How to properly plant gladioli in spring in open ground - planting, care, feeding, propagation by children: detailed description, rules, recommendations, tips for beginners. When to plant gladioli

In this article we will consider issues regarding the care and planting of gladioli.

Surely, many of us know what a beautiful flower looks like – gladiolus. Speechweed, as this crop is also called, really cannot help but attract flower growers with its lush color and variety of species.

However, not all gardeners and gardeners are in a hurry to plant these plants on their plots, because they believe that caring for them requires a lot of effort. Whether this is true or not, today we will try to figure it out.

When to prepare gladioli for planting in the spring, take them out of the refrigerator for germination: timing

Gladioli cannot be called too picky flowers, however, they, of course, need some care.

Let's start, perhaps, with preparing flowers for planting in spring:

First you need to remove the gladioli from their storage place - the refrigerator. This should be done about a month before planting in the ground.
Next, you should look at the condition of the corms. Be sure to clean them of scales. This must be done extremely carefully, as the eyes of the plants can be damaged. Then we take brilliant green and treat all the “wounds” of the crop with it.
After this, you can move on to the next job. If you have corms that have formed a pair of eyes, you can divide them. They do this, of course, very carefully, and the damaged area is necessarily treated with either ash or activated carbon in tablets, which must first be crushed.
Further, if desired, you can sort the flowers according to different criteria: variety, size, age.

Preparing the bulbs

All corms that are unsuitable in your opinion need to be selected and eliminated. Dry, rotten, blackened corms are definitely not suitable for planting.
Now we carefully put the gladioli in a box or box and send them to a fairly bright place, but without direct rays of the sun. It is better to use a box made of cardboard.
When laying corms, pay attention to their position. The eyes should not be pressed against anything, otherwise they will grow crookedly. Each bulb should take its place and not lie on top of another.
That's all, the gladioli are prepared for further planting. Now you need to wait for the right time and temperature and start planting flowers.

Finding the Ideal Place to Plant Bulbs

Gladioli are not capricious plants, but they need to be planted in areas that do not have a lot of moisture. It is better to choose places with elevations.

Bulbs should not be planted close to swampy areas. Also, the area where gladioli grow should receive a large amount of sunlight.

What soil is needed for gladioli, what kind of soil do gladioli like?

Particular attention should be paid to the soil in which the flowers will be planted, because if it is chosen incorrectly, the crop will not take root and, accordingly, will not bloom.

This crop responds well to black soil, which is rich in humus. It is also suitable for light loamy and sandy soils.
The acidity of the soil in which gladioli will be planted should be neutral or weak.

Soil for flowers

If the soil is not suitable, most often it is improved, and only then flowers are planted in it.
If the soil is heavy clayey, it is worth adding weathered peat, if the soil is sand - humus.

Advice from experts on growing beautiful gladioli

How to plant gladioli corms so that the flower garden is not just spectacular, but luxurious?

The first thing you need to pay attention to is to plant flowers in bouquets:

To do this, you need to make a hole and send 10 onions into it. If varieties of gladioli with a single color are selected, then several plants of different colors can be planted in one “bouquet”. It is best if the shades are in contrast.
If the gladioli are of 2-color varieties, then it is correct to plant one variety in one hole. Otherwise, each variety of gladiolus will clog the neighboring one.
Another way to display gladioli most successfully is to plant them along the border.

When cutting beautiful flowers, be sure to leave up to 5 leaves. This is necessary for the normal development of corms.

How to prepare, divide, clean and what to soak gladioli bulbs in before germination?

Having taken the flower bulbs out of the cool place in which they were stored, you need to immediately start processing them.

Earlier we talked about the fact that all corms must be cleared of scales. It is necessary to do this, because various parasites and pests can live in them. To clean the children, you need to take them in your hands, lightly press the film, and then pry it with your fingernail and remove it. Clean them immediately before planting.
It is not at all necessary to divide the bulbs, but almost all gardeners do this. To do this, you need to take the onion that has 2 growth buds and divide it into 2 parts. Treat the cut area with ash or coal.

