How to Grow Gladiolus Flowers

By Matt Gibson & Erin Marissa Russell

Gladiolus flowers are very popular both as slashed bloom for indoor bouquets and organization , and as garden standouts . and Also known as steel lilies , or just gladiola for short , gladiolus flowers produce some of the most beautiful , awe inspiring blossom you could find for your summer flower garden . There is a gladiolus well - suit to every garden spot you could intend of as well , as they are available in a spacious range of color , superlative , and flower styles .

The vast raiment of variety swan in height from two to five feet tall , with bloom size that range from miniature blooms , which are less than three inch in diameter , to giant blossom , which span over five inch in width . Flowers are displayed in a totem - like flock on the top portions of their erect stems , hence the byname , blade lilies . salad days follow in a multitude of colors , include lavender to inscrutable purple , bass maroon to candy apple red , pale to hot pink , diffused to bright white-livered , white , emollient , red coral , green , and even multicolor options .

gladiolas

Varieties of Gladiolus Flowers

There are over 260 different varieties of glad to choose from . Having so many cultivar to select from can be a cephalalgia . Luckily , there are certain varieties that put up out from the inner circle . Here are a few of our recommendation :

Abyssinian Sword Lily – White star shaped blooms with colored - purple marrow . Hardy to USDA zones 7 through 10 .

Alaska – Beautiful white blush , can get up to four infantry marvelous , with 12 heyday on each spike . Attracts pollinators . Hardy to zone 8 - 11 .

gladiolus flowers growing

Black Star – Deep purple to maroon blooms . A very tall cultivar consummate for back border . Hardy to USDA zone 3 through 10 .

Candy Man – late pink bloom . Hardy to USDA zones 8 through 10 .

Carine – White horn - shape blooms with purple markings in the shopping mall , Hardy to all USDA zone .

glad flowers blooming

Claudia – raise up to two pes tall with red rosiness . Hardy to zones 5 through 10 .

Dream ’s End – Super tall , dependable for back borders . display light orangish efflorescence with large icteric centers . Hardy to USDA zone 8 through 10 .

Glamini sword lily – Highly pest resistant , dwarf variety great for front border . One of the few cultivars to grow well in partial shade . Available in multiple color . Hardy to zones 3 - 10 .

purple and pink gladiolus with text overlay flower gardening how to grow gladiolus flowers

Greenstar – Dark green foliage counterpoint with light gullible flower flower petal . Can grow up to four groundwork tall . Hardy to USDA zones 7 through 10 .

Flora – This mixed bag is a five foot monster with abstruse purple bloom . Hardy to USDA zone 3 through 10 . Will grow well in partial shade .

Passos – A garden standout , this cultivar give rise sensational empurpled blooms with flushed centers and violet sharpness . plant grow up to four foot tall . Hardy to USDA zona 3 through 10 .

Prins Claus – White flowers with dash of pink . Hardy to USDA zones 8 through 10 .

Yellowstone – Bright yellow midsummer blooms . Hardy to USDA zones 2 through 10 .

Honorable Mentions : Applause , Baccara , Blue Moon , Charm , Elvira , Impressive , Nathalie

Growing Conditions for Gladiolus

plant life sword lily in a location that receivesfull sunshine . Gladioli will flower in fond shade location , but the blooms will not be as colored or vivacious as they would be in full Lord’s Day , and the plant ’s development could be stunt from inadequate light .

corpus sternum opt a well - drained , loamy , flaxen ground . Gladiolus corms are prone to rotting in laboured , waterlogged soil condition . If you have a clay - based ground , loosen the beds down a foot late before planting . Give your gladiolus flowers plenty of space by placing corm six to ten inches apart in your garden beds . Plant small corm two to four inches deep in the stain , and larger corms four to six inches deep .

Sow your gladiolus corms two hebdomad before the last rime in the fountain . For continuous bloomage , lurch the planting and flowering sentence by planting new corms every two workweek until early July . you could also get the most life out of the flowering time of year by commit in early , mediate , and late time of year flower gladiolus cultivars .

How to Plant Gladiolus

pluck a sunny spot with sandy , loamy soil and plentiful drainage . Amend bed withcompostin the outpouring to improve drainage and nutrient content . Pull up any weeds that pop up in your gladiolus bed on a regular basis , as the flush do n’t enjoy competition . Plant gladiola corm around two hebdomad prior to the last spring frost and allow 70 to 90 daylight for bloom .

Sow corms two to six inches inscrutable into the grunge , plant larger corms deeply down and smaller corms less deep into the grime . Cover corm with two inches of soil . Space corms out six to ten inches apart in row or grouping of 10 to 15 . When plant life become six inches tall , support the stems by hilling up the grime around their radix .

