Gladioli flowers: how to grow skewer, planting video, varieties

In common parlance, proud gladioli are called swordsmen - they very much resemble a sword pointing upward. At the end of summer, these flowers are the basis for many bouquets. Before the start of the school year, flower tents are full of gladioli; they are displayed at spontaneous markets.

Author of the article

Maxim Sverchkov

Professional biologist and breeder with extensive experience and experience.

And in almost every yard you can see flower beds with skewer on them.

Numerous legends associated with gladioli speak of it as a flower of courage and chivalry. Blooming gladioli symbolize the victory of the masculine principle.

Botanical description of Gladioli

Gladiolus (“sword flower” or “sword flower”) has been grown by gardeners for quite a long time. In Ancient Greece, this crop was considered a weed that grew in wheat fields. At the same time, the ancient Romans used these plants to decorate the gardens of the patricians. Nowadays, it is a popular culture for decorating the surrounding area.

The homeland of this culture is considered to be the tropics or subtropics of the Mediterranean and Africa, the territory of Central and Southern Europe, Asia and Western Siberia. In total there are more than 200 varieties of crops. All gladioli are perennial flowers and reproduce by corms. The stems of crops are of a vertical, non-branching type. Height is up to 150 centimeters, but there are also so-called miniature varieties – 50 centimeters. The leaves are predominantly linear or xiphoid in shape, their length is up to 80 centimeters.

The leaves close around the stem, which adds extra strength to it. The flowers are collected in an inflorescence, which can be one-sided, two-sided, spiral or spike-shaped. The inflorescence can reach up to 80 centimeters. The flowers have a simple funnel-shaped perianth of 6 uneven lobes that are fused at the base. They can be of different shapes and sizes.

Photo of gladiolus fruit capsule and seeds (commons.wikimedia.org)

The fruit of the fennel is a tricuspid capsule. There are quite a lot of seeds, they are round or oval in shape and predominantly brown in color. The round corm is renewed every year, has scales, they can be of different shades - from white to cherry-black.

How to plant Gladioli?

Planting gladioli flowers begins with proper preparation. It should be taken into account that crops thrive on light sandy loam soils, where a sufficiently large amount of humus is added. In clay soil types, add a little sand.

Before planting, be sure to clean the bulbs from old and dry scales. To get rid of them easier, you need to pre-soak the corms. If the planting material is affected by disease, then unhealthy areas should be removed by treating the cut areas with charcoal. If you are buying corms for the first time, inspect them to ensure they are free of mold and rot. The bottom should not be large. Mature corms reach a diameter of up to 7 centimeters.

How to germinate Gladioli bulbs?

You can also awaken the bulbs before planting by sprouting sprouts. For such purposes, the corms are placed in a special cardboard box with paper or newspaper inside. But it is best to germinate gladioli in steamed sawdust. They are laid out bottom down.

Leave the box on the windowsill at temperatures up to +16 degrees. If 2 buds awaken at once, divide the onion into 2 parts using a sharp knife. By planting such halves, you can get two full-fledged plants. Immediately before planting, treat the corms in a fungicidal solution.

Recently, the method of planting skewer in various kinds of containers, pots, buckets, flowerpots and other containers has gained popularity. This video will show you how to plant gladioli in a pot.

Where and when to plant Gladiolus flowers

In the autumn, the selected area will need to be fertilized with humus and lime, digging it up to 30 centimeters. There is no need to apply fresh manure as this will produce a lot of leaves but not flowers.

In the spring, the bed for gladioli is dug up, leveled, fertilized with ammonium nitrate (20 grams per 1 m²), double superphosphate (exactly the same proportion). When planting bulbs, you can additionally add a little wood ash - up to 60 grams per 1 square meter.

You cannot plant crops in the same place for 2 seasons in a row. This will lead to the development of various diseases. Also, do not plant plants in areas where asters or phlox have developed. The optimal predecessors are garlic, onions and strawberries.

Sunny areas are considered the best place for growing. As for planting dates, it is better to focus on the weather conditions of specific regions. But in the middle zone it is customary to plant corms in early May, but it is important that the soil is warmed to +10 degrees.

The planting depth depends on the size and age of the bulbs. The quality of the soil also affects. On light soil you will need to place the bulbs up to 12 centimeters deep. If the soil is loamy, then plant a few centimeters higher. Corms that are too small are planted 8 cm from the ground surface. After planting, you will need to sprinkle the bed with humus or peat up to 3 centimeters.

Note! If you plant plants deeper, the crops will bloom much later. This will also lead to the formation of a large corm with fewer children. The most unpleasant consequence of such a decision will be the occurrence of fungal diseases.

Soil preparation

As mentioned earlier, they begin to prepare a flower bed for gladioli in the fall. The soil is dug up and added to it (per 1 m2):

bucket of sand;
a bucket of rotted manure;
a couple of glasses of wood ash;
3 cups potassium sulfate;
0.5 cups of superphosphate.

If gladioli grow on light soils, then in addition to other measures, clay, pond or weathered peat is added to the ground. After this, the flowerbed is dug up to a bayonet depth (about 15 cm), creating ridges 80-100 cm wide on it. In early spring, polyethylene is stretched over the soil to heat it up as quickly as possible.

Planting is carried out with an emphasis on the climatic conditions of the region.

How to care for bulbous Gladiolus flowers

Gladioli flowers in the garden require compliance with certain growing rules. Let's briefly describe them.

Soil moistening

The sword flower, also called the Sword Flower, loves water; it is not as afraid of waterlogging as it is of not having enough moisture. Once a week you will need to thoroughly water the area where the roots lie. You cannot pour water on top, as this will lead to souring and rotting.