Before planting, it is important to prepare the bulbs

An important step in preparing gladioli is soaking them. To do this, you need to place all the bulbs in garlic infusion. Prepare the infusion as follows: peel and grate 270 g of garlic, then pour 10 liters of water into the vegetable. We place not only adult bulbs in this liquid, but also children, and wait a couple of hours. Garlic disinfects gladioli and affects various pests.
If the option with garlic does not suit you for some reason, use solutions of potassium permanganate and karbofos. First you need to carry out the procedure with a solution of potassium permanganate. To do this, dissolve 1 g of the product in 10 liters of water and dip the onions in the resulting liquid for half an hour. Afterwards, dissolve 25 g of karbofos in 10 liters of water, and put the plants in this solution for half an hour.
After all such manipulations, you can treat the crop with means that will accelerate its growth. To do this, add 1 tablet of heteroauxin, 1 g of sodium humate and 1 g of succinic acid to 10 liters of water. Plants must spend at least 8 hours in this liquid.

Prevention of diseases and pests

The gardener carries out the first preventive measure at the stage of preparing gladioli bulbs for planting, i.e. Soaking in a manganese solution helps destroy pathogenic microbes.

And in order to prevent flowers from suffering from pest invasion and becoming infected, a number of preventive measures should be taken.

Crop rotation is the main condition for growing healthy flowers. Over the course of a season, pathogenic microflora accumulate in the soil, the soil is depleted, which will certainly affect the quality of plants in the next season.
If diseased gladioli are discovered, it is necessary to immediately remove the damaged specimen from the garden bed along with a lump of earth and destroy it.
A desirable procedure for protecting plants from diseases is to spray healthy flowers with herbal infusions (yarrow, calendula, marigold) or a solution of potassium permanganate.
Carry out preventive spraying of gladioli with a solution of copper oxychloride or copper sulfate (20 g per 10 liters of water).
Maintain optimal planting times. Bulbs placed in unheated soil may be susceptible to rot.
Sanitary cleanliness of the beds with gladioli, regular loosening, removal of weeds and maintaining good ventilation of the plantings will contribute to the cultivation of healthy and beautiful gladioli.

Gladioli sprouted in January, February, March: what to do?

Due to improper storage, the bulbs of this crop often germinate before the required time.

The thing is that gladioli, during their forced rest, go through 2 stages: the first stage is the time during which the flowers are at rest for reasons beyond our control, the second stage is the time during which we provide peace to the culture, creating certain conditions for her
By conditions we mean air temperature of about +10 degrees and humidity no more than 70%

When the storage conditions of the crop are violated, we get flowers that sprouted in winter. In this case, the algorithm of actions should be as follows:

We carefully transfer all the corms to a drier place. This place should be warm enough. In a few weeks the plants will dry out properly.
After this, we take the corms and transfer them to a place where the air temperature will not exceed +6 degrees. The humidity in this room should be lower than normal.
A couple of weeks before planting gladioli, they need to be moved to a room with a temperature of about +15 degrees. Such conditions will contribute to the awakening of culture.

It is not recommended to plant prematurely sprouted flowers in the ground, since they, in principle, will not yet be able to take root and grow normally.

How to choose planting material?

The specimens must have a whole and healthy appearance . During inspection, large gladioli are selected, and small and diseased ones, which have dark spots on the surface and a wrinkled shell, are burned. The most ideal size of material for planting is 2–4 cm in diameter. The specimen should have one powerful and solid sprout visible.

It is necessary to sort the bulbs by size. Large specimens cannot be planted together with small ones, as they will obscure the light and prevent neighboring flowers from developing.

You should also know that small baby onions do not need to be peeled after storage . They rarely develop mold or rot. Most often, such specimens completely rot during the winter if some kind of infection clings to them. Whole onions are poured into a newspaper bag and wrapped tightly. In this form they are stored in a cool, dry place until spring.

