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Gladioli are the most popular flowers in the recent past, which children gave to teachers on September 1st. This is not surprising, because they are quite simple to grow in the garden, while they look extremely impressive: large, bright inflorescences on a tall stem. To grow gladioli in Siberia, you need to make a little more effort than in an area whose climate is not so harsh.
Types of gladioli
Gladiolus (another name is skewer) belong to the iris family. Today there are more than 300 species and 5000 varieties of these plants. Gladiolus – bulbous-tuberous perennial flowers. Africa is considered their homeland.
All types can be divided:
Inflorescence size:
- small: flowers are small, arranged in groups along the stem;
- medium: not large flowers;
- large: large, bright flowers;
- giants: flowers reach 20 cm in diameter.
By flower type:
- smooth;
- corrugated;
- folded;
- fringed.
By the color of the buds:
- monochrome: gladioli come in almost all major colors;
- with additional colors: for example, raspberry-pink.
Flower arrangement:
- on one side in a spike-like inflorescence;
- on both sides in a spike-like inflorescence;
- spirally in a spike-type inflorescence;
- in the form of a funnel.
By flowering time after planting:
- early (include super-early and early-middle);
- average;
- late (there are varieties of medium-late and very late).
For growing gladiolus in Siberia, one should opt for varieties with an early or medium flowering period so that they have time to ripen in a short summer. It is preferable if gladioli are from domestic breeders, since such varieties are more suitable for planting in Siberia.
They have also been used as a pain reliever for toothache and as a diuretic. In the XNUMXst century, magical qualities were attributed to gladioli: it was believed that an onion hung around a warrior’s neck would save him from death and bring victory.
Preparing to plant gladioli
To prepare for planting, you should choose the right place and properly cultivate the soil.
Selecting a landing site
When choosing a place where it is planned to grow flowers, it should be borne in mind that they will grow best on the sunny side in the absence of strong winds. If the plants are planted in the shade, the beginning of their flowering will shift to a later date, and the gladiolus itself will be less resistant.
If gladioli are planted in a place where there are no natural barriers to protect from the wind, they must be made by yourself. To do this, you can plant herbaceous plants near the flowers that give a lot of greenery (for example, horse beans or beans).
Soil selection and preparation
Gladiolus will not grow in waterlogged and limestone soil. It can be grown on both light and heavy soils. Ideal for them is loamy, with a pH level of 7 (neutral) soil, rich in humus.
Preparing the soil for planting in the fall
Before digging up the ground, bone meal can be added to it: 100 kg per 5 cubic meters. Manure must be applied to a depth of 30 cm. Organics are important for bulbs, which have a fairly large need for humus substances.
If the soil is heavy, tree leaves (not rotten) should be added to the manure: they will not allow the earth to compact, the soil will be looser and more air will penetrate into it.
If the soil is too light, then it should be compacted by adding clay and fine peat to the manure, which should be well ventilated.
Soil preparation for planting in spring
When the spring soil thaws, superphosphate fertilizer should be added to it in the same amount as bone meal.
Heavy soils are plowed 20 cm deep, light sandy soils are loosened. The earth is levelled, harrowed and cleared of weed roots.
Planting gladioli for seedlings
When growing gladiolus in Siberia, it is more expedient to plant plants in the ground with seedlings – so the flowers will have time to please summer residents with their beauty.
To prepare gladioli for planting, the bulbs are pre-cleaned from the shell or soaked for a day in water at a temperature of +30 degrees. Landing is carried out in early February.
The seedling boxes are filled with moist soil with humus (you can use sawdust), “kids” are planted and covered with soil 1 cm on top. The container is placed in a place where there is enough light. The soil must be kept moist at all times.
Seedlings are planted in the ground when there are no night frosts. You should be extremely careful when transplanting: it is better not to touch the root system. For some time after transplantation, seedlings should be protected from sunlight: the plants must be shaded. You can also cover the sprouts with non-woven material for several days.
Preparing bulbs for planting in the ground
It is first necessary to remove damaged and diseased bulbs. The remaining tubers should be cleaned of dry shells. Then, within two hours, the planting material is etched with mercury preparations.
