I just purchased a Clivia at an estate sale. I do not know anything of its history or care. It seems quite dry. Should I water? Can I put it outside in the pot for the remainder of the summer? Where do I begin? Help!

Yes give your plant a really good drink - water until it flows out of the bottom of the pot into the drainage saucer. You can discard any that hasn't been absorbed after half an hour or so.

I would say your plant can go outdoors but not into direct sun which will scorch the leaves. They like a cooler period in winter to stimulate flower buds. Feed your plant throughout the growing season and don't repot - Clivias like to be potbound.

You have a lovely plant there so do some research on how to look after it properly. They are wonderful plants. The house plant forum here will have people who grow Clivias I'm sure.

Clivias prefer some shade, so don't put it in full or direct sun. They need water throughout summer, but in winter cut back watering and only give them just enough to prevent them being dehydrated.

There are quite a few threads on Clivias on the site: https://garden.org/forums/sear...

These in particular may be of help:
The thread "Clivia Question" in Tropicals forum
The thread "Help with clivia" in Houseplants forum
The thread "Clivia miniata" in Ask a Question forum
The thread "Clivia Miniata" in Ask a Question forum
The thread "Clivia plant" in Ask a Question forum

Thank you for the information! I removed the saucer to give it a good drink and found that there is a root growing out of the bottom hole. My inclination is to wait till it blooms to repot. Thoughts?

Not necessary to repot at this time.

pinkhibiscus said:I just purchased a Clivia at an estate sale. I do not know anything of its history or care. It seems quite dry. Should I water? Can I put it outside in the pot for the remainder of the summer? Where do I begin? Help!

Exciting to wait for the flower, isn't it? 😉 I have successfully bred clivias on and off for 10 years and my tips are as follows:

- plant it in the ground if you can (shady, well-drained, rich and mulchy like a forest floor - clivia's natural habitat). Just mix some good compost into loose ground in a shady area 😜 It will settle and create suckers (clones).
- don't keep it potbound, almost nothing wants to be potbound! If it doesn't want space for roots there's something wrong.
- don't over-water (roots will rot), just keep from drying out completely in summer. Ignore over the winter (unless you have freezing temparatures - in which case rather plant the whole thing in n pot with the same ground and bring inside in winter)
- you only need to feed it once about 5 weeks before spring to give flower-forming a boost
- watch the stem for lily borers (black and yellow caterpillars), they will kill your plant at the growth point.

It seems like a lot of info but once you've planted it, you can pretty much ignore it. A yellow clivia breeder once told me that " clivias function best in a mild state of neglect".

And most importantly... get it a few friends! 😄

Keeping a Clivia as an indoor potted plant is much different than growing out outdoors in its native environment. Given your location in WA, you will have to move it indoors when temps drop to 50 degrees F. Outside it should be in shade at all times.

When you move it indoors, keep it in a moderately sunny location, but gradually reduce the watering until you let it dry out completely for about a month in mid-winter. This semi-dormant period will help set it up for flowers next spring.

You can repot in spring, but only if it is very potbound. Repotting or moving to a pot too large cam deter flowering. In general, it is best to err on the side of dryness with a Clivia. Overwatering, overpotting and over fertilizing will discourage blooms. So, yes, it does well with neglect.