What to do if a gladiolus sprout breaks?

Very often we order new varieties of crops from various online stores. At the same time, the transportation of flowers often leaves little to be desired. And in everyday life it happens that the sprouts of culture break. If this happens to you, it is important to know the following information.

Most often, good healthy bulbs have so-called spare buds
If you create conditions that are comfortable for the plant, it will survive and after planting it will definitely delight your eye with lush flowering
If there is still a lot of time before planting in the ground, place the onion with the broken sprout in a fairly cold and, most importantly, dry place
If you need to plant the crop very soon, then the bulb with the broken sprout should be left in a warm, bright place. This is necessary so that the spare kidneys begin to wake up faster

In any case, do not rush to throw away the plant, try all available methods and only then make a decision.

Time to plant gladioli in open ground in spring: month, air temperature

In order to choose the right time and month for planting a crop, it is recommended to pay attention to the weather outside the window.

Most often, nature itself tells flower growers when it is time to plant plants.

If the spring is early and warm enough, gladioli bulbs can be planted at the beginning or end of April.
If spring is not as warm as we would like, then planting should be postponed until the beginning of May, or even its first week.

Planting bulbs

You can navigate by folk tips. If small leaves begin to form on the birch tree, this is a sure sign that the bulbs can be planted.
You also need to focus on the soil temperature. The most suitable soil is considered to be one that has warmed up to +10 degrees. The depth of the soil being tested is about 12 cm.

Should I germinate in advance?

In the northern regions, where summer is very short, you should start germinating the seed in advance. Preliminary preparation is not needed only when early varieties are purchased that bloom in the first half of summer or in the middle of the warm season.

Reference! 3 weeks before planting, the bulbs are laid out on a horizontal surface in one layer. During this time, white root tubercles should begin to form on the seed. The best option would be the appearance of strong shoots 3 cm high.

Preparation and treatment of gladioli bulbs against thrips before planting in spring: means, description

Thrips are special enemies of flower growers, as they cause considerable harm to many crops.

To save gladioli from these pests, use these methods.

Before planting, you need to take the plants and place them in fairly hot water - 50°C. You can keep gladioli in such water for no more than 3-5 minutes.
You can also treat the culture in Actellik solution. This product has a complex effect on all parts of the plant, destroying many pests. At the same time, the product is safe for flowers and can be used with other drugs. To prepare the required solution, take 10 liters of water and dilute 15 g of the product in it.

Bulb processing

You can use a folk remedy, which, according to flower growers, is no less effective than special means. We take 800 g of garlic, peel it, pass it through a press, collecting the juice. Dilute the resulting juice with 10 liters of water. Dip the plants in this solution for 1 hour before planting.
It is also recommended to disinfect the crop bulbs with karbofos. Take 10 liters of water and dissolve approximately 50 g of the product in it. Immerse the plants in the solution for 5 minutes. The procedure must be done immediately before landing.
A good remedy is Inta-Vir. To use it, dissolve 1 tablet of the substance in 10 liters of water. Place the plants in the resulting liquid for 5 minutes. After the procedure, we immediately plant the crop.

Proper planting of gladioli in the spring so that they bloom well and do not fall: depth, planting rules

Planting of this crop begins when the soil warms up to at least +10 degrees at a depth of 10 cm.

Most often, the planting period falls at the end of April, beginning of May. In order for the planting of flowers to be successful, and the gladioli to please you with their flowering, it is recommended to adhere to the following rules when carrying out this process:

Plant the healthiest, highest quality plant bulbs first.
Gladioli are planted in sandy soil, because such soil has a beneficial effect on plant bulbs and performs a protective function.
To achieve a similar effect, proceed as follows: pour a little sand into the holes dug for the bulbs. It will be enough to fill each hole with a layer of sand of 1.5 cm.
An already planted plant is also lightly sprinkled with sand, and then with soil.