If the tubers are larger or flattened, then they have partially degenerated: the quality of the flowers will be low, the plant will bloom later than the due date, and the tubers may die during storage.
After dressing, a day before the day of planting, it is recommended to place the bulbs in a solution of trace elements for 16 hours.
The solution may contain the following substances:
- potassium permanganate;
- copper sulfate;
- zinc sulfate;
- boric acid;
- cobalt nitrate.
Planting gladiolus
They plant either a replacement bulb or a “baby” obtained in the fall after digging in the tubers.
Planting a replacement bulb
To ensure proper planting and care of gladioli in Siberia, they begin to be planted when the soil is warmed up by at least +8 degrees. You can plant in furrows or in beds. In heavy soil, bulbs should be sown to a depth of at least 5 cm and not more than 8 cm, in light soil – 10 centimeters. If the land for planting is dry, water must be poured into the holes.
It is better not to plant tubers of different sizes side by side: a large bulb will develop earlier and will interfere with the growth of a small one. Do not forget to place a sign at the landing site with the name of the variety and the date of planting.
Landing “kids”
The “baby” should be planted to a depth of 3 cm after the ground has thawed and the soil is still quite wet. To prepare gladioli for planting in the spring, the hard shell should be removed from the bulb or the “baby” should be soaked for a day in water at a temperature of +30 degrees. Without these manipulations, in 60% of cases, the bulb will not sprout.
Care for the gladiolus
In order for gladioli to bloom on time and have beautiful buds, they need to be properly looked after.
Watering
After planting, until the gladioli have risen (about a month), they cannot be watered so that the earth does not compact and let air through. Otherwise, the development of the root system may be disturbed.
After the gladioli have risen, it is necessary to control that the soil is moderately moist (usually watering is done every three days), otherwise the ears may be deformed and the quality of the flowers will decrease.
It is best to water with mechanical sprayers, except for the flowering period of gladioli: if water gets on the buds, they will become spotty.
Soil care
During the growth of gladioli, it is necessary to ensure that the soil is free of weeds. You also need to loosen the soil from time to time so that air can flow to the roots.
In the presence of sandy soil, after the sprouts appear, the beds should be mulched with peat or covered with a 2 cm layer of humus – thus, moisture will remain in the soil.
Fertilizing and fertilizing gladioli
When growing gladioli in Siberian conditions, the use of microelements is important. They speed up the period of flowering by half a month, help plants protect themselves from diseases and affect the size of the buds. A solution of microelements (the composition may be the same as when soaking the bulbs before planting) should be sprayed on the plants from the beginning of August.
In addition to fertilizers applied to the soil in the fall, it is necessary to feed the gladioli with minerals three more times:
- After a month after planting – ammonium nitrate (up to 4 kg per 100 cubic meters);
- after the development of the fourth leaf – potassium nitrate in the same dosage;
- after the appearance of buds – phosphorus and potassium in the same amount.
General rules for caring for flowers
Gladiolus need to be tied up when the inflorescences begin to appear. To do this, you can drive in pegs along the edges of the beds, with which you can stretch a cord at a height of half a meter – it will be more convenient to tie plants to it.
Appearing branches of spikes of inflorescences must be removed. It is also necessary to tear off the buds that have already faded. When the spike of the inflorescence has already faded, it should be cut off, otherwise seeds will appear in it, which have a bad effect on the development of the bulbs.
How to cut and transport gladioli
The stems should be cut in the early morning when the first bud blooms. This should be done very carefully so as not to scratch the leaves. After cutting the flower, the plant should have at least 4 leaves left in the garden so that the bulb can ripen and be stored for a long time.
To prepare gladioli for long-term transportation, cut plants must be placed in water for 2 hours in a cold place. It is better to cut them before the gladioli begin to bloom.
Cut flowers can last up to two weeks in vases. To do this, you need to change the water in the vessel daily and remove wilted flowers. Before putting the stems in a vase, you need to shorten the leg by three centimeters.
