Growing gladioli outdoors 

Perennial gladioli are, of course, more difficult to grow than any annuals. But the work of the gardener will be justified – these flowers are truly magnificent! A garden decorated with tall gladioli looks well-groomed and stylish, and the flowers themselves attract attention with their size, colorfulness and beauty of the petals.

About how gladioli are grown in the open field, what is the care of these flowers, and what these ornamental plants are sick with – for beginner gardeners, all the information is collected in this article.

How to grow gladioli from bulbs

For the appearance of beautiful and healthy gladioli from bulbs dug in the fall, you will have to work a little. After all bulbs need to be able to properly collect, process and store in the winter, and in the spring, gladiolus corms are divided for reproduction and renewal of flowers.

How to properly store and divide flower bulbs

They dig up gladiolus corms in the middle of autumn, when there are no severe frosts yet, but the flowers have already faded and begun to fade. After flowering, the stem must be cut, leaving only a couple of leaves.

Carefully dug bulbs should first be carefully inspected to detect infection of the flowers with scab, rot or fungal infections. Sick bulbs will have to be thrown away, otherwise they can infect healthy flower tubers.

The rest of the flower bulbs are cleaned of clods of earth and washed with a solution of potassium permanganate or treated with antifungal drugs.

Tubers should be stored in sand, sawdust or in any other way, ensuring a constant temperature and humidity level. The main thing in this process is to prevent premature germination of the bulbs and their drying out, so gladioli should have enough moisture, but it is not recommended to increase the temperature.

In the spring, flower bulbs are taken out of the cellars, brought from the balconies and placed in a warmer and brighter place. First of all, gladiolus tubers are cleaned of scales and carefully examined. Healthy bulbs of adult gladioli should form outgrowths – babies. Large children are separated from the tuber and planted on their own. This season, those that have appeared from the children will not grow, even if the inflorescences appear, they must be broken off at the bud stage.

Such a tactic will help in the next season to get a full-fledged plant that will give large and beautiful flowers that are no different from the parent bushes.

Kidneys are found on the tuber and the bulb is divided so that at least one kidney remains on each individual part.

After separation, the tubers and flower children are treated with a disinfectant (potassium permanganate can be used) and dried thoroughly. The bulbs are now ready for planting outdoors.

Planting and caring for gladioli in the open field

It is necessary to plant gladioli in the country in the most illuminated and protected from the wind area. These powerful and tall flowers need a lot of sun, and their long stems can be easily deformed or broken under constant exposure to high winds.

It is not recommended to grow gladioli in the same place for several seasons in a row – scab and fungi that affect these flowers can remain in the ground for several years.

The depth of the groove for planting the bulb depends on its size. It is not necessary to deepen the tubers too much, this can cause later flowering. The earth should be well warmed up – optimally, if at a depth of 10 cm the soil temperature is more than 8 degrees.

To protect the bulbs from scab, sawdust washed with a special solution is poured into the bottom of the groove. From above, it is recommended to mulch the ground to prevent the appearance of weeds, slugs and prevent the ground from drying out.

In order for the bulbs to germinate as quickly as possible, they are covered with plastic wrap. You need to remove the shelter immediately after the appearance of greenery. Also protect gladioli from possible frosts and heavy rains.

The planting of gladioli is over, now it remains to follow the flowers, respond in a timely manner to their needs.

Top dressing of gladiolus

Tall and powerful flowers need not only water and sun, for normal development, the correct formation of flower ovaries, gladiolus must be fertilized regularly.

Fertilization of flowers begins from the moment the first pair of leaves appear on the stems, and continues until the last inflorescence:

1. The first top dressing of flowers is performed when the bulbs just germinate and give two leaves. For this, growth-stimulating nitrogen fertilizers are used, which can be both mineral and organic. Well suited, for example, a weak solution of chicken manure.
2. The same fertilizers or other growth stimulants are used at the stage of formation of the third and fourth leaf.
3. When the leaves on the bushes become 5-6 pieces, you can feed the gladioli with a complex of fertilizers: nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. If the land on the site is rich in itself (chernozem, for example), the nitrogen component can be excluded from the complex.
4. When inflorescences begin to form, you need to repeat the fertilizer with phosphorus and potassium. This stimulates the plants, they will be covered with large and bright flowers (as in this photo).
5. In order to prolong flowering, you can add wood ash to the water for irrigation.
6. In addition to other top dressings, experienced gardeners recommend using green manure every three weeks.

Fertilizers should be applied regularly, but it is better to do this in small doses, dissolving the nutrients in the water for irrigation. High-quality top dressing will help gladioli grow stronger and please the gardener with abundant flowering.