Planting in spring

When planting plants, keep an eye on the distance between them. If the bulbs of the crop are large enough, then the distance between them should not be less than 15 cm, between the rows of such plants the distance should be at least 20-25 cm. If you are planting children, then it will be enough to make the distance between each bulb 5 cm, and between rows – 15 cm.
The depth at which plants need to be planted also depends on the soil and their size. If the crop is planted in chernozem or sandy soil, then the depth should be approximately 15 cm, but if the soil is clayey, then it will be enough to plant the bulb to a depth of 8 cm. On average, corms are planted to a depth of 12 cm. Children are planted to a depth of 4 cm.
Before planting plants, be sure to moisten the soil. However, do not turn the hole into a small swamp.

When to plant to get flowers by early September

Many people plant gladioli specifically so that children can go to school with them on the first of September. In such a situation, it is impossible to name the exact timing of planting flowers in open ground - a lot depends on the climate and variety.

According to the timing of flowering, gladioli can be divided into five groups:

early - bloom in 60–65 days;
mid-early - bloom in 68–74 days;
medium - after 75–80 days;
medium-late - will bloom 82–90 days after planting;
late ones - will bloom after planting the bulbs in 91–100 days.

Knowing these numbers and the light levels of the local climate, you can easily calculate the planting time in order to please children and teachers on September 1 with fresh, luxurious bouquets.

Try to choose deadlines with reserve. It’s better to get gladioli a little earlier: they stand well when cut.

How often to water gladioli?

This crop loves water, so plants must be watered properly. Otherwise, the root system of plants may be damaged, and this in turn will affect the development of flowers.

Watering is carried out exclusively with warm water. Cold or even cool water is not suitable for watering this crop.
Gladioli do not need frequent watering, however, there is no need to skimp on water when watering the plants. The soil should be moistened to at least 25 cm in depth, or even to the full 30 cm.
For each plant you need to use about 10 liters of water.
The amount of water used also depends on weather conditions. If the weather is hot outside, the amount of water can be increased by 1.5 times.
After the procedure, it is recommended to lightly weed the soil and loosen it.

Can it be planted in pots?

Without preliminary germination, gladioli can be prepared for winter planting in simple flower pots. To do this, perform the following steps:

0.2–0.5 cm of drainage is placed at the bottom of the container;
the remaining space is filled with freshly prepared soil;
gladioli are buried in the ground up to the root collar;
Lightly spray the soil surface with warm water.

When it gets warm, flowers in pots are taken out into the fresh air to harden.

Can gladioli withstand spring frosts?

It should immediately be noted that gladioli are heat-loving crops, so temperature fluctuations have an adverse effect on plants.

It is generally accepted that air temperatures from +17 to + 25°C are most suitable for the normal growth and development of this crop.
It is also important to consider that nighttime cold snaps have a much greater effect on plants than daytime ones.
Plant roots feel good at a soil temperature of +10°C.
During the growing season, the crop may suffer if the air temperature drops to -4°C.
Spring frosts are dangerous for gladioli. If the plant stays for about 8 hours. at a temperature of -5°C, its leaves will suffer, however, not critically. If the temperature drops to -7°C, then during the same time the flowers will die.
In order for plants to tolerate frost as best as possible, they need to be hardened off in a timely manner. This procedure will significantly reduce the risk that gladioli will not survive spring frosts.

How to feed gladioli when planting, in spring, during flowering: fertilizers, folk remedies

Fertilizing plants plays a huge role, because in this way the flowers receive all the microelements and substances they lack.

Initially, fertilize the soil in which gladioli will be planted. To do this, urea, ash, potassium sulfate and superphosphate are added to the soil. For example, you need to take approximately 45 g of ash per 1 m2, if the choice fell on urea, then 30 g will be enough, potassium sulfate is used in an amount of 20 g, and superphosphate - 30 g
Next, the plants themselves are fed. As soon as the second leaves appear on the crop, you can fertilize it with chicken droppings. To do this, prepare a solution based on a ratio of 1:20. Also, the first fertilizing can be done using nitrophoska. To do this, dilute 50 g of the product in 10 liters of water. Leave this liquid for a day, and then fertilize the plants with it.

