Gladiolus

Family. Iridaceae. 

Homeland of the plant. Africa, Mediterranean, Asia.

Description. Gladiolus is a large genus consisting of 250 - 300 magnificent, perennial tuber-bulbous plants.

Underground, such species form fairly large, up to 5-7 cm in diameter, flat corms of various shades. The top of the bulbs is often covered with dense brown dry scales.

The shades of the funnel-shaped flowers are very diverse and have only a blue tint. Two- or three-color varieties are available. The flowers are arranged in a variety of ways - inflorescences can be in the form of a spike, with one or two rows of buds; varieties with buds twisted around the peduncle are rare. After flowering, small seed pods are formed.

The leaves are long, hard, sword-shaped, light green, from 30 to 80 cm long, with parallel veins, flat, hard.

Long, vertical peduncles appear in spring, summer or autumn depending on the specific species. The buds open sequentially from the base of the peduncle to the top; their diameter varies from 2.5 to 17 cm.

Height. Up to 70 - 100 cm. There are low-growing varieties with a height of only about 30 cm. 

Flowering time

From spring to autumn, depending on the variety and environmental conditions. When grown in open ground, flowering sometimes occurs in June and continues until mid-autumn - until the first frosts. The flowering period can last up to 1 month.

Planting and care in open ground

The corms are planted annually in the spring, since in harsh conditions they do not tolerate frost well and die in winter.

Planting is carried out in May, after the threat of the last return frosts has disappeared. For growing in the garden, only bulbs that are strong and dense to the touch without external signs of disease, damage or soft, rotten areas are selected.

Since flowering weakens with age, it is worth choosing young specimens aged 3-4 years for planting. - such corms are small in size. Older bulbs are large, flatter in shape and have a wide base.

Gladioli feel best in a sunny place - when grown in partial shade, the plants will be loose and weak, the buds and leaves will become small - flowering of late varieties may not occur at all. Early varieties, when placed in partial shade, will bloom later.

A windy place is not suitable for growing - strong gusts of wind can easily break tall flower stalks.

The plant does not like close groundwater and flooded lowlands - in places where water constantly accumulates and stagnates, the bulbs will rot. In warm regions, you should not plant flowers near the southern walls of buildings - in such places the soil heats up a lot, and the bulbs do not like overheating.

It is not recommended to plant in acidic soil - the pH level is adjusted in advance - add slaked lime, crushed chalk or dolomite flour. Eggshells deoxidize and loosen the soil well - before use, they should be thoroughly washed, dried and crushed. The soil pH level should not be lower than 6.5 - 6.8. Any legumes and most vegetables are very good predecessors for gladioli. Carrots, beets, turnips and other root crops, as well as asters, nightshades and cruciferous crops do not like flowers as predecessors.

For additional nutrition, any floral mineral fertilizer, as well as wood ash or coal, are mixed into the soil. if the soil on the site does not allow moisture to pass through well and becomes too dense over time, then a sufficient amount of river sand is mixed into it to improve drainage and structure. 

Preparing bulbs for planting

Before planting in the ground, the corms are inspected - old scales are removed manually - the surface underneath them should be smooth and dense. If rotten areas are found, the diseased tissues are cut to healthy ones, and the cut sites are disinfected and dried for several hours before planting.

In early May, boxes with bulbs are placed in a warm room with good lighting, but without direct sunlight. They are kept in a similar way until green sprouts appear and their height reaches 2 - 4 cm. At the same time, the root tubercles on the bottom become convex and noticeable.

If there are no signs of growth within 10 days, then such specimens can be thrown in the trash.

The sprouted planting material is immersed in a container with warm water with a small amount of fungicide for 1 - 2 hours. Such soaking will help to replenish the loss of moisture that accompanies the storage process.

Planting in open ground without germination is possible.

Young daughter bulbs are prepared for planting separately - they are cleaned of old dry scales, placed in boxes in one layer, bottom down, and immediately before planting they are soaked for half a day in a fungicide.

Landing

The area is dug up and weeds are removed along with the roots. Planting holes are prepared, the depth of which should be 3 times greater than the diameter of the corms.

