Gladiolus came to us as one of the pieces of the heritage of the Roman Empire. While most of the inhabitants of Antiquity considered gladiolus, and vaguely similar mallows, as weeds, in the houses of the Roman nobility, these flowers were used to decorate the garden and interior. The name of the flower comes from the Latin word "gladius" - sword, because the leaves of these plants were like swords. Currently, gladioli are cultivated almost everywhere. The variety of species of gladiolus is relatively small: in total, botanists give descriptions of about two hundred species, however, the number of their varieties exceeds several thousand.
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General information about gladioli
Gladiolus has one interesting feature: their old varieties are gradually disappearing, and new ones are coming in their place. The average time of "life" of a particular variety is about 10 years. This situation is explained by the fact that domesticated species of gladioli reproduce much in a vegetative way, in which there is no gene exchange.
Growing new generations of gladioli from tuber shoots, in fact, is a cloning of similar plants. At the same time, from generation to generation, errors accumulate in their DNA. In the wild, there is no such thing and cannot be, since almost all types of "wild" gladioli reproduce by seed.
Gladiolus varieties "Grass-ant"
That is why the most vending varieties of plants try from time to time (or even every season) in “home” conditions to propagate precisely by seed, providing the maximum possible number of combinations of plants of the same variety.
Nevertheless, despite such a serious problem in reproduction, gladioli have long entered our lives and have firmly taken their place in a number of those flowers that coincide with something. Like asters, gladioli are, first of all, a symbol of the new school year. It is these two types of plants that are most often carried to schools by representatives of the younger generations.
Bouquet of gladioli
But the matter is not limited to this. Given the long and strong stems of gladiolus, it is used as the basis of bouquets. The plant can be grown year-round in greenhouse conditions, both with and without distillation.
Gladiolus - it perennials Iris family. They are able to form corms of various colors, covered with scales, with which their reproduction is carried out. In the wild, gladiolus bulbs are small in size and practically do not participate in reproduction.
Inflorescence of pink gladiolus Praha
The plant has straight single stems that do not branch. The height of the stems can vary widely - from 30 to 200 cm. The leaves are long and thin, similar to swords or swords; their length can reach 80 cm. The color of the leaves is light green. The leaf envelops the stem, giving the latter additional strength.
The flowers of the gladiolus are collected in inflorescences. The inflorescences are varied in their structure; they are:
- unilateral
- bilateral
- in the form of a spike
- twisted
The length of the inflorescence, depending on the variety, can be from 50 to 90 cm. As a rule, flowers consist of 6 petals, which grow together at the base.The plant also propagates easily from seeds. Their fruits are brown boxes of round or oval shape.
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Basic principles
For this culture, there are several recommendations for growing, following which you can achieve good results without losing the quality of the material.
Planting bulbs
- It is recommended to grow gladioli in one place for no more than two years. In the third year, the plant must be planted elsewhere. In the place where gladioli used to grow, it is recommended to plant some kind of legume ornamental crop: lupins or mimosa.
- It is advisable to transplant gladiolus to soil different from the one where they grew before. For example, if they grew on sandstone, it is recommended to replant in alumina.
- It is advisable to use those varieties of gladioli that are adapted to the climate of your area.
- Important is the principle of planting bulbs of the same size. If you use bulbs of different sizes, then plants grown from large bulbs will oppress those that grow from small ones.
- If the soil is light, the bulbs are planted to a depth of 3-5 cm, if the soil is heavy - 10-12 cm.
An example of planting gladioli on the beds
- Small or "daughter" bulbs are recommended to be completely peeled before planting; in addition, in the first month they need abundant watering.
- Late varieties should not be planted in the shade and partial shade, as there may not be enough sunlight for them to ensure budding and flowering.
- In order to avoid damage to gladiolus by a fungus, it is recommended to grow them in ventilated areas.
- Gladiolus growing in sandy soils require what is known as "foliar feeding" when their leaves are sprayed with a solution of fertilizer in water.