Reproduction of gladioli
Propagation of flowers is done by bulbs: if you use seeds, the plant can turn out with characteristics different from the parent. After planting one bulb in the spring, in the fall it turns out up to two substitutes and several small ones – “babies” (the number depends on the quality of the tubers and the variety of flowers).
There are some varieties that do not give bulbs at all or give in small quantities. To increase the number of “children”, before planting gladioli, the tubers should be vertically cut with a knife into 2 or 4 shares so that each particle has an “eye” (shoot bud) and roots.
Each time after cutting one tuber, the knife must be treated with alcohol or another disinfectant. The place of the cut of the bulb must be treated with charcoal and sulfur (mixture).
How to cut the onion, see the video:
Dividing the bulbs into 2 parts does not affect the start of flowering, and when cut into 4 parts, it shifts 14 days later.
For rapid reproduction of flowers planted “kids”. The disadvantage of this method is the lack of a guarantee of germination.
Cleaning and storage of gladioli
After the autumn frosts come, the bulbs must be dug up. This rule is especially true for growing gladioli in Siberia: if you leave the bulbs in the ground for the winter, they may die. To dig up the tubers, you need to cut the stems right above the bulb.
The dug out tubers should be put in a box, the bottom of which consists of a mesh, and washed with water, clearing the ground. Then the bulbs are placed in gauze bags and soaked for 15 minutes in granosan (solution 0,25%) or ceresan (solution 0,35%) for XNUMX minutes. After that, the tubers are dried in the sun and aired.
Bulbs that have dried out are put into a box. Do not forget to indicate the variety of gladioli on the container. The boxes must be placed in a place with an air temperature of +25 to +30 for 10 days. The place must be well ventilated. Tubers should be turned over periodically. This is necessary so that roots and old bulbs are easily separated from the total mass of tubers.
After 10 days, when the old tubers and roots are removed, the bulbs should be placed in boxes with a mesh bottom (you can stack in two rows) or in gauze bags. Sign the variety of gladioli stored in a specific container.
For about 5 days, the bulbs are stored at an air temperature of +15 to +18 degrees, in the following days the room should not be below +4 and above +10 degrees.
Boxes are best stored on shelves made of timber: this ensures uniform air circulation. It is necessary to ensure that there is no high humidity in the room where gladioli are stored, so as not to provoke an early forcing of plants.
During storage of gladioli, the bulbs must be periodically inspected in order to remove diseased tubers in time.
Diseases and pests gladiolus
Like any plant, gladiolus is prone to disease and pest attacks.
The main pests of gladioli:
- cabbage scoop: a caterpillar that eats holes in flowers and leaves;
- field slug: damages bulbs and stems;
- striped nutcracker (wireworm): damages roots and bulbs;
- bear: damages roots, bulbs and stems.
The main diseases of gladioli:
- dry rot of tubers and yellowing of gladioli;
- small leaf spot and hard rot of tubers;
- brown (gray) rot of gladioli;
- bacterial scab.
Prevention of gladiolus diseases
To reduce the possibility of diseases of gladioli, the following conditions must be met:
- Dressing bulbs before planting.
- Do not plant flowers in the same place until 5 years have passed.
- The distance between planted gladioli should be large enough so that diseased plants cannot infect healthy ones.
- Proper care of gladiolus.
- Timely harvest.
- Proper storage of bulbs.
- Applying the right fertilizer in the right amount.
- Twice a month, during the growth of flowers, gladioli should be treated with Bordeaux liquid (1-2%) or cineb solution (from 0,70% to 0,75%). In the composition you need to add casein glue at the rate of 20 gr. per 10 liters or wheat flour 50 grams for the same amount of liquid.
- Infected plants should be dug up and burned to avoid spreading the disease to healthy flowers.
Conclusion
If the conditions for proper planting and proper care of gladioli are met, in Siberia you can grow a good harvest of these bright, beautiful flowers. In addition, gladioli contain a huge amount of vitamin C: as much as in rose hips. By drying the leaves in the summer and brewing them in the winter, vitamin deficiency and colds can be avoided.