Potting Media for Clivias

What is the best potting media for Clivias?

As with all plants, "best" depends on you.  Your habits, preferences, and what materials are available, but your local conditions which influence how fast things may dry out, for example.  Questions like potting media always have many acceptable answers.  There isn't necessarily a single right answer.  But I can tell you what I like to use, and why I use those things.

First, you want to keep in mind that clivias are not "tropical" as many folks think of it with respect to "tropical houseplants".  Instead they actually come from South Africa where climate is somewhat dry.  They do enjoy free access to water when in active growth, but if the soil remains wet for extended periods, you are likely to experience root loss.  This is particularly true in winter when they might be experiencing cool temperatures and short days - they won't need much water then anyway.  And good roots are key - they are pretty much a water storage organ for clivias.

As with most plants, a major factor in plant performance is chonky, happy roots, and this is usually a dance of balancing air and moisture at the root, often best maintained by drying out in a reasonable time frame such that you water more often. Annoying, but true.  The roots need to breathe.

For myself, this means younger plants go in a mix of coco-peat and #3 perlite.  I'll vary the percentage of perlite a little - a 3" pot doesn't need as much as a deep 6" pot.  But it could be anywhere from 20 to 40%.  These materials hold structure well, don't break down and become muddy, and are relatively neutral in pH.  It also re-wets easily when it is time to water, whereas ordinary peat often will refuse to do so.

For very large plants in large I typically use a mix of coconut husk chunks of medium size, with charcoal and large perlite.  The logic here is similar.  These rewet easily after a dry winter, and even as the chunks age, they tend to hold their structure relatively well.

For fun, I have also experimented with sponge rock and sphagnum (with a very high sponge rock percentage), and aggregate mixed with Akadama - such as for bonsai.  These can work too.  I've seen other growers get along fine with a well aerated peat mix as well, such as Promix HP, and even some random orchid bark substrates.  So feel free to experiment with the materials you have available.  Just keep an eye on making sure it doesn't stay sloppy wet for a long time and you can probably make it work.

Happy growing!