- In the summer, especially during the heat, gladioli require abundant watering once every 5-7 days; in addition, every evening it is necessary to make a small watering (so that water penetrates 2-3 cm) and loosen the soil.
- Do not neglect the collection and storage of bulbs in the winter. Unlike, for example, tulips, gladioli bulbs are particularly sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity during storage.
Preparing for landing
A month before planting, the gladiolus bulbs are cleaned of scales; while doing this, be careful not to damage the sprouts. All diseased or damaged bulbs are discarded. Sometimes you can leave especially large bulbs by cutting out damaged or diseased areas and treating the cut site with greenery.
Sprouted gladiolus bulbs
After that, it is necessary to lay out the seed in one layer so that the sprouts are located on top. The box of bulbs is placed in a warm, well-lit place to give the sprouts a little germination. When the length of the shoot becomes equal to 1-2 cm, the bulbs must be disinfected.
Disinfection is carried out using a 0.3% solution of potassium permanganate in water by immersing the bulbs in it for 30-60 minutes. As an antiseptic, you can use a solution of 0.5% foundationazole.
Children of gladioli
Children of gladioli can also be prepared for planting. Usually the size of the babies that can be planted is from 7 to 10 mm. They are also peeled and placed in sunlight to germinate. However, children need to be disinfected much longer - from 8 to 10 hours.
Site selection
Gladioli are photophilous, so they need sunny areas that are well ventilated and drained. The groundwater level should be low. For early flowering varieties, even partial shading is unacceptable. The site can be horizontal, however, the southern slope with a slope of about 5-7 ° will be optimal.
An important role in the agricultural technology of gladioli is played by the acidity of the soil on which they will grow. Slightly acidic soil is best suited for them, because with high acidity, the plant dies off the tips of the leaves and inhibits the formation of buds. In particularly unpleasant cases, flowering on such soils may not occur at all.
Gladiolus in the wild
Excessively alkaline soil leads to the fact that the plant cannot absorb trace elements, especially iron, which leads to a decrease in the synthesis of chlorophyll in the leaves and they begin to change their color from green to yellow.
Soil acidity correction methods are standard: acidic soils are treated with dolomite flour, lime or charcoal ash; the required application rates are from 150 to 250 g per 1 sq. m. Alkaline soils are diluted with peat; it needs relatively little from 100 to 150 g per 1 sq. m.
Naturally, if it is possible to plant a plant on black soil, it will be optimal to do just that. In the absence of chernozem, light loams or sandy loams are considered the best soils for gladioli. Getting these soils is quite simple: either sand is added to the loam, or clay mixed with compost or humus is added to the sandstones.
Inclined plot for gladiolus with bulbs ready for planting
After that, the site for gladioli is carefully dug up. It is best to do these procedures 2-3 weeks before planting the bulbs in open ground. Within a week after digging, the soil will acquire a loose structure; You can check this by trying to loosen it.
If the soil is not loose enough, it is necessary to add about a third of the component (sand to loam or clay with compost to sand) introduced before to correct it. Good predecessors (yes, and followers too) for gladioli are both ornamental and fodder legumes.
If the planting of gladioli is planned in the fall, it is recommended to apply mineral fertilizers to the site before the winter period. These should be increased doses of phosphates (up to 100 g per 1 sq. M) and potassium compounds (up to 50 g per 1 sq. M). The area after this must be carefully dug up.
But in the spring, immediately after the snow melts, potash fertilizers in the same concentration are applied again. At the same time, it is better to apply potassium chloride in the fall, and its sulfide in the spring.
Planting bulbs
The optimal time for planting bulbs and children in open ground is only two decades: the last in April and the first in May. However, this statement should not be taken literally. Much depends on the flowering time of the planted plant, on the climate and weather conditions during the spring.
Excessively germinated gladiolus bulbs. It's better not to let this happen
Large bulbs sit at a depth of 10 to 15 cm, small ones 5-10 cm. Depending on the severity of the soil, on its density, these values \u200b\u200bcan be slightly adjusted (the heavier the soil, the deeper the planting is carried out). The distance between the bulbs is 12-15 cm for large ones, 7-8 cm for small ones.
