Typically the planting of gladiolus bulbs or corms is during the spring season, after the threat of frost is gone. They are very touchy to any type of frost. You want to plant gladiolus bulbs as early in the spring as the soil is workable. The bulbs should be planted about 6 inches deep in light soil, but only 4 inches deep if you have heavy soil. If you are spring planting for the first time you want to fill the hole half full only so the bulbs receive the extra warmth from the sun. You can fill the rest of the hole after the bulbs start to grow. The blooming season of the gladiolus can be stretched for a longer period of blooming time by making succession plantings, which is planting bulbs of several different sizes, and by using a variety of bulbs that take different lengths of time for maturity. If you live in an area of the country where frost happens regularly you will have to dig up your bulbs during the fall before the first frost and store them. For warmer areas that are frost-free, you can leave the gladiolus in the ground during winter,
Gladiolus loves the humidity and the warmer regions of any country. They need the same growing conditions as most other garden flowers and vegetables. They like plenty of sun and a
fertile soil that is well drained. The gladiolus care requires a bit of watching. Watering is very important; rain will very seldom supply enough of the moisture they will need. You will need to make sure their flower bed gets about an inch of water every week. You want to start watering when the plants have at least five leaves on them. They do not like competing with shrub or tree roots, and they do not grow as well crowded against a foundation. If you plant the bulbs with these particular conditions you will need to give them extra food and water. You will want to start some shallow hoeing after the first leaves appear. Gladiolus does not do well if they are forced to compete with the weeds. You want to eliminate the weeds early. The new corm and the new roots will form on top of the old one during the growing season; if you do any deep cultivating too close to the roots the new roots will break off and slow the growth.
When you plant several gladioli at one time, be sure to leave four to six inches between each bulb. The more space that is given each bulb or corm the larger your plant will grow, giving a beautiful display of gladiolus during the summer months. You should start seeing blossoms about three months after planting. You may also want to stake the stems during the growing period, that way the glads will stay tall and perky. They will generally bloom between the months of July and September and have an average height from 40 to 60 inches and are perfect as cut flowers.
The worst enemy to the
gladiolus is the thrip insect. It is a tiny, black, winged insect that will suck the juices from the plant, and leave a silvery appearance that will cause the plant to turn brown. Thrips will also cause deformed flowers and may even prevent some of the flower spikes from opening. Thrips that are on bulbs should be eliminated before planting. Once in the garden, you should start dusting or spraying with a fungicide when leaves are about six inches tall. Apply the fungicide once a week, more if rainy, right through the flowering time.
You can cut the flower spikes when only one or two flowers are open, the remainder will open once placed in water indoors. The spikes should be cut off cleanly at a slant and place the spikes immediately in water. Leaving them out of water for any amount of time will make the tips acquire a permanent curve. You want to leave at least five leaves on the plant since the bulbs need to continue to grow to maturity for the next year. You also want to keep the weeds under control even after blooming. You can let up on the
watering unless the weather becomes very dry. You can also relax on thrip control unless you have a serious infestation.