Loosening the soil

It is necessary to loosen the soil regularly, since the level of air permeability depends on this. Remember that bulbs prefer large amounts of oxygen.

Top dressing

To ensure normal growth and flowering of crops, the plants should be fed well. First, we introduce nitrogen substances (saltpeter is possible) 15 cm deep. Water at the root (dilute 3 tablespoons of the substance per 10 liters of water). Spraying plants using Zircon or Epin will be useful. Before flowering, you can add complex substances for flowering crops.

Pest Control

The most dangerous insects are thrips and bulb mites. As a preventive measure, Horus or Falcon are used. We dilute - 20 grams per bucket of water. Thrips are well destroyed by Aktara or Agravertin. 1 liter of the drug will be needed per 10 square meters.

Diseases and pests

The main diseases that affect gladiolus are fungal and bacterial infections. The best way to combat them is prevention - proper harvesting and storage of tubers, the use of disinfectant solutions.

The rot that affects the bulbs spreads quickly and the plant loses its leaves, dries out and dies. Solutions of fungicides and potassium permanganate should be used.

Common pests are thrips, nematodes, and beetles. Treating the plant with karbofos and replanting garlic, calendula, and onions will help in the fight against them.

How to preserve corms for further propagation

To get beautiful gladioli flowers, you will need to properly prepare the corms. When the flower stalks are cut off after the end of the riot of colors, after 30 days you can dig up the plants. The old corm will be located at the bottom, and the young one will form on top. The top of the stem is cut off, and a stump of 2-3 centimeters is left. Rinse the onion under water and then leave it in the potassium permanganate solution.

Photo of gladiolus corms

The next stage is drying. To do this, planting material is placed in a well-ventilated room - on the street or in the veranda. In apartment conditions, it can be placed in a closet. The optimal temperature for drying is considered to be up to +30 degrees. You can dry the bulbs from 2 weeks to 1 month. After 10 days, do not forget to separate the old onion from the new one.

Healthy planting elements are placed in paper, each variety is signed and put aside for storage. Can be in the refrigerator, basement or enclosed veranda.

Landing

When the soil temperature reaches +10 degrees in spring, the corms are planted in ridges to a depth of 10 cm (3 bulbs in height). These are optimal conditions for the development of the root system. If planting is postponed to a later time, the shoots will begin to outstrip the roots, which will affect the quality of flowering.

Some gardeners prefer to plant corms at the depth of a spade bayonet. With this method, the plant turns out to be more powerful and does not require garter. But there is also a risk of rotting of the planting material. Therefore, this method is not suitable for garden areas with poor drainage.

To obtain a large number of children, flower growers use the method of shallow planting followed by hilling the plants.

Gladioli are planted in a flower bed according to the following scheme:

large bulbs - 15 cm between plants and 30 cm between rows;
small corms - 10 cm between plants and 25 cm between rows;
large exhibition quality bulbs - 30 cm between plants and 50 cm between rows.

To obtain large and strong inflorescences, skewer is planted as follows:

Use a shovel to dig a trench of the required depth.
The bottom of the pit is leveled and covered with clean river sand with a layer of 3 cm.
The corms are laid out in a trench, taking into account the required distance in the row, and pressed in a little.
First, the planting material is covered with sand, and only then with soil.

In the absence of river sand with a rocky granulometric composition, you can replace it with any other.

Before planting in the spring, a sufficient amount of phytosporin or clean water is poured into the bottom of the trench. Sphagnum or river sand is laid on top of this layer, on which the bulbs are subsequently placed.

How to use Gladioli in a flower bed with other flowers?

To create an incredible and harmonious flower bed, you need to know what flowers to plant gladioli with. A standard and template solution would be to place crops in a large ceremonial mixborder. But landscape designers have gone much further and offer many original and incredible solutions. For example, dwarf fennel species look quite interesting in compositions with stones and miniature coniferous trees.

The Sword Flower or Sword Flower also looks great in rock gardens or when grown in containers. But in this case, it is better to give preference to low-growing varieties.

To mix crops with other plants, you need to understand what colors Gladiolus goes with. This is quite difficult, since the unusual shape of the crops complicates the process of creating compositions.

But there are some interesting options. For example, bushes with small spirea and barberries look great; they will not only combine harmoniously, but also support fragile stems.

A bouquet of gladioli flowers placed in a vase looks very attractive. These crops are often used for cutting, which has earned them the love of many gardeners.

Common varieties of Gladioli

A pressing question for those who are faced with planting crops for the first time is what colors are gladioli . Shades can be very diverse - from white to black, it all depends on the variety. We suggest focusing on the most beautiful and easiest to grow crops:

"Golden Antelope" . It is distinguished by its incredibly beautiful golden yellow buds with fringe and incredible corrugation. Height up to 140 centimeters.
"Grad Kitezh" It is distinguished by its rich lilac color with lemon spots on each bud. Height up to 150 centimeters. The variety is disease resistant and is used for early cutting.
"Revenge". Red single color flower. The size of the buds is up to 14 centimeters, they are slightly corrugated. Up to 25 buds are formed on one stem.
"Amber Baltic". Mid-early type of gladioli with large flowers. It is distinguished by orange petals with strong corrugation. The height of the plant is up to 160 centimeters.

Miniature hybrids

These hybrids, also known as dwarf hybrids, are grown in groups in mixed borders. Their flowers are up to 5 cm in diameter, collected in dense spike-shaped inflorescences, and are formed from early to mid-summer. They are often referred to as “winter-hardy” gladioli, but for central Russia this opinion is wrong. Plants reach 0.6-1 m in height.