If several rows are planted, the distances between them should be from 20 to 30 cm, otherwise the plants will be crowded and they will have problems with illumination.
Planting gladiolus corms
Landing is carried out as follows:
- a furrow is made, 3-5 cm deeper than the required planting depth
- a “pad” of river sand or sphagnum with a thickness of 3 to 5 cm is laid at the bottom of the furrow
- bulbs are installed on this “gasket” (stalk up)
- bulbs are dug up and watered
plant care
Caring for gladiolus requires not so much knowledge of some special techniques and possession of some techniques as thoroughness and meticulousness in the performance of standard procedures. When the shoots reach a height of 10-12 cm, it is necessary to mulch the seedlings with humus or compost with a thickness of 3 to 5 cm. This will help protect the corms from overheating and give them the opportunity to accumulate moisture when watering.
Yellow and pink gladioli
Watering is carried out in the morning or evening, when the Sun is already low above the horizon. The frequency of watering is 1 time in 5-7 days. If there was natural precipitation, the watering time can be shifted by 2-3 days. There should be a lot of water during irrigation: from 10 to 15 liters per 1 sq. m.
Gladiolus field
After watering, the soil is loosened to a depth of 5-7 cm. This is done so that a crust does not form on the top layer of soil. Loosening the soil must be done once every 7-10 days, regardless of irrigation and natural precipitation. If the weather is hot, the frequency of watering can be reduced to 4 days, while the amount of water should remain the same (10-15 liters per sq. M).
As soon as the first buds appear on the stems, it is advisable to tie them to pegs. It is best to use plastic or metal pegs to avoid getting fungus from wooden ones. If there are no such pegs at hand, you can also use wooden ones, having previously treated them with fungicides.
Gladiolus garter
Once every 20-25 days, gladioli need weeding. Weeds must be removed daily. You should also pay attention to pests, primarily slugs.
Their presence on the site can be recognized by the traces of mucus left by the mollusks. You need to find a nest of slugs and destroy it.
top dressing
Delicate pink gladioli
These procedures are very important for gladioli; we can safely say that they are critical for these plants. In total, the flower growing cycle includes six top dressings.
Consider them:
- First. It is carried out when the plant has two leaves. It is carried out with two fertilizers: nitrogenous (urea, ammonium nitrate) and potash (sulfate or nitrate) in the amount of 25 g each per 10 liters of water. This water is poured over an area of 1 square. m.
- Second. It is produced when the number of leaves is 3 or 4. The substances are the same, but their number is already 30 g; dissolved in 10 liters of water and watered 1 sq. m. At the same time, foliar top dressings are made (fertilizers are applied to the leaves), purchased, as a rule, in flower shops. It is necessary to strictly adhere to the instructions for their concentration and the correct method of application.
Also, during the second feeding, boric acid should be added (2-3 g per 10 liters of water, water 1 sq. M of planting).
- Third. When 5-6 leaves appear. Urea (15-20 g) and potassium sulfate (25-30 g) per 10 liters of water.
- Fourth. Just before flowering. Requires 25-30 g of nitroammophos per 10 liters of water.
- Fifth. Immediately after the end of flowering. 15-20 g of superphosphate and 20-30 g of potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water.
- Sixth. Produced in early September. But this is no longer top dressing, but rather a preventive disinfection procedure. 3-5 g of potassium permanganate are dissolved in 10 liters of water and a standard 1 sq. m landing.
After this procedure, feeding the plants is stopped.
It is possible to make top dressing without dissolving fertilizers in water. In this case, fertilizers are evenly applied to the soil before irrigation and dissolved in it during irrigation. At the same time, the watering rate must be increased in order to avoid burns of the tubers and roots of the plant with a high concentration of fertilizers.
