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Preparing gladioli for winter, pruning
Preparing gladioli for winter is an important process that includes several agrotechnical measures. And the health and survival of the bulbs depend on how correctly you conduct them. Therefore, it is important to know about the basic rules of crop care before storage.
Preparing for winter: pruning gladioli
Inexperienced gardeners believe that it is not necessary to cut out faded flower stalks. This is an erroneous opinion, because the wilting stems pull juice from the plant, which could go to the bulbs. As a result, the tubers do not have time to accumulate enough strength and do not tolerate storage well. Therefore, after flowering, it is imperative to prune.
Preparing gladioli for winter includes pruning, digging and processing the bulbs.
After trimming the peduncles, the plant needs to be watered less. It is advisable to feed the crops with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers before digging.
From the time of pruning to digging out the bulbs, it should take 50-60 days. But this procedure should be completed before the leaves turn yellow. It is better to dig out gladioli with a pitchfork. Then the risk of damage to both the mother plant and the babies will decrease.
After you dig up the flowers, cut off the stem and leaves so that a stump of 8-10 cm remains. In this case, this procedure should be carried out as soon as possible. Otherwise, the nutrients needed by the bulbs will be wasted on the withering parts of the crop.
Preparing gladioli for storage
After digging the corms, it is necessary to sort, check for diseases and pests, and also separate the adult children from the mother plant. In the future, prepare flowers in this way:
- Dry gladioli for 2-3 days. It is advisable to do this outdoors.
- Clean the tubers from soil residues, stems, damaged scales.
- Place the gladioli in a warm, dry place for 7-10 days.
- Dissolve 100 g of chopped garlic in 30 ml of water and treat the flowers with this solution. Adult bulbs can be put for 20-30 seconds, children for no more than 2-3 seconds. Remember to wear gloves during processing.
- Let the tubers dry a little after the solution and place them in boxes or containers.
It is better to store bulbs in a dry, ventilated basement. If it is not, then the flowers will overwinter in the apartment. But for this it is necessary to provide them with comfortable conditions.
Gladioli tolerate indoor wintering well. But only on condition that they were properly prepared. Give the plants a little attention, and they will surely survive and delight you with their friendly and long flowering for the next season.