Gladiolus Bulbs: Preparing for Planting

Today's topic is gladiolus bulbs: preparing them for planting is crucial. To grow such a luxurious beauty in your garden, you need to dormant them for the winter. Gladioli are grown as annuals, with the bulbs dug up and stored until next year. This is because plant breeders have been unable to develop gladiolus varieties that can withstand freezing winters. The plant is delicate and doesn't tolerate cold. And even soil freezing to -3°C (-3°F) can cause the plant to lose all its vital functions. Therefore, all gardeners dig up the bulbs in the fall and store them until spring. Let's look at some of the nuances of this process, but for now, take a look: Lilies: planting and care in open ground.

Preservation for the winter

After digging up gladiolus bulbs in the fall, inspect and sort them. The largest bulbs, up to 5 cm in diameter, are the best, producing strong, healthy plants with beautiful flowers. Separate them, as well as the medium-sized and young bulbs; this will make it easier to decide which ones to plant where in the spring. To examine the bulbs more closely and discard any diseased ones, remove the dry scales. It's best to treat all the bulbs with a weak potassium permanganate solution, soaking them for half an hour, then drying them, and then storing them. This will disinfect the bulbs and prevent fungal diseases.

In spring - preparing bulbs

In the spring, after removing gladiolus bulbs, to speed up flowering after planting, they can be treated with micronutrients containing boric acid, zinc, potassium permanganate, copper, and cobalt. Two weeks before planting, prepare the tubers by soaking them in a soft pink potassium permanganate solution for half a day. Then, dry them and place them in boxes, bud-side up, in no more than two layers, for several days.

Sometimes, bulbs begin to grow as early as February, which is undesirable, as they should not be planted until March, and in colder regions, until mid-July. In this case, the bulbs should be removed, dried, and stored in boxes in a room with dim, indirect light.

Planting gladioli

When it's time to plant gladiolus bulbs, the soil should be at least 10 cm warm. If you want blooms in September, plant them in the ground in early June. Planting under plastic is possible in August, and then under cover, gladioli can produce beautiful flowers in November if the greenhouse receives additional heat.

Plant the large bulbs you selected in the fall a little deeper than the smaller ones, no more than 4 cm in areas with a long spring. However, once the first few leaves emerge, add a couple of additional hills to speed up their growth and development. Plant them up to 15 cm deep in sandy soils, and no more than 6-7 cm deep in loamy soils.

More interesting information: Perennial flowers for the garden and vegetable garden: photos with names.