Depending on the type of soil, the planting depth may vary - if on dense clay soils the corms are planted no deeper than 15 cm, then on light sandy soils the planting depth can be increased to 20 cm. A strong depth will delay the growth of plants, and the corms will not receive enough oxygen and will rot. Too shallow planting will lead to the abundant formation of daughter corms - it is used for old specimens planted only for the purpose of propagation.

A distance of 20 - 50 cm is left between the holes, depending on the planting pattern and the height of the variety - tall species have more space for development. A layer of river sand 2-3 cm high is poured onto the bottom of the holes. It will quickly drain moisture from the bottom of the corms after watering.

Separately from adult plants, you can arrange a "kindergarten" for daughter bulbs - they are also planted in May, making furrows 3-5 cm deep. The distance between the rows in which the babies are planted is about 20-30 cm. If you plant babies together with adult specimens, the latter will take away water and nutrition from them, and therefore the development of babies will be long.

Plants are dug in with soil, which is slightly compacted and watered. After planting, watering should be timely - approximately every 2-3 days.

How to care

Gladioli are easy to care for - water them occasionally, then gently loosen the soil around the bushes and weed the area.

After planting, as soon as the height of the shoots reaches 10 - 12 cm, the bases are mulched with tree bark, sawdust, humus or straw. A layer of mulch about 5 cm thick will prevent rapid evaporation of moisture, the development of weeds and protect the bulbs from overheating.

Tall varieties should be provided with support for growth and development.

Watering is carried out in the morning or evening, adding water directly under the root every week. Moisture getting on flowers and buds can spoil their appearance. Sun rays passing through droplets of water on leaf blades during the day can cause burns. In addition, with daytime watering, water quickly evaporates from the soil surface, without having time to be absorbed.

Melt or rainwater is used for watering, the plants are watered abundantly every week. If the weather is dry and hot, then the frequency of watering is increased to once every 3-4 days.

Do not allow the soil to dry out before the buds form - this will inevitably affect flowering - the buds of such specimens will become smaller and smaller, the upper flowers will not bloom at all. The frequency of watering is reduced as the leaves wither and die - in September, the bulbs are often not watered at all.

Withering individual buds are removed manually, simply pulling them out from the base. The location of gladioli is changed every 2 - 3 years, also trying to change the type of soil.

How and when to prune

Peduncles with fading buds make plants unattractive and contribute to the spread of diseases - it is better to get rid of them. Trim the peduncle at the base with sharp pruning shears. The leaves will also die over time, but they should not be cut off - the process of photosynthesis continues in the green leaf blades, which means the tuber receives additional nutrition. In mid-September, when the leaves become withered, the bulbs are dug up and only at this time the dry ground part is completely cut off. 

Feeding

For abundant and long-lasting flowering, it is important to provide the plants with sufficient nutrition in the form of mineral fertilizers. what compositions and when to use?

As the first feeding, you can use complex fertilizers with a fairly high nitrogen content - this element will allow you to build up green mass in the shortest possible time. The second feeding is carried out when the bush has formed 5-6 leaf blades - at this point, potassium and phosphorus will be important - they stimulate the formation of buds. The last feeding is carried out at the beginning of flowering, but no later than mid-August - this will allow you to make reserves of nutrients in the bulbs for the next season.

For feeding, you can use a small amount of organic matter - for example, humus, well-rotted cow manure. It is better to dilute manure with water and use it for watering - in this form, it will be quickly absorbed by plants. Horse manure is not used for feeding.

The flower responds well to the introduction of wood ash. In addition to root feeding, you can also use foliar feeding, applying nutrient solutions with a sprayer directly to the leaves. Foliar feeding is carried out for plants grown on soils that are fairly poor in nutrients and have a high sand content, from the moment the first leaves appear until the buds open - 2-3 times.

For foliar feeding, solutions of boric acid and iron chelate are used.

When to dig and where to store bulbs in winter

To dig up and collect the bulbs, choose a warm and fine day in the second half of September. First of all, you should dig up early flowering species - the green above-ground part of such specimens dies off early and after the leaves have completely disappeared, the bulbs will be difficult to find on the site. A little later, you can start digging up late-ripening plants and babies - their growing season is quite long.

