Gladioli: planting and care

In our country, gladioli are a symbol of the beginning of the school year. According to statistics, these are the flowers that first graders carry in their bouquets. This is not surprising, because it is in September that the time of flowering of an amazing plant in its diversity falls.

Gladiolus varieties

These flowers first appeared as gardeners in ancient Roman civilization. They were prized for their beauty and various magical qualities. Then there were only a few species of this flower. Currently, a lot of gladioli of the most different colors, size and structure of the flower have been bred.

There are 5 categories of gladioli:

• Common, blooming all summer.
• Mosquitoes, flowering in early summer.
• Byzantine blooming flowers all summer long.
• Cramps, characterized by low growth and spring flowering.
• Swamp, which can be planted in lowlands.

In the gardens of our country, ordinary gladioli are most often grown. They are divided by size flower and the timing of flowering. Among the most beautiful varieties are the following:

• Annushka gladioli grow up to 160 cm in height. They are distinguished by large, strongly corrugated flowers, delicate color in salmon tones.

• The Blue Butterfly variety stretches up to 145 cm. Its flowers have a sky-blue color with a rim of a more saturated shade. This variety is the bestseller at exhibitions.

• The flowers of the gladiolus of the Spartak variety are very large. Their color is in red-brown tones, casting a dark smoky shade.

• Gladiolus of the Snegurochka variety is distinguished by small, but very cute flowers. They are painted boiling white and are heavily corrugated at the edges.

• The gladioli of the Arina variety have dense corrugated petals with a lilac-crimson color. There is a bright crimson spot in the middle of the flower.

Planting gladioli

For these flowers, it is best to choose open, sunny areas in your garden. Poor lighting and wetlands cause diseases in the plant. The flower bed should be located at a distance of at least 3 meters from the trees so that the flowers can fully consume the volume of water they need. Wind protection is also required.

The soil for planting, you need to prepare in advance, even in the fall. For this plant, black soil, loam and sandy loam soil with a weak acid reaction are suitable. In autumn, the soil is dug up, choosing weeds from it, and enriched with fertilizers with phosphorus and potassium. In the spring, the beds are dug up again and nitrogen is added.

Planting material also requires preparation. A couple of weeks before the expected date of planting, the corms are carefully peeled from the scales so as not to break new seedlings. The material prepared for planting is laid up in sprouts and disinfected with potassium permanganate (1 g per 10 L of water) and in a solution of malofos (30 g per bucket of water). If necessary, treat the bulbs with growth stimulants to speed up root formation.

Plant corms are needed at the end of April, when the soil is already warmed up enough. In the formed groove, you first need to add sand with a layer thickness of at least 1 cm, plant corms in it, and then fill it with sand again. After a layer of sand, you can cover the bulbs with soil. The bulbs should be placed, observing the gap between the plants 15 cm, and between the rows 20 cm.If you plant a baby, then the gap between them should be 5 cm, and between adjacent rows 10 cm.Large corms should be placed at a depth of 10 cm, and the baby should be buried 5 cm.

Gladioli care

These plants need careful maintenance. When the sprouts reach a length of 10 cm, the soil must be mulched with humus by 5 cm. This will save the soil from strong heating and retain moisture longer. To water plants are needed abundantly, but only once a week. A good time for watering is in the morning or evening. Try to keep the plants from getting water on the leaves. For this, it is better to direct the water to the aisles. After watering, the soil must be loosened so that a crust does not form. If the weather is very hot, then the frequency of watering should be increased, otherwise the plant will wither. After the buds are formed, the plants must be tied to the pegs. It is better to pick off dried flowers, then the plant will not waste energy on ripening unnecessary seeds.

Weed gladioli if necessary. Be sure to feed the plants. For the first time, fertilizing is applied at the stage of formation of the first leaves with nitrogen fertilizers. The second time fertilizer is applied with nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, when 5-6 leaves appear. For the third time, fertilizers with phosphorus and potassium are applied during the growth of the peduncle.

Use a sharp knife to cut flowers at an angle. The remainder of the peduncle should remain hidden among the remaining leaves. This is necessary for the correct formation of the corm.

Remove the corms, one month after the end of flowering. This usually occurs in mid-September. Choose dry weather for this. Healthy corms will be covered with dense scales, while the babies are well separated from the main corm. The roots of the stem must be cut off. After that, the corms must be rinsed in running water, disinfected with a foundationol solution. Then the corms are washed again with water and immersed in a solution of potassium permanganate. Then the bulbs are laid out to dry and transferred to a box lined with paper for storage.

After 40 days, scales are removed from the planting material, the baby is separated and it is placed in boxes for winter storage. The temperature in the room where it is stored does not rise above +10 degrees so that the corms do not germinate prematurely. The baby can even be kept in paper bags in the refrigerator.

Photo of gladioli