Gladiolus Growing & Planting

Gladiolus Care – How to Plant Grow Store Gladioli Bulbs

The gladiolus is grown in many gardens for its attractive and showy flowers. It is a genus of the perennial flowering plants that belongs to the Iris family. These summer plants grow well in warm weather and produce flowers in a sequence. As the plants are tall, they are often used in the background or the back of a garden border. Gladiolus grows 2 to 6 feet in height and they have many different coloured flowers. Due to their height, they make a very impressive display as cut flowers placed into a large vase indoors.

How to plant and grow Gladiolus?

It is ideal to plant the Gladiolus bulbs in spring after the frost season has passed off. The soil has to be warm when you plant the bulbs.

• Prepare your soil before planting the gladiolus bulb. Dig a furrow of 8 inches depth and make the dugout a long one so that you can place the corms about 6 inches apart. Ensure that the space you dig is a large one so that it can hold 10 corms.
• Mix 2 to 4 inch layer compost and organic fertiliser such as blood and bone in the bottom of the ditch. Add a layer of soil over the compost mix.
• Place the corm in the hole with its pointed end showing up. Now, cover it completely with the soil and then press the soil firmly. This way you should place all the corms in the trench about 6 inches apart. Pour a sufficient amount of water over the soil.
• This plant needs good light, whether the bulbs are planted in the ground, pot or containers, as well as well drained soil and will thrive in full sun. Ensure that the plant receives enough water during its growing period.
• It will take at least 70 to 100 days to grow and flower. Never plant the gladiolus during summer time.
• Add mulch to the soil to keep the soil moist always.

How to Store Gladioli Bulbs in Hessian Garden Bags?

The right way to store Gladioli Corms after flowering, things you need to do:

1. It is important to cut the top off above the corms while the stems are still green.
2. By this time the flower corms have already made its small cormlets, so there is no need to wait for the stems to turn yellow and die down like a daffodil bulb before you store them. Because the goodness stored in the corms has already been done.
3. When the corms are dry dust the corms with a fungicide such as sulphur to avoid diseases before storage and store them in a mesh or hessian bag tied to the rafters in the garden shed for good air flow away from moisture, until the right time to be planted for the next winter spring season.
4. You should dig and store gladiolus bulbs each year otherwise they will rot and you will lose them.

Gladiolus Turning Yellow

The bacterial, viral and fungal diseases enter into your garden and work on the unhealthy corms to make the plants sick. This could be the reason for the leaves to turn yellow in colour. The most common problem is the Fusarium rot, a fungal disease. The other causes of Gladiolus plants having yellow leaves are: Stromatinia corm dry rot (fungus), tomato or tobacco ring spot (viral diseases) and scab (bacterial infection). The best treatment is to remove the infected corms.