Before the onset of night frosts, when the air temperature at night drops below 5 degrees Celsius, it is worth removing all the bulbs and putting them away for storage.

The tubers are dug up, cleaned of soil residues and old roots are cut off, as well as the remains of leaves and flower stalks, soaked in fungicidal preparations for half an hour, then washed with running water.

The treated tubers are dried for several hours in the open air or in a warm room.

A sheet of newspaper is placed in a small box, and then the tubers are laid out in one layer. You can place each tuber in a small paper bag with the variety name.

The bulbs are stored in a warm room for 1-2 weeks - at a temperature of about 25 degrees, then the air temperature is lowered to 18 degrees and maintained at this level for a month.

After a month, the babies are separated and stored separately from the adult plants - in a cool place with an air temperature of 6 - 7 degrees Celsius (for example, you can store them in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator). If the babies are stored at normal room temperature, they will lose moisture too quickly and disappear.

The box with mature bulbs is sent to a dark and cool place with a temperature of 5 - 10 degrees - for example, in a cellar. A higher air temperature will promote the emergence of sprouts.

The humidity in the room should be high enough and not less than 60 percent relative.

To prevent some diseases, you can place several peeled garlic cloves in boxes. Every week, the boxes are taken out and the bulbs are sorted, separating out the diseased and rotten specimens.

At the end of winter, the bulbs will gradually wake up and water condensation will appear on the paper sheet. At this time, it is worth repacking the tubers in dry newspaper and putting them away for storage again.

Reproduction

Most often, gladioli are propagated vegetatively - using daughter bulbs or dividing large specimens. Seed propagation is used much less often. With seed propagation, varietal plants may not inherit all the attractiveness of their parents, and bushes grown from seeds will need about 3-4 years to form the first flower stalks.

Reproduction by children

The simplest and most accessible method of propagation is the separation of daughter bulbs. Several daughter bulbs form annually around an adult corm. Such babies are separated and dried before storage.

Dividing the bulbs

With age (after 5-7 years), gladioli bloom worse - low-growing shoots with a small number of buds are formed - such specimens have to be rejuvenated by division or simply used to obtain babies.

Bulbs aged 3-4 years and older often form several growth buds in the upper part - such corms can be divided into parts before planting.

The bulbs are cut with a sharpened and sterilized knife so that each part retains its growth bud. The cut areas are sprinkled with charcoal powder or wood ash for drying and disinfection.

The bulbs divided into parts are planted in the garden and at first very carefully watered - excess moisture will quickly lead to the appearance of rot on the untreated surface.

Growing from seeds 

Seed propagation is often used by breeders to develop new varieties. Seeds are sown in early spring in well-drained soil, consisting of 2/3 garden soil and 1/3 leaf humus or peat, with plenty of sand. Germination occurs within a few weeks. 

Pests and diseases 

• Rotting of the bulb due to stagnation of water.
• Fusarium occurs in plants placed in too acidic soils.
• At a high soil pH level - in alkaline soil, chlorosis occurs - the leaves become light or even turn yellow. Chlorosis can be treated by foliar fertilizing with iron chelate and adding a few grains of citric or other acid to the irrigation water.
• Fungal diseases appear in the case of crowded cultivation and a large amount of water in the soil and air.
• Scab. 
• Viral diseases - for example, leaf mosaic - virus-infected specimens are immediately destroyed - burned. Under no circumstances should such plants be sent to compost. The bulbs are dug up with an impressive layer of soil, and the hole is spilled with a strong, boiling solution of potassium permanganate.

Harmful insects may include thrips, aphids, caterpillars, root mites, mole crickets, wireworms, slugs and snails, and cutworm caterpillars. 

Interesting facts, legends

Initially, plants became widespread in ancient Rome - they served as one of the main decorations of the gardens of the patricians. Gladiolus is also called the flower of gladiators, since there is a legend according to which, in ancient Rome, two gladiators, friends, were forced to meet in the ring and fight against each other. The friends refused and stuck their swords into the ground - then they were executed and in the place where the swords were, a very beautiful flower soon grew.