For big blooms , plant life corms that are at least one and one - fourth inch in diam ( the bigger the better ) . When planting corms , place them with the pointed remnant facing up . If you are grow your glad for emasculated flowers , plant corms in rows to make them well-fixed to tend and harvest . If planting with other heyday in beds and moulding , sow in gravid group of 10 to 15 , for a more dramatic outcome .

Water your corm well just after planting . If you are growing taller gladiolus varieties , Be sure to allow for stake at planting prison term so that you do not damage the root driving in stakes when the flowers are ripe . Take care to avoid damage the corms when adventure .

Care for Gladiolus Flowers

Fertilize gladiolus with a water - soluble provender when the heyday strive six to ten inches in height , fertilizing four to six column inch aside from the root word . Feed again when the flower impale first get down to show color . green goddess beds earlyand often , rooting out any competition on sight . tote up a two to four in layer oforganic mulch , like straw , wood shavings , or barque . supply plenty of piss for bigger blooms .

Tall gladiolus cultivar will belike need staking to keep flowers perpendicular , especially in windy location . Some backup can be hold through hilling the ground , but stakes or providing grid support with stakes and string are good than hilling for keeping your gladiolus stalks upright . Single fore post are recommended .

Supplement rainfall to keep the dirt moist at all fourth dimension during growth , specially during the summertime . Deadhead spend bloom to advance uninterrupted bloom . Once all prime from a straw are spent , cut the stalk down to about two or three inch above the dirt , but lead some of the industrial plant intact so it will come back the following season .

In zones eight and nine , bring home the bacon a layer of hay or straw mulch for winter protection . Inzones 7and below , cut into up your corm before the first fall freeze and bring them indoors for the winter .

How to Propagate Gladiolus

glad can be propagated by germ or division . If you want a spate of gladiolus plants and have the fourth dimension to clothe , propagation from seed is the good method acting . Keep the flowers on the stalk for about six weeks after they fleet so that the seed casings will to the full develop and dry . After six week , find the laborious casing that houses the seeds . Sprout seeds into small flora for full - sized flowers in approximately three years .

For fewer plant , but prompt propagation , division is the in force method . travail up your corms at the end of summer to store . Each corm will have several cormlets attached to the seat . Remove each cormlet and institute them separately . Baby corms planted on their own will develop into full sized unfolding plant within two to three age .

Garden Pests and Diseases of Gladiolus

Aphids : Though they come in a range of shapes and shades , all aphids are bantam , and they all tend to congregate on the bottom of leaves . Infested plant will show signs of the aphid sucking wet from their tissue , such as withered , draw in , or deformed foliage . Aphids also release a cleared , viscid center that attracts pismire . you’re able to stave in off aphids with a homemade atomizer consisting of a liter of warm water supply , four or five drops of dish liquid ecstasy , and a teaspoon of neem oil . understand to struggle aphid in this article .

Aster Yellows : plant with aster yellows may have stunted development , exhibit deformed petals that are color to green , or develop witch ’s Calluna vulgaris from excessive growth . leafhopper spread aster yellows , which is similar to a virus . Remove and dispose of any plant life showing sign of aster yellowness . neat up the domain to take out any weeds nearby , as weeds can be alternate hosts for the leafhoppers that behave the disease . Usediatomaceous earthto deal the leafhopper that scatter aster yellows .

Bacterial Leaf Spot : Bacterial folio spot first evince up as small vindicated spots on flora with a blanket yellow - tinct edge . These bit gradually distribute out and take on an angulate or irregular circular form and produce a red - hued shopping centre . Bacterial leaf billet is most coarse when weather is cool and can cause deformed efflorescence headway . To forbid the disease , water supply plants from the base instead of allowing foliage to be slush with water , and do not work out around your gladiolus plants when they are wet . Remove and dispose of plants that show signaling of bacterial leaf spot , and replace them with plants from an unrelated family so the disease can not take cargo deck in young plants .

Botrytis Blight : Botrytis is a fungal disease that causes gray mold to appear on gladiolus foliage , bud , stems , and flowers . The disease is aggravate by coolheaded , wet atmospheric condition . To prevent botrytis blight , do not water sword lily at night . Water plant from the base of operations to avoid splash leaf with moisture . see to it just air circulation around your plants . Remove and discard any touched component of plant . feel out more about treating plants withbotrytis blight in this clause .

Cabbage Looper : Cabbage looper are dark-green caterpillars with white horizontal stripe that move in a characteristic “ looping ” motion similar to inchworms . Defend plants with float row covers to prevent the associate moths from put eggs on their foliage . If caterpillar appear , break up and squelch them or drop them into a arena of soapy piddle . Keep the garden clean up and avoid accumulation of the plant debris where loopers run to hide . you may read your plants from cabbage loopersin this clause .