Next, we will feed the gladioli when 5 true leaves appear on them. For this fertilizing, add the following components to the soil per 1 m²:

Ammonium sulfate – 15 g
Superphosphate – 15 g
Potassium sulfate – 15 g

Feeding
As soon as a peduncle appears on the plant, it is time to make the next feeding. For this stage, it is recommended to take the following substances per 1 m²:

Urea – 7 g
Superphosphate – 30 g
Potassium sulfate – 25 g
Final fertilizing is carried out after the crop has flowered. It is appropriate to water the flowers with a solution of wood ash. To do this, dilute 1 glass of the substance in 10 liters of water.

Before buds begin to form on the plants, it is recommended to spray. To do this, mix the following substances:

Boric acid – 1.5 g
Copper sulfate – 2 g
Cobalt nitrate – 1.5 g
Zinc sulfate – 1 g
Liquid soap – 15 g
Water – 10 l

We spray the flowers with this solution so that the liquid gets onto the entire plant. For the procedure, choose the evening time.

When do gladioli bloom, in what month?

The flowering period of gladioli directly depends on when you planted them in the ground.

Some gardeners plant this crop in mid-March. Gladioli planted at this time will delight you with their flowering around the first week of July
Plants planted in mid-April will bloom in late July
If you planted the plants at the end of May, then you need to wait for them to bloom around the last days of August
And those gladioli that went into the ground at the end of July will delight you with color no earlier than mid-September, or even in early October

Knowing this information, you can adjust the time of planting flowers, so that you can admire them all summer and even a little bit of autumn.

When to plant depending on the region

In addition to soil temperature, the climate of the region also plays an important role. Frosts may suddenly return or heat will begin, this will affect the success of growing gladioli. Approximate deadlines for some regions can be found in the table.

Region	Approximate dates
Middle lane	Third ten days of April - first ten days of May
South of Russia	From the first ten days of April
Ural and Siberia	From the first ten days of June

Be sure to take into account the climatic features of the region. For example, in the southern regions the heat comes early, so you cannot delay planting gladioli. In Siberia, on the contrary, the weather is capricious, recurrent frosts are possible even in May, so there is no rush to plant.

The easiest and most accurate way to find out about the timing of planting gladioli is to ask local flower growers.

Gladioli after flowering: what to do, how to prune gladioli for the winter, how much stem to leave?

The gladioli have faded, however, they still need care and attention. After all, proper cleaning of plants after they bloom is the key to their successful storage and future flowering.

After the crop has flowered, proceed as follows. After about a month, 40 days, the gladioli need to be dug up. This must be done extremely carefully so as not to damage the root system of the plants. First, the plants are slightly dug up, prying them up with a pitchfork, and then pulled out with their hands.
Now we remove the remaining soil from the flowers and lay them on a dry surface. In this case, immediately inspect the dug up bulbs. All sick, damaged bulbs should be removed to the side. The stems of the crop should be trimmed as much as possible. It is permissible to leave only a small piece of the stem, approximately 5 cm
Leave the plants for a couple of days for them to dry out.
After this, we treat the gladioli in a solution of potassium permanganate. Then dry it again
Then the plants need to be stored in nylon bags for a whole month.
After this time, transfer the bulbs to a box and store it for about a month.
After this, the culture must be moved to a cold place.
You need to dry gladioli monthly, taking them out of the basement or refrigerator
While doing this procedure, inspect the plants for pests and diseases.

Subtleties of plant care

As already mentioned, gladioli are delicate plants that require some care.

