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Gladiolus babies
Baby gladioli are small bulbs that appear on the mother plant every year. Thanks to these tubers, it is possible to preserve, renew and increase the collection of flowers. After all, an adult bulb grows old and degenerates over time, and gladioli from it turn out to be less attractive and strong. But in order to grow small tubers, they need to be well cared for.
What to do in the fall with children of gladioli
After digging up the plant, separate the small onions from the mother tuber. Next, you need to rinse them well. Be careful not to damage the husk while doing this. After that, spread the kids on the newspaper and leave to dry in a warm and dry place. You can also put them in a dark corner. The main thing is that the direct rays of the sun do not fall on the bulbs.
When stored properly, gladiolus babies survive better than adult tubers.
You can store children for two years. However, they do not lose their germination.
Dry the babies until around mid-November. Then sort them by size and put them in paper bags. Store prepared onions in a dry ventilated room with a temperature of +5 to + 10 ° C. If possible, put the tubers in the refrigerator. But only to the vegetable compartment.
What to do with gladiolus babies before boarding
The flower onions have a rather dense husk that is difficult for sprouts to break through. Therefore, to improve the germination of children, you need to prepare. Begin such activities a month before the intended planting in open ground. Preparation rules:
- Inspect the bulbs and remove any damaged or diseased ones.
- Move the babies to a warm room and hold for 2 weeks to warm up.
- Place the onions in jars or ziplock bags by size.
- Pour some warm water with potassium permanganate into the container. The liquid should not cover the bulbs.
- Cover the jars with lids, but leave a small hole for air.
- Place containers out of direct sunlight.
As a rule, the germs of sprouts appear as early as the 2nd week of such storage. After that, you can plant the awakened onions in open ground. But remember that after the first shoots appear, they need to create greenhouse conditions. To do this, cover the flower bed with polyethylene or non-woven material.
It is not so difficult to grow beautiful and strong gladioli from children. The main thing is to provide the bulbs with good storage conditions, as well as to properly prepare for planting. And then they will definitely take root, and your collection will be replenished with new colors.