- Know the gladiolus
- Tips for planting gladiolus
- Tips for caring for gladiolus
- Which plants to associate them with?
Know the gladiolus
Very popular bulb plants in country gardens where they are usually grown to provide cut flowers , gladioli are very easy to grow and undemanding. The foliage reminiscent of swords is pure green, and the funnel-shaped flowers bloom between July and September depending on the time of planting, and lasts about two weeks. The colors are very varied, pastel or bright, in all colors except pure blue, often with several colors and a contrasting groove. They reach 80 cm to 1.20 m depending on the variety.
Tips for planting gladioli
Gladioli, in fact corms, are marketed in the spring and shipped from mid-February to May . Gladioli are undemanding and grow in any good, well-drained, ordinary garden soil in full sun. Prefer locations sheltered from the winds which bend the stems of the gladioli.
Prepare the ground by digging it to remove stones and weed roots. Enrich the soil if necessary with a special bulb fertilizer. Start installing gladioli bulbs from mid-April, flowering will occur about 10-12 weeks later. Stagger the planting of bulbs to obtain a spread out flowering by planting bulbs approximately every fortnight .
The gladiolus bulb is planted about 10-12 cm deep, in a line or in a clump of 10 to 20 bulbs. Water lightly after planting. Immediately provide staking for the tallest varieties.
Care tips for gladioli
Once established, gladioli require no care other than staking . Traditionally, gladioli are grown for the cut flower. When harvesting the flowers, avoid removing the foliage because it allows the bulb to replenish its reserves, and thus ensure quality flowering the following year .
It is better to wait until the leaves are completely withered or browned by the frosts to pull out the bulbs in autumn. Once dried, the bulbs must be sorted by size and stored in a crate, in a dark and frost-free place, such as the cellar or the garage. They can be replanted the following spring. In mild climates, the bulbs of gladioli in the ground can be left in the ground, but they become less floriferous after a few years, producing many bulblets which only give leaves.
Which plants to associate them with?
Gladioli make excellent cut flowers that last about two weeks in a vase . They make a very beautiful effect in the garden planted in the company of dahlias , lilies , montbretias in a sunny corner of the garden or vegetable patch to be able to compose your bouquets.
They can also be planted in tight clumps in beds of perennials or annuals to give them volume, or in beds of recently planted shrubs to fill them out.