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Flowers with bulbs do not have to be planted outside in a flower garden. So gladioli are often found in places where no one expects. Many skewer lovers have flowers in pots on the windowsills and right on the street.
The green leaves of the gladiolus resemble a knight’s sword, it is for them that the flower got the name skewer. The flowers are delicate, graceful with a varied color palette. Today, there are a huge number of varieties of gladioli, which are valued by lovers for their long flowering in the cut.
Attention! To grow a gladiolus in a pot, you need to follow special rules. We will talk about them today.
A few words about gladioli
In nature, gladioli grow in the Mediterranean and in the African subtropics. They require soil rich in nutrients and warmth. Cold wind can cause the death of the plant.
Warning! In one place, gladiolus bulbs can be grown for only two years.
When growing gladioli in a room, a decorative decoration is obtained, but only if the soil is sufficient for full development. When asked if gladioli can be planted in pots, the answer is unequivocal – yes.
Growing skewer in a pot has its own characteristics:
- Several bulbs are planted at once to obtain a magnificent bouquet.
- Compliance with agrotechnical procedures regarding the rules for the care of bulbs and plantings is required.
breeders have created mini-varieties, the height of which varies between 30-50 cm. The flowers are also smaller than usual, but the color of these regal plants is the most diverse. Gladiolus grown in pots are in no way inferior to those planted in the ground. You can see for yourself by looking at the photo.
Rules of landing
The method of growing gladioli in pots is not new. It was used by the ancient Greeks. Let’s take a look at the features.
Preparing the container
Before planting gladioli, you need to decide on the choice of capacity. Usually this is a pot with a depth of at least 40 cm and a diameter of 20 cm or a little more. This will allow the gladiolus bulbs to develop successfully.
Flowers suffer if moisture stagnates in a pot, so drainage holes must be made in the bottom to drain water. Broken shards, small pebbles or glass pieces can be used as drainage.
What soil to choose
Soil is poured over the drainage. Gladiolus should be planted in loose, structural soil. It absorbs water well. Often flower growers use ready-made compositions for indoor flowers.
If the soil is prepared independently, you need to choose fertile, black earth. Loam is also suitable, only coarse-grained sand will have to be added to it. It is pre-washed under running water. The height of the soil should be at least 30 cm so that the root system is comfortable.
The soil is first shed with boiling water, adding a little potassium permanganate. Such treatment is necessary for the destruction of spores of fungal diseases. You need to add a little wood ash to the soil, it serves as top dressing.
Features of planting bulbs
To plant gladioli correctly and ensure their full development, you need to take into account the depth of planting the bulb. This parameter directly depends on the diameter of the planting material. If there is loose soil in the container, then the bulb is deepened by 4 of its diameter. On heavy soils, the embedment depth is equal to three diameters. Between the bulbs adhere to a distance of 5-6 cm.
We prepare the planting material
As a rule, bulbous plants are planted in April-May. But some flower growers start planting gladioli in March if the bulbs woke up earlier.
In this video, experienced flower growers will share how to prepare gladiolus bulbs for planting in a flower pot:
Before planting the gladiolus in pots, each bulb is peeled. This must be done carefully so as not to damage the sprouts. Bulbs with dark spots, dried up are subject to rejection. In some cases, planting material can be reanimated. Small damages are cut out and smeared with brilliant green, fungicide solution or sprinkled with crushed charcoal.
Bulbs with a diameter of 3-5 cm (as in the photo below) are the best planting material. They will give powerful flower stalks, there will be a lot of flowers on them.
How to process bulbs
Before planting, the bulbs should be treated for pests. For these purposes, you can use different methods:
- soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate, Bordeaux liquid or copper oxychloride;
- use the drugs “Maxim”, “Fundazol”, “Aktara”, “Karbofos”, taking into account the recommendations;
- treated with “Dichlorvos” by putting the bulbs in a plastic bag. The package is tied and the bulbs are kept for half an hour.
Features of planting gladioli in pots can be viewed on the video:
Care instructions
The first step to get a blooming gladiolus bouquet is done. Now you need to understand the features of pot growing.
