Every Clivia Miniata I have planted in our garden has been slowly but surely eaten alive by worms. It is the most distressing thing to see such a lush green plant being slowly destroyed. I have not gone the poison root for obvious reasons and so have had to say farewell, one by one, to my beloved Clivias. I have rescued the last one and potted her – I gave her a good spray down with the hosepipe in the hopes of drowning any worms. Her roots were a little dodgy, with some rotten or worm eaten and just came away in my hands. Here’s hoping some tlc will see her right and banish those nasty worms. Anyone know about these worms by the way? Any solutions? This site offers some very interesting reading on the Clivia Miniata.
Hey Sons. What sort of worms are these? I didn’t know they actually ate living plants but thought they recycled dead organic matter.
Hey Sonia, I haven’t had much luck with Clivia myself – the moth/butterfly/caterpillar somehow seems to be able to sniff them out from miles around. The most common enemy is an Amaryllis Caterpillar, but I think there are quite a few others that are partial to Clivia, and sometimes Agapanthus too.
If you catch them early, you can cut them back before it bores too deeply, and the plant should recover. Sometimes the chemical route is the only option though, and as long as its carefully done, this may be the best solution?
To be honest though, I’ve given up planting them for this reason…
I also read that if they are weakened by other factors (particular mention snails) then the Amaryllis kicks in. We do have a snail problem so perhaps this is the origin. My Mum lives in Gillitts and doesn’t seem to have any problems, the Clivias in her garden are growing like weeds – so perhaps it is the warmer more humid climes.