Clivia; should I cut old flower spikes?
 

I bought a large clivia at a thrift store today however I know almost nothing about growing them. Anyone here have experience with these? Should I cut off the old flower spikes or leave them? I understand they need a winter rest to bloom starting about now. How long ago do you believe this one bloomed? Will it be able to bloom again this spring?
I'll attach some photos.

You could leave them and let the seeds mature, then learn to grow Clivia from seed. It's easy.

They flower every year when happy. They grow and flower well in southern California with regular water through the year, and are considered easy-to-grow plants for shade or dappled shade.

People water when they're nearly dry. Like most Amaryllids they have thick, fleshy roots holding a lot of water.

I don't know how they do with shorter winter days, such as yours.

ES has given good advice, they are easy to grow, they like benign neglect!

I have about a hundred clivia of various colours.


https://i.imgur.com/Y9sCYvw.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Svofl8f.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/xJc2h58.jpg


Your plant looks very mature and would have bloomed some time ago looking at the size of the berries. The spike with the berries could stay on the plant for over a year, Ive seen plants in full bloom with the berries from the previous year, a stunning look.

If you don't want to grow those berries on you could remove them and the spike will dry up naturally, once throughly dry the spike will pull out easily.

Growers don't usually try to remove the stem when green as sap rises and could make it damp in the centre of the plant and cause rotting.

Also be aware some people can be allergic to the sap.

If you do decide to grow the berries on to seedlings wait till the berries crackle when rolled gently between fingers. Berries may even change colour depending on what the colour the blooms were.

Then the berries will need to have the cover and flesh removed, berries can have anything from 1 to 8 or 9 seeds inside.

That's a very mature plant with all the offsets! You could remove them and pot them up individually, or leave them all together.
Mine is blooming now for the third time this year.
I have it potted in orchid bark. I water and feed it regularly in the summer with light amounts of fertilizer. In the winter I keep it drier. If you keep it at about 5-10 degrees C for two months this winter, you should get flowers in February/March. That's my guess anyway.
Congrats on a very cool houseplant! Almost never see them here in the US but saw them all the time in Europe.

Thank you all for the great replies!

Diane, you have some very beautiful plants there! I'm fortunate to get input from someone so successful with these as you are. Thank you very much.

It's good to read that you have luck with them in Colorado William (in another lifetime I attended CU and CSU). I'm very impressed that you get them to bloom 3 times in a year there!

Looks like good advice as always estación.

This was a bit of an impulse buy. Usually second hand stores don't have plants and when I saw it, I just wanted to care for it. I've spent a lot of time in and near the native range of Clivia. I did research on fruit bats in Swaziland, met my wife in South Africa, and have knocked around the area for some years. I recall seeing some truly beautiful Clivia specimens at Kirstenbosch Garden in Cape Town. It's a plant that brings back good memories.

Anyhow, thank you for the sound advice all!

Thank you, glad to help.
Yes. Kirstenbosch Garden has wonderful displays, and they were most helpful when I had a question, ended up emailing one of their gardeners.
A lot of my plants were sourced from South African clivia growers as seeds.

I hope you let us know how this plant goes.

Of course I will.

Right now I'm trying to figure out how to give it a winter rest. This house is new to me and the cellar is actually rather warm, only getting down to 18 or 19. It is lit by a SSE facing window (northern hemisphere). Outside the night time lows are 7-10 degrees but by the end of the month they may be getting to 0. November and December will likely be too cold outside but maybe by then the cellar will be a bit cooler too. Anyhow, whatever happens I'll share it come early spring.

Disaster strikes! Despite a forecast for temperatures to remain well above freezing I woke this morning to a -3 C killing frost. I ran out in my pajamas and slippers and brought it inside but I fear the Clivia may be doomed. Looking at the nearby weather station data it was below freezing for about 6 hours in the night.

So that is my unhappy update.

They may survive -3. Don't give up.

Again ES is right.
Even if you lose all the leaves and are only left with a stump they can, and do, grow again. If this happens it could take at least 3 years for it to bloom again, but its possible to see at least the tips of new growth in the next growing season.
Fingers crossed for you.