Diseases

Gladioli have many different types of diseases:

Fusarium . A common fungal disease that causes plant death. It can occur during storage of the bulbs if they are heavily infected. If the disease is poorly developed, it may not appear outwardly, but seedlings may not appear. When the disease appears late, yellow stripes appear on the leaves of gladioli and they quickly dry out.
Heart rot . A common fungal disease. When it is infected, brown spots appear on the leaves and they quickly disappear. Wet stains form on the flowers. Heart rot spreads during harvesting in wet weather. It can also be provoked by storage in very humid areas.
Less common are diseases such as sclerotinia, hard rot, bacterial scab, and yellow scab .

Pests

Gladioli are an attractive treat for some pests. These include spider mites and thrips .

In order to get rid of spider mites, plants are sprayed with compounds containing sulfur and phosphorus. Measures to prevent thrips infection include treating the bulbs with karbofos. They are placed in a solution of karbofos (0.4%) for half an hour, dried and stored in the refrigerator. The same is done before disembarkation.

Watering

Soil moisture is also very important, as for most plants, including nemesia flowers, described in the article https://2gazon.ru/ozelenenie/cvety/nemeziya-iz-semyan.html. Watering must be done regularly. This promotes good development of the root system and proper formation of inflorescences.

What to do with gladioli babies in the fall?

The only thing we can say for sure is that you definitely shouldn’t throw them away.

Having dug up the plant bulbs and cleared them of soil, we leave them to dry
After this, it is necessary to separate the children from the main bulb. To do this, you need to carefully unscrew them.
Adult and baby bulbs should be stored separately.

Gladioli babies

In this case, the children need to be folded into paper and then into cardboard boxes.
The best places to store them are in a cellar, balcony, or refrigerator.
The temperature in the room where children are kept should be about +5 degrees

Reproduction of gladioli by children: description

Propagating gladioli by children is the surest way to provide yourself and your garden with beautiful flowering crops.

In the fall, as you already know, the children are separated from the mother bulb, and, properly processed, stored until spring
Next, before planting, the children need to be treated. First, we clear them of scales. After this, we make a solution of potassium permanganate by mixing 10 liters of water and 5 g of the product. We treat children with this liquid
We plant children only when the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm is +10 degrees
Plant plants to a depth of 5 cm
Between plants you need to leave a distance of 5 cm, between rows - 15 cm
As soon as the shoots appear, it is necessary to water the plants and loosen the soil
You can fertilize gladioli a month after you see the shoots
It happens that children shoot arrows and bloom, but this should not be allowed in the first year
Around the end of September, the bulbs need to be dug up and then prepared in a way already familiar to you for storage.

How to get gladiolus seeds?

This crop can also be propagated using seeds. To do this, you need to get seeds, and this happens as follows.

The plant must be pollinated by pollen from another flower.
After the gladioli have faded, the process of drying begins
When the flowers dry, small boxes with seeds will appear in their place.
Our task is to remove the boxes and collect the seeds

When we have the seeds at hand, we can think about propagating this crop with their help.

The process of growing a crop from seeds begins at the end of winter
We take our seeds and soak them in a solution of sodium humate (a 0.01% solution is suitable for this) for a couple of hours.
Next, mix humus and sand in a 2:1 ratio. We plant seeds in this soil
Next, we care for the seeds in the standard way: water them, feed them if necessary
If the weather in your region allows, plant the seeds directly in open soil.
When the season is over, your seedlings will delight you with the appearance of children
We carefully separate the babies from the stem, dry them and put them away for storage.
Store in a fairly dry and warm place

How to grow gladioli corms from baby plants in one summer

First, the growing season for the baby increases. To do this, take out the babies in February, pour them into a plastic bag and add a little warm water. Stir the contents and drain off excess moisture. Now tie the bag, make it as airtight as possible and put it on the window until the end of March.

There will be enough warmth and moisture for small roots to appear on the children by the end of March. Plant large children in seedling boxes; after about 15 days the bulbs will sprout. Now you can do everything as usual - replant it in a bed with fertile soil, monitor the throwing out of flower stalks and remove the arrows. By autumn, the children will have grown into full-fledged bulbs, which should be prepared for the new season and you will receive flowers for next year.