Watering
Gladiolus is capricious in terms of substrate moisture. The slightest drying of the soil has a negative effect on the development of the skewer, can cause death. But you should not overmoisten the soil either: the bulb will begin to rot. Gladiolus should be watered moderately to avoid curvature of peduncles, reducing decorativeness.
Watering will depend on the temperature and humidity of the environment. In the heat, moisten the plant at least 3 times a week. To increase the moisture resistance of the soil, experienced flower growers advise mulching it with peat or humus.
Feeding
The rules for caring for flowers planted in pots involve top dressing. In order for gladioli to please with beautiful, lush inflorescences, it is necessary to carry out root and foliar top dressing with complex fertilizers:
- The first time they feed is when the third leaf appears on the gladiolus.
- Fertilize the second time in the presence of six “skewers”.
- When the gladiolus throws out the peduncle, it needs to be fed a third time.
How to avoid deformation of peduncles
Peduncles in gladioli, although powerful, are long enough. They cannot be held upright due to the heaviness of the flowers, and often break at the internodes. One of the reasons is insufficient, one-sided lighting.
In a pot, as a rule, from 5 to 6 bulbs, when blooming, a whole bunch is formed. To prevent deformation of plants, they are tied to pegs, but they spoil the look of the flower garden.
Advice! It is best to use a decorative openwork mesh. Then our gladioli will resemble a bouquet in a package.
Growing conditions
Each grower has a lot of tricks for growing gladioli in pots, they are always happy to share them with beginners.
What you need to know:
- Gladiolus is a lover of the sun. If the flowers are in the apartment, with the onset of heat, the pots are taken out to the balcony. There is enough light and heat. In summer, containers with planted gladioli are put outside.
- Gladioli bloom better if direct sunlight does not annoy them, so the best place for pots on the site is partial shade.
- In the apartment, a south window is chosen, shaded if necessary. Air humidification is necessary to create comfortable conditions. You can spray water from a spray bottle or place pallets filled with moss next to flowering gladioli. This plant perfectly retains moisture and releases it into the air gradually.
Pest Control
As you can see, if you make an effort, you can always grow gladioli in pots. Fortunately, there are not so many pests living on the skewer. First of all – thrips. These are small creatures, their appearance is not always immediately noticeable. Insects suck juices, multiply very quickly. Thrips can be killed with pesticides. Aphids bother flowers. Sometimes it is enough to sprinkle the flowers with tobacco dust.
Flowers planted outdoors in a flower pot may suffer from slugs that eat away the succulent parts of the wedge-shaped leaves, flowers, and stem. The decorativeness of the flower is lost. But this is not the worst threat from slugs. If they get to the tubers and roots, the plant dies.
Slugs threaten gladioli grown in flowerpots on the street. They breed where there are weeds. Therefore, it is necessary to fight mercilessly with them not only in the pot itself, but also around it.
Getting planting material
When growing gladioli in a flowerpot, one should not forget about the formation of future bulbs. They will be required for planting next year. To do this, after the gladiolus has faded, cut off the peduncle.
After a while, they will dry out on their own. Watering and fertilizing are carried out as usual. After the leaves have completely dried, they are cut off along with the stem, and the pot with bulbs is stored in a dark, cool place. If the plant was grown on the street, then the container is brought into the room before the start of frost.
In early October, the bulbs are removed from the container, shaken off the ground, and examined for pests. If at least one is seen, all planting material is treated with chemicals as a preventive measure.
After that, the bulbs should be placed on a sunny windowsill so that the scales dry out. When they rustle in their hands, the planting material is removed for storage. Some growers store them in containers in the refrigerator.
In the village, planting material is perfectly preserved in the basement. Only each bulb needs to be wrapped in several rows of newspaper, as in the photo. If a potato is stored nearby, it humidifies the air when breathing.
Important! The newspaper will absorb excess moisture, it will not damage the gladiolus bulbs.
Conclusion
As you can see, growing gladioli in pots is a fascinating process. Imagine: it is still cold outside, uncomfortable, and in your apartment on the window there are whole bouquets of multi-colored gladioli. Many flower growers plant bulbs of different varieties in one container. Try it yourself, you won’t go wrong!