CyberSalad: Garden Pursuits: Bulbs: Gladiolus

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Gladiolus hybridus

     Gladioluses are grown primarily for cutting, and few if any other plants offer such a wide variety or mass of color for bouquets. Plants range from 1 foot to over 5 feet in height, depending upon the variety and growing conditions. Although individual plants bloom only for a week to 10 days, a staggered planting schedule will assure flowers for about three months. Gladioluses have sword-shaped foliage that may remain green until cut down by frost.
     Although gladioluses can be left in the garden year round in Zones 8-10, the plants will flower more profusely if the corms are dug and reset annually, as they must be in the colder zones. All gladioluses do best in full sun. A light sandy loam is ideal, but they will grow satisfactorily in almost any garden soil that has been enriched with compost, leaf mold or peat moss. Add 5-10-5 fertilizer, one cup to a 25-foot row. Avoid animal manures; they encourage bulb rot. To extend the season of bloom, plant gladiolus corms at intervals of seven to 10 days, starting after the last spring frost and continuing until two months before the first fall frost is expected. in Zones 9 and 10--except along the coast of California--the summer months are so hot that the corms should be planted only from November to February to bloom from January to May.
     Plant the corms 4 to 6 inches apart, covering them with 4 to 6 inches of soil. Many gardeners place a double row of bulbs in the same 8-inch-wide trench, staggering the bulbs to achieve the proper spacing. Fertilize just as the spikes appear, and then after the flowers are picked, by scratching 5-10-5 fertilizer around the plants at the rate of 1 cup to a 25-foot row and watering it into the soil. When plants are about 12 inches tall, hold them erect by mounding, or "hilling up," earth around the stems to a height of about 6 inches. Otherwise the gladioluses should be supported with stakes or with stake-supported cords down each side of the row. At this time, mulch around the plants with a 1-inch layer of sawdust or grass clippings to avoid further weeding and to conserve moisture.
     Pick the spikes when two or three flowers on the stem have opened. The best times of day are early morning and late afternoon, when the stems are full of moisture. Separate the leaves slightly if necessary and, pulling gently on the stem, cut it with a sharp knife. Leave four or five leaves on the plant so that the corms can mature.
     Dig up the corms four to six weeks after flowers fade, or after frost. Lift them with a spading fork, cut off the tops, and let the corms dry in a shallow container in an airy place out of the sun for two to three weeks. Pull off the dried remnants of the old corms and save both the fresh corms and the cormels at their bases. (Cormels will reach flowering size in two years.) Dust the corms and cormels with a combination insecticide-fungicide and store them over the winter at 40° to 50°. Old nylon stockings make ideal storage bags because they can be hung up to allow air circulation around the corms.

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Site launched January 1, 2000.
Site updated September 1, 2007.