The checkerboard flower is actually known as an extremely attractive ornamental plant in the garden. However, the fragile lily plant with the eye-catching flower bells does not necessarily have to be cared for outdoors. The onion plant also works well as a houseplant and is very easy to care for.
How to care for a checkerboard flower as a houseplant?
As a houseplant, the checkerboard flower prefers bright, sunny locations without drafts and heating. It requires regular watering that does not cause waterlogging and can be cared for every 14 days with flower fertilizer. Repotting should take place approximately every 2-3 years.
Location on the flower window
The checkerboard flower prefers bright, sunny locations. However, the plant is not comfortable with drafts and the heat radiating from the heater, which quickly dries out the soil. It is therefore best to place the pot on a flower bench close to the window.
Buy plants or is it better to grow bulbs yourself?
Like many lily plants, you can easily plant the small bulbs of the chess flower in the ground and sprout them yourself. However, it is important that you use fresh onions, as the checkerboard flower's storage organs dry out very quickly. The plant is quite undemanding and does not require any special substrate.
The checkerboard flower likes it moist
As a moist bed plant, the chess flower prefers evenly moist substrates. However, waterlogging, which quickly leads to the onions rotting, must be avoided at all costs. Therefore, make sure that excess moisture can drain away easily and pour away any standing water in the saucer after a few minutes.
Water whenever the surface of the soil feels dry. The pot should never dry out completely. To promote the abundance of flowers, you can fertilize the checkerboard flower every 14 days with commercial flower fertilizer (€16.00 on Amazon).
Care after flowering
As in the open field, the checkerboard flower as a houseplant also needs a few months after flowering in which it stores the nutrients from the leaves in the bulb. During this time, the foliage of the chess flower turns yellow and becomes unsightly. However, you should not cut off the leaves prematurely, but should give the plant a chance to prepare for the next flowering season in a corner of the room.
Repotting
You should place the chess flower in fresh substrate about every two to three years. Carefully remove the bulbs from the planter and place them in fresh soil. If small bulbs have formed, you can separate them and plant them in a separate container.
Tip
The checkerboard flower is poisonous in all parts of the plant. It should therefore be placed in a place in the room that cannot be reached by children and pets.