How to grow gladioli healthy and strong

The trouble with bulbous flowers is susceptibility to diseases and frequent damage to tubers by pests. Every year, the bulbs can accumulate bacteria and viruses, which will eventually lead to the death of the flower (the affected bulb is shown in the photo).

To prevent diseases, it is necessary to regularly treat gladiolus bushes. For these purposes, use:

• in the spring, before planting the bulbs in the ground, cut the garlic into small pieces and dig up the beds. After 2-3 days, gladioli can be planted. This will help protect plants from fungal diseases and their pathogens stored in the soil.
• Planting bulbs in sawdust helps against scab. Sawdust is pre-soaked in a solution of nitrofen (a tablespoon of the substance per 5 liters of water). The joint planting of gladioli and viola, which repels the pathogens of this disease, helps well from scab.
• While the gladioli have not bloomed, it is possible to carry out a complex treatment of the bushes with copper oxychloride and karbofos. A copper-soap preparation and foundationol help well.
• After digging the bulbs in the fall, it is recommended to treat them with a 0,15% solution of potassium permanganate or 0,2% foundationazole.
• Karbofos will help protect planting material from rodents during storage, which must be used in accordance with the instructions on the package of the drug.

Secrets of beautiful flowers

It is believed that the gladiolus is a capricious flower, and not every gardener can grow it. It is possible that some collection varieties are really difficult to grow on their own, without knowing the specifics and not having the skills. But ordinary decorative flowers are quite within the power to grow even a novice gardener.

In order for gladioli to bloom magnificently and delight the owner and his guests, you need to follow simple rules:

1. Plants should not be propagated by seeds. Although, according to agricultural technology, this is possible, the risk of “rebirth” of the gladiolus is very high, when the inflorescences become smaller, their shade changes, the growth of the bushes becomes smaller. Properly propagate bulbous flowers after all with tubers or babies.
2. When choosing a variety of flowers, it is necessary to take into account its flowering time. In nature, there are both super-early flowers and very late ones. For the climate of most of Our Country, you need to choose early gladioli, only they can take root in local conditions, completely fade and give ripe bulbs for the next season.
3. Forming flowerbeds with gladiolus is quite difficult – these tall flowers are knocked out of the general style. Experienced landscape designers recommend combining them with early tulips, daffodils and crocuses, as well as supplementing them with late hydrangea – this way you can get a flower bed that continues to bloom from May to October.
4. Gladiolus of contrasting bright colors look beautiful next to each other. Another advantageous technique is to plant flowers of the same pastel color together.
5. You should not plant varieties with large inflorescences and small-flowering decorative gladioli together, large flowers will overshadow delicate small inflorescences.
6. In order for gladioli to feel comfortable, 30-70 cm are left between them. In addition to the aesthetic component, when designing a flower bed, you need to remember the need for ventilation and full lighting of the bushes.
7. Gladioli need a lot of water, but at the same time, high humidity is dangerous for them. Plants should be watered once a week, 10-15 liters of water should go to each meter of land.
8. To protect the stems and leaves of flowers from fungus and slugs, gladiolus is watered not under the root, but in a special groove, which is five centimeters from the stem.
9. The earth between the holes is mulched with rotted sawdust, humus, sand, straw or grass. This will protect against drying out, overheating of the bulbs, and prevent the germination of weeds and the appearance of slugs on them.
10. After each watering, it is necessary to carefully loosen the soil between the rows – the roots of the gladiolus need air.
11. When the buds appear, it’s time to tie tall flowers to strong supports. Large inflorescences of gladioli become very heavy after rain, for example, strong winds are also dangerous for them. It is better not to risk the bush and tie it up in advance.
12. Cut flowers in the morning, while there is no heat. This should be done with a sharp knife, although some gardeners argue that the most painless way for plants is to break out the stem at the base of the leaves. So the “wound” of the gladiolus will be minimal and will heal faster.
13. Bulbs are dug in dry weather at positive temperatures. Usually in Our Country this is done in the middle or end of September.
14. Immediately after digging, the tubers are sorted and signed so as not to confuse the variety and shade of flowers and beautifully arrange flower beds from gladioli next season.
15. Store gladiolus bulbs in basements with ventilation and a constant temperature or in other cool and dark places. In the apartment, you can store gladiolus tubers on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator; they are first folded into paper bags.

A flower bed of self-grown gladioli will certainly become the center of attention – it is simply impossible not to notice and appreciate these beautiful and majestic flowers, as evidenced by their photos.

Growing and caring for gladioli seems complicated only at first glance. If you follow the recommendations and follow the rules above, the flowers will grow strong and beautiful.