How to grow gladioli in your garden

Gladiolus plants grow wonderfully in a warm summer climate. You can produce these flowers by planting a few bulbs every few weeks. Learning how to care for gladioli is rewarded with a wide variety of colors in your garden, and it also works wonders for cut flowers to put together decorations.

Gladioli look like large saffron bulbs. They have a brown fiber wrap with a small flat bottom. Sometimes they already have spiky buds showing at the top. Gladiolus plants are a beautiful addition to any garden. Knowing how to grow gladiolus and proper gladiolus care will ensure that these lovely flowers grow well in your garden.

HOW TO PLANT GLADIOLUS FLOWERS

To plant the gladiolus flowers, you must first dig a trench that is approximately 20 cm deep. You also have to separate them about half a foot apart, placing them in a semi-circle or an oval. You want to make sure the space is big enough to handle around ten bulbs for good viewing.

The second step is to fertilize the bulbs with 5-10-10 or 5-10-5 of fertilizer. You should put the recommended amount at the bottom of the planting area, but you should make sure to mix the soil and fertilizer well so that the bulb does not burn. Then you must add a layer of unfertilized soil before placing the bulb in the trench.

Proper gladiolus care requires the use of fertilizers. As they emerge, you can fertilize the new batches of gladioli when you see the flower spikes begin to show. After choosing the flowers, you can fertilize them again. When fertilizing, add the granules next to the flower, and then scratch the soil with a cultivator to mix it up a bit.

It would help if you started planting your gladioli in mid-spring. From there, you should do a few new plantings every two weeks. Gladioli take 70 to 100 days to grow and flower right in the middle of summer. If these flowers are exposed to the wind, you should rethink the place to plant them.

Keep your gladioli well-watered during their growing period, and you should make sure you have mulch in the soil around them to keep it moist.

HOW TO CARE FOR GLADIOLI IN THE WINTER?

Instead of leaving the bulbs in the ground for the winter, you can dig the bulbs for storage four to six weeks after picking the flowers.

Dig the bulb and shake as much of the soil as possible. Then you need to trim the leaves to one inch from the bulb itself.
Let the bulb dry for about a week. After that, you can shake off the remaining soil.

SOME GROWING TIPS TO HELP WITH GLADIOLUS CARE

Gladiolus flowers prefer good drainage and even be in sandy soil. Gladioli like sunny places. You will have to do it more profound than usual to plant gladioli because they have a tall sheaf of leaves. This will help anchor against the strong winds that can blow them to the ground.
Store your gladioli in a dry, dark, cool place in a mesh bag or old pantyhose to prevent moisture from continuing to grow. Also, protect them when you store them because mice love gladiolus bulbs.