Interestingly, gladiolus bulbs are considered edible - they used to be added to flour for tortillas.

The plant appeared in European floriculture in the 18th century from Africa. In Ancient Greece, the flower was considered a weed - it often appeared in wheat fields and was gotten rid of by all available means. 

Each variety of gladioli lives only about 20 - 40 years. With each generation, various errors and shortcomings accumulate in the DNA set. Because of this feature, breeders update the DNA composition from time to time using seed propagation.

For cutting, use tall peduncles with buds that have begun to bloom - they will fully open in a vase of water. Peduncles are cut in the morning or evening from the very base at an acute angle. Since the peduncle is hollow inside, watering is carried out carefully - water getting inside such a tube will lead to rotting of the corm.

Using varieties with different flowering periods, you can create flower beds that will bloom continuously throughout the summer months.

Home care

For forcing, mainly dwarf gladioli varieties are used, which are distinguished by their small size, and only strong and healthy planting material is selected. Forcing times can vary greatly depending on the variety - if early flowering species should be planted 9-10 weeks before the desired flowering date, then for late flowering species this period increases to 15 weeks or more.

Temperature and light

Bulbs planted in pots are left at room temperature ranging from 18 to 24 degrees. The pots are placed on a well-lit windowsill, where the plants can sunbathe for 3 to 4 hours daily - preferably in the morning and evening hours. Since the bulbs are afraid of overheating, direct sun should not fall on the pot during the daytime; for the same reason, you should not plant the bulbs in containers with dark walls.

Soil 

Adapts well to various soil types, but prefers well-drained soils. Add compost or peat to soil that is too heavy. pH within 6.0 - 6.5.  A drainage layer 3-4 cm high must be placed at the bottom of the pot.

Spraying and watering

Gladiolus tolerates dry indoor air well and can do without spraying. The frequency of watering is increased as the plants develop and reduced as the leaves die.

If barely moist soil is suitable for planted bulbs, then keep it evenly moist as the leaves form. Watering begins to be reduced immediately after flowering. When the above-ground part dies, the bulbs should be placed back in barely moist soil.

Excess moisture from the pan is drained immediately after watering. 

Feeding 

Since gladioli in a pot have a limited feeding area, for proper development and abundant flowering, they will need timely feeding.

The beginning of flowering can be accelerated if, a month after planting, you apply fertilizers with a high nitrogen content - this way the gladiolus will form leaves faster. Subsequent feedings are carried out with fertilizers for flowering plants with a high content of elements such as potassium and phosphorus.

Fertilizers are applied every 10 days from the moment the sprouts appear until the leaves die. 

Transplant 

The bulbs are removed from the soil and stored in a cool, dry place and planted in the spring. For forcing, corms can be used only once - then they are planted in open ground to gain nutrients.

Types:

Japanese (Chinese) gladiolus, montbretia - Crocosmia

Evergreen or deciduous bulbous plants with stiff, sword-shaped, green leaves with longitudinal veins. Tall, hard peduncles reach a height of 60 - 70 cm and can bear at the top a branched inflorescence consisting of 4 - 20 flowers. The flowers are orange, yellow or red, opening sequentially - from the base of the peduncle to its top. During the flowering period, the plant emits a pleasant subtle aroma. 

Gladiolus byzantinus

A perennial bulbous plant with stiff, sword-shaped, green or bluish-green leaves. The leaf blades are entire, sessile, arranged alternately. Each bulb is capable of producing 3 - 5 leaves. The peduncles are vertical, strong, reach a height of 60 cm, each can bear up to 15 buds. The flowers are large, bright, funnel-shaped - pink, red or purple. 

Acidanthera or fragrant gladiolus, gladiolus Muriel, Abyssinian

Gladiolus fragrant (also gladiolus Muriel, or Abyssinian, Ethiopian) or acidanthera is a bulbous flowering perennial. The leaves are long, up to 1 m, linear, sword-like, vertical, pointed towards the tip. The flowers are fragrant, white, star-shaped, 5 - 7 cm in diameter with sharp petals and a dark purple, burgundy spot in the center. Each peduncle contains 5–12 buds, which open alternately throughout the month. 