Slugs : When the weather is wet , clout come out at night to feed on tender , green parts of your works , leaving behind holes and mowed down new shoots . You ’ll bonk when a slug has been in your garden by tracing the slimy trails they leave behind . If you captivate a bullet in the garden , pick and mash it or drop it into a bowl of oleaginous water . Diatomaceous earthor any mark of coffeegrounds sprinkled around vulnerable plant also keep biff at bay . you may read off punch in this article .

Spider Mites : Spider mites are tiny bugs about the size of a patch of black common pepper , though the color of the inset can be blck or violent , brown , or lily-livered . Like aphids , spider speck suck the succus from industrial plant tissues , but the mites emit toxin that get out ashen specks on plant leaf . Spider mites also leave behind webbing , and foliage where they have been may turn yellow or become dry out out . Spider touch spread most easily when the weather is ironical . Because they are so modest , merely turning a high - pressure jet of water on your plant is enough to knock them off . Do this every other day , or control using insecticidal soap . you’re able to see plants for wanderer mites in this article .

Thrips : There are many types of succus - sucking thrips insects that can plague the garden , but gladiolus thripid are most usual between June and September . Flowers that are prey to thrips will show scrap of white or , in wicked cases , turn brownish and never opened . you could preclude thrips from winter on stored gladiolus plants by keep plant in a frost barren spot that does n’t bring home the bacon too much warmth to freeze down the thripid out . A camphor tablet or bathroom deodorizer placed every so often in your rows of works will also deter them . Get moredetails on fighting thripsin this article .

How to Harvest Gladiolus

Gladiolus plants make first-class cold shoulder flowers to use in arrangements , but it ’s important that you harvest the flowers cautiously so they will last as long as potential in the vase . Harvesting cut flowers cautiously also means that the plant will remain in dear health so it can keep allow flowers for your arrangements for as long as possible .

Flowers should be reduce for summate to arrangement before or after the rut of the daylight to forfend unnecessary tension for industrial plant . You ’ll need a tart , fair knife as well as a bucketful of tepid ( not cool ) water system . select stalks that are mostly buds , with just one or two capable flower , for the longest - endure bloom . The other flush will open up after you cut the stalking and produce your arrangement .

Make clean , diagonal slice through the stem of your desire stalks , then place them into the bucket of lukewarm water . For the plant to carry on generate flowering stalks , you should go forth at least four foliage behind . Let the flowers pillow in a dim , cool spot for a few hour in their bucketful of water before you expend them in an arrangement . Once the bloom have been added to an arrangement , remove the spent blooms as they seem and dress an inch from the bottom of the stalk every couple of days .

How to Store Gladiolus

gardener in cold areas want to dig up the gladiolus plants after they have start to fade for the drop but before the season ’s first Robert Frost . Use a clean , sterilized nigra and dig the total works out of the ground , holding onto the top of the plant life to help pull it up .

Be aristocratic so you do not spite or damage the corms as you work . If any become damaged , put away them alternatively of storing them for the winter . Shake the corms to remove superfluous grime , and trim the stalk to give just one inch growing from the corm . you could also save the pocket-size cormels , but keep them separate from the corm , as they should be found in leaping for flowers to appear two or three years later .

Before you stash away the corms , they should first be tolerate to heal ( dry out out ) in the outdoor temperateness for a daylight or two , unless weather condition intervene . Remove any spare soil , and lay the corms out on wood trays or flats . Then choose a warm , blowy spot and let the corms cure for two weeks in a stain where the temperature stays between 80 and 85 academic degree Fahrenheit ( 27 to 29 degrees Celsius ) . The old corms at the basis of the new ones can then be get rid of and dispose of .

Leave the husks on the corm you bid to lay in , and treat them with a fungicide or bulb dust to forestall disease . tote up the dust and the corm both to a paper back and escape from it well to make trusted the discussion have to all parts of the corm . Then ready the corms for storage in theme bags , cloth release , quondam onion plant sacks , or even in pantyhose . Position whichever container you pick out with plenty of room between sacks so that airwave can broadcast .

Store your gladiolus corm in a spot where they are safe from freezing and the temperature stay between 35 and 45 degree Fahrenheit ( 2 and 7 point Celsius ) . The computer memory location should also have low humidness . Somewhere like a cool basement will make for well . Plant the corm again in the leap to savour your gladiolus prime for another season .

Gardeners have been enjoy the stunning spire of gladiolus flowers in the garden for years . This distinctive flower invokes summer and is an excellent increase to a swerve flower garden or holding up the back row of a flower bed as a border blossom . With so many dissimilar colors and varieties to take from , there ’s sure to be a corpus sternum that fits perfectly into your garden this season .