Any ideas re Clivia

[paulab]

I've got three clivias which have suddenly decided to give up the ghost. They've been indoors and fed and watered and doing really well. decided to give them a bit of sunshine and fresh air during the day, but as I say they've all gone - leaves brown and brittle. Turned one out of its pot only to find that all the roots were like shed snake skins - ie the outside was still there but they were hollow. Can anyone suggest what I did wrong or what I can do if anything to help them find a new lease of life?

[Finedon.Dandy]

Looked at your post as I had no idea what this plant was!

On a google search "clivia hollow roots" I found this...

WEll here is my suggestion....I use to have the same problem ...Then I spoke to a women who lives in China who knows more than any of us about these plants and she said never lets a clivia go completely dry. U give less water but enough for the roots to drink something. If you let them go with out water for that long then resume watering on dehydrated roots..You bring on root wrot. Yellowing leaves is a sign of poor watering habits nad lack of water or root rot.They are usually a tough plant to kill. But, once the roots start to rot, watch out. Take your plant and see what the root system looks like. If they are wrinkled up, black, or moushy, or hollow, YOu have killed the roots by withholding water to long. Just litely water when they are dorment, when you take them out of dormancy, Then soak the plant goodand fertilize. Give them a good drink and let dry out between waterings.
They also have to have some light.Not complete darkness like the way we treat bulbs. I cut my lites down to about 6 hours by Febraury with florescent bulbs,and then an extra hour of lite a day by the time spring comes on timers of course. They need sum lite. Just a few hours of it... During dormancy...Hope this helps.
And yes I get beautiful flowers.

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My Clivia has yellowing leaves . Help ! - Clivia Forum - GardenWeb