (for the usual 8-hour days) at room temperature. When they have 2 or 3 recognizable-as-true-leaves, pot them into 2-1/4". When you see roots coming out of the bottom (probably in a year or so), up-pot to 4" when new roots appear from drain holes, then eventually to 6" — then wait 5 or 6 years for your first flowers.
Clivia—Outdoors: replanting; snails; and under eaves? 4/7/05
"I have quite a few clivias growing when can I re plant them as some of their tips have gone a little brown and also looke like the snails have got hold of them i have them planted under our bedroom window and only gets sun in the afternoon and these are under eaves from what I have read it is okay let me know V."
(I generally try to follow the polite rules of social interaction in writing...but will adopt your preferred clipped, no punctuation, no caps, and difficult-to-read style to convey my response.)
Not knowing what your exact growing conditions are its difficult to provide a precise answer brown tips indicate some sort of stress it may be the result of a period of drought or the afternoon sunshine which is usually too hot and bright for clivias afternoon sun is the worst possible choice a little morning sun is ok or leaching of nutrients from rainwater pouring off the eaves or crowding you should deal with the snail problem see the article on our site in archives slugs and snails [Article] you can dig and divide clivias any time they are not actually in flower do a total re-build of the soil before replanting ample compost adjust soil pH to between 6.5 and 7.5 and it would be best to move them to a location where its more shaded and the soil remains consistently moist when you dig and divide you will probably have some divisions left over share with friends or neighbors or pot some up and gift to a shut in or a local nursing home they will appreciate it
Gosh, I dislike writing like that! You might like to visit http://www.durionursery.com/clivias.htm for more in-depth information. Another useful site (with Clivia info) is http://www.botany.com/clivia.html. Good Luck!
Clivia—Premature bud-break. 1/22/05
"I have a Clivia that was given to me about 5 or six years ago. It is in a 6 in ceramic pot. The last couple of years the flower has formed before emerging from the bulb and this year has died within the crown of the bulb. The leaf groth is very tightly packed. Can you please tell me if I should repot it now or is there some other way to get the flowers to grow properly. Thanks in advance. W. B."Five or six years in the same pot is, without a doubt, stretching endurance to the limit...even for tough and forgiving clivia! While they like fairly close quarters (they'd probably end up rotting if placed in a pot that was far too big), yours is likely quite thoroughly root-bound...in totally exhausted soil...and gasping for air (not much gets through the sides and bottom of a ceramic pot)...and quite possibly suffering from accumulated fertilizer salts. Time to re-pot.
Give it a thorough flushing to dilute away all fertilizer residue, then let it completely drain. Tip it out...and slip it back into a new clay pot that's about an inch larger all the way around and an inch taller. Use a good high-quality houseplant potting mix, with enough soil in the pot's bottom to lift the plant to the level it was in the old pot....then firm new soil all around. Moisten.
Don't fertilize at this time...let it rest for about about 4-6 weeks in a cool spot—don't let it dry out during resting—then let it have a good shot of blossom-booster type fertilizer (I like Peters 10-30-20 Blossom Booster). If you have a quality nursery/garden center nearby, you could ask them to re-pot it for you.
One last note...now might also be a good time to split off a small section or two to either expand your collection or share with a friend/neighbor. Offsets can sometimes be "nudged" away from the clump if they're not root-bound. You may need to use a clean, sharp knife to slice through the rhizomatous roots. You're pretty much on your own here.... just be brave but gentle, being careful to not cut your fingers (or slip and run the knife into your leg like I did once during an earlier age of bravado and a painful deficit of experience and wisdom). Leave a good healthy length of rhizome attached to the offset, and allow the cut to dry for a couple of days before potting it up in a new container—just big enough to accommodate its roots. That should get your clivia back up and running just like new. Good Luck!
Clivia—Browning leaves. 2/15/07"Question: I would appreciate any suggestions as to what might be causing brown, dry patches on the foliage of a three year old clivia. It is in a north facing 'garden window' with night temperatures about 15C., daytime around 18 - 20C. It's a three year old offshoot of my daughter's plant and has just begun producing lovely apricot blooms. B. L."
[It always helps to know at least "close" to where you live and garden. Tells me about day length, light intensity, season length, whether you run air conditioning or find it necessary to heat aggressively. All of that information makes for a more accurate (and satisfying) answer.....also makes it a lot (a lot) easier to arrive at a solution.]
Here's what I've learned after quite a few years of growing clivia (some of it 180 out from popular theories of other growers and garden writers):
Browning of clivia leaves can most frequently result from being allowed to dry out to the point of stress. They prefer constant soil moisture—note that I didn't say soppy wet...just agreeably moist—but never allowed to sit in a saucer of water. Determine the need for water by gently scratching around the soil surface—the undisturbed surface looks dry...but you find dampness about a half-inch or so down. That's just right.
Sharp fluctuations in temperature in the plant's immediate environment will also cause browning: air conditioning going on and off; heaters (especially forced warm air type) cycling on and off; doors to colder or excessively hot outdoors opening and closing.
Intense, unfiltered direct sunlight for even a short time will damage foliage. Probably not an issue with your north-facing plant window.
Stressfully over- or under-feeding may contribute to foliage damage and color changes. And soil pH should remain between 6.5 and 7.5. Fertilizer salt accumulation can, over time, reduce pH into the far-too-acidic range, and the toxicity will definitely have an impact on foliage appearance and health. Watch that. Look for yellowish-orangish deposits around the lip and base of the pot—especially in the saucer or tray in which it sits. If you see that, your plant needs a thorough flush with clear, clean, room temperature water.
They also like to be re-potted into fresh soil about every third year...but don't respond well to being placed into too large a pot. Just barely enough space for their roots. They'll blossom better when slightly root-bound.
By the way....given the browning of leaves coincidental with blooming is tantamount to a red flag alert. Plants have a strong survival instinct. When they feel stress to the point of it being perceived as life-threatening, they try very hard to produce seeds (flowers).Full Our Garden Gate Article on Clivia
Return to Top | Home | Jump to Archives
© 10/2000 Hill Gardens of Maine. All Rights Reserved. Updated: 06/21/07