Gladiolus imbericatus

This variety is considered the most frost-resistant, and therefore it is very surprising that these plants are so little common in cultivated floriculture. The plants have flattened bulbs and long, sword-shaped, light green leaves. The peduncles bear large, slightly drooping, bright, funnel-shaped flowers. Often the lower petals of flowers have elongated light spots surrounded by a dark border. 

Gladiolus palustris

Bulbous perennials, which are distinguished by very compact sizes compared to other gladioli - flower stems often do not exceed 30 - 60 cm in height. The leaves are light green, sword-shaped, hard, with parallel veins, only 5 - 10 cm long. The flowers are funnel-shaped - pink or purple, appear in late spring - the first half of summer. 

Gladiolus varieties:

Based on the above species, many varieties of cultivated plants have been bred, which have become widespread in floriculture - such hybrids were called “garden gladioli”. Currently, about 8,000 varieties of gladioli have been bred, which are conventionally divided into different groups.

By flowering time - early, middle and late.

The shape and size of the buds are giant, large-flowered and small-flowered, butterfly-shaped, primrose-shaped.

According to the height of the plants - miniature or dwarf, medium and tall.

The shape of the inflorescences is single- and double-row, spiral, alternate.

The shape of the petals is smooth and corrugated; currently, varieties with torn edges of the petals have also been bred.

There is also a classification based on the size of the corms.

Gladiolus Mombassa

 Large-flowered plants 80 -110 cm high, flowers reach 15 - 18 cm in diameter, the inflorescence is spike-shaped. Each peduncle can contain up to 20 dark purple butterfly-shaped buds. Flowering occurs in the second half of July.

Gladiolus Oscar​

 Giant mid-late gladiolus, blooming in the second half of July - August. The flowers are painted in a rich red hue and reach a diameter of 16 - 18 cm. The height of the plant can be 150 - 180 cm, with up to 24 buds on each peduncle.

Gladiolus Priscilla

 Large-flowered gladioli up to 110 cm high with delicate, white-pink flowers. Each peduncle can contain up to 15 buds with corrugated edges of petals up to 15 cm in diameter. The flowering period begins in the second half of July and lasts about a month. 

Gladiolus Nanus

Often the shoots of these plants do not exceed 40 - 60 cm in height; dwarf gladioli have earlier flowering compared to other species and are ideal for forcing at home. Each peduncle can contain up to 10 funnel-shaped buds, in the throat of which there is often a diamond of a contrasting shade. The plants belong to the small-flowered type - the diameter of the buds is 8 - 10 cm. The peduncles are strong, erect, and do not need support.

Gladiolus Malika

 Medium-flowering plants up to 160 cm high with high peduncles, which can contain up to 23 buds of bright pink color with diverging strokes. The flowers can reach 15 cm in diameter.

Chocolate girl

 An interesting variety, 160 - 180 cm high, with 22 light brown (cocoa-colored) buds on a peduncle. The buds reach 12 cm in diameter and have slightly corrugated petals.

Gladiolus Olga

 Plants of this variety reach 130 cm with soft pink, alternately arranged buds with a bright pink throat. The plants have early and long flowering; each peduncle contains up to 22 buds, each of which reaches a diameter of 15 cm.

Aphrodite

 Plants with tall spike-shaped inflorescences, consisting of 20 - 22 buds of a lilac or pink hue with a lighter center. These gladioli can reach 140 - 150 cm in height. Flowering occurs in August.

Tango

 Medium-sized plants, the height of which is 90 - 110 cm. Flowering occurs in July - up to 20 large buds with a diameter of 16 - 18 cm with highly corrugated petals bloom on each peduncle. The flowers are purple in color with a darker throat. The flowering period lasts up to 25 days.

Bangladesh

 Large-flowered plants with double-rowed white buds. The edges of the petals are slightly corrugated. The flowers reach 15 cm in diameter and bloom in July; the plant height can reach 120 - 140 cm.