Gladiolus

The name “gladiolus” comes from the Latin “gladius”, which means “sword”. From the same word came the “gladiator”. And even the botanical name of this plant – skewer – is just a tracing paper from Latin.

Why in ancient times it was called that way is not known for certain. Some scientists suggest that this is due to the leaves, which really resemble a sword in shape. On the other hand, the same leaves are found in many representatives of the Iris family, which includes the gladiolus. In the same irises, they also look like swords. Therefore, a second version appeared – the sword reminded the author of the name of the inflorescence-ear.

Photo and description of gladioli

The genus Gladiolus (skewer) belongs to the Iris family and has 280 species (1). In their wild form, they are found in the tropics and subtropics of Africa, Madagascar, along the Mediterranean coast, in central Europe, Asia, Western Siberia, the Caucasus and even in central Our Country. But all modern varieties are combined into one species – hybrid gladiolus. By the way, at the moment there are more than 5 varieties of gladiolus in the world.

The first mention occurs in the XNUMXst century AD. e. in the writings of the ancient Roman writer Pliny the Elder. The author talked about the magical properties of this plant: they say, it saves warriors from death and helps to win. But then it was not about the flowers that are currently valued, but about … the corm – it was prescribed to be worn around the neck as an amulet.

In the Middle Ages, corms were also popular – they were made into flour and added to bread.

In the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, gladiolus turned into a medicine – it was used for toothache and as a diuretic for nursing mothers.

And only in 1807, the Englishman William Herbert received the first hybrids that resemble modern varieties – he managed to cross several South African species of gladiolus. And only after that they became flowers and began their procession through the gardens.

Planting gladiolus

Gladioli are unpretentious, but on condition that they are planted correctly.

A place. These plants love plenty of light, so choose a sunny site (2).

“If they are in the shade, even for a short period of time, they will bloom 15 to 20 days later,” says agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mihailova. – And if the shade is all day, they may not bloom at all.

Gladiolus soils prefer loose and fertile, moist, but without stagnant water (3).

Depth of landing. Gladiolus corms are often advised to be planted according to the same rules as bulbous flowers, that is, the planting depth should be equal to 3 bulb diameters. However, if the bulbs are small, a problem arises – with shallow planting, when a powerful peduncle appears, the plants begin to fall. Yes, they can be tied up, but sticks in a flower garden are not the best decoration.

Experienced flower growers advise planting gladiolus corms to a depth of 10–12 cm (2), and very large ones to 15 cm. With this planting, the peduncle is always even and the plant does not fall on its side.

– Before planting, 5 cm of sand should be poured to the bottom of the pit, a corm should be placed on it and completely covered with sand. And only then – land, – advises agronomist Svetlana Mikhailova. – The sand will protect the bulbs from getting wet in the rainy summer and from disease.

Care for the gladiolus

Gladioli, as we have already said, are unpretentious plants, but for lush flowering they still need to provide a little care.

Watering. Gladiolus should be watered infrequently – once every 1 weeks, about 2 liter per plant is enough.

Feeding. During the season, gladiolus is enough to feed 3 times:

• in the phase of the 3rd sheet – 2 tbsp. spoons of ammonium nitrate and superphosphate per 10 liters of water, consumption rate, consumption rate – 1 bucket per 1 sq. m;
• in the phase of the 6th sheet – 1 tbsp. spoon of ammonium nitrate, double superphosphate and potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water, consumption rate – 1 bucket per 1 sq. m;
• in the bud phase: 2 tbsp. spoons of double superphosphate and 1 tbsp. a spoonful of potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water, the consumption rate is 1 bucket per 1 sq. m.

Popular questions and answers

Agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova answered questions about growing gladioli.

Sources of

1. Gladiolus / The Plant List, http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Iridaceae/Gladiolus/
2. A group of authors, ed. Milovidova I.B. Flowers around us, 2nd ed., add. // Saratov, Privolzhskoe book publishing house, 1986 – 160 p.
3. Kudryavets D.B., Petrenko N.A. How to grow flowers. A book for students // M .: Education, 1993 – 176 p.