Mineral fertilizers on a layer of soil
It will not be superfluous to make organic fertilizers during flowering. To do this, bird droppings or mullein are bred in water (no more than 50 g per 10 liters of water). It is impossible to use manure (even dissolved) for gladioli.
Cut gladioli for bouquets
Ready-made bouquet of gladioli
Produced in the morning or evening. In this case, the "stump" of the peduncle should be as short as possible, that is, cutting is carried out practically along the line of contact between the stem and leaf of the plant.It should be remembered that by the time the stem is cut, the gladiolus must have at least 4-5 healthy leaves, since they must provide the corm with the necessary amount of nutrients before the onset of the winter period.
Digging up gladiolus bulbs and storing them
For the winter, the bulbs must be dug up so that they do not freeze in the winter. Usually, this procedure is performed 5-7 weeks after the end of flowering. Start digging with early ripe varieties and end with the latest.
In addition, large bulbs are dug up first. The last to come is the turn of the smallest bulbs and children. If everything was in order with the plant during the summer period, the bulbs will be covered with a sufficient amount of dense integumentary scales.
Sometimes "test" diggings of bulbs are made to make sure that the plants do not have massive damage by diseases and pests.. If it turns out that most of the previously dug out rhizomes have common signs of defeat, it is urgent to dig out absolutely all the bulbs in order to take measures to save them. It is better to be left without flowers for one year than to destroy the seed fund that has been gathering for years.
Dug bulbs of gladiolus with babies
After digging out the stems and roots from the corms with secateurs, the children are separated. Next, the bulbs are divided into varieties; each variety is put in a separate box with a perforated bottom, where they are washed under running water. Then the bulbs are treated for half an hour with potassium permanganate or foundationazole, washed again and dried.
Dried bulbs are laid out in special storage boxes lined with paper (not newsprint). So they are stored, turning from side to side 1 time during the week; storage is carried out at a temperature of 25-30°C.
After two weeks, the temperature is reduced to 18-20°C. Drying lasts approximately one month, after which the bulbs are sorted and cleaned.
Gladiolus must have a dormant period of up to 1.5 months, during which they do not germinate under any circumstances. But, after this period, they can begin to germinate. To avoid this, it is necessary to create storage conditions for them under which this would be impossible.
Bulbs should be stored at a temperature of 5 to 10°C in a room with a humidity of no more than 70%. For better storage, you can put a few cloves of garlic in the onion boxes. Once a month, the bulbs are inspected, discarding the spoiled ones and renewing the garlic.
The best place for storage is a moderately cold basement with the possibility of airing and ventilating it. It is best to store the bulbs in wooden or plastic boxes with a perforated bottom.
Gladiolus bulbs in storage
You can also use a refrigerator as a storage for bulbs, if its volume and the ability to maintain the required temperature allow. At the same time, the bulbs must be in sealed containers and each of them must be wrapped in paper.
In February, it is necessary to start inspecting the bulbs every 10 days and changing the paper as it is moistened. This is due to the fact that the bulbs begin to release water before waking up. As soon as this process has begun, it is necessary to reduce the storage temperature by 1-2°C.
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Classification of gladioli
The currently existing "home" gladiolus has approximately 280 species and about 5,000 varieties. They can be classified by color, flower size, stem length and other "consumer" characteristics.But, all these are rather commercial methods of classification, they are rather cumbersome and, as a rule, unsystematic, since gladioli, for example, of the same color can have significant differences in flowering time, agricultural technology and reproduction ability.
Of interest may be two classifications related to the timing of flowering and structural features of certain groups of plants.
According to the timing of flowering, gladioli are classified as follows:
- very early; start of flowering - 9 weeks after planting
- early - 10 weeks
- mid-early - 11 weeks
- medium - 12 weeks
- mid-late - 13 weeks
- late - 15 weeks
- very late - 15 or more weeks
Thus, knowing the plant variety and the date of its planting, it is possible to determine the time of its flowering. For example, if the variety Autumn Fairy Tale, which is mid-early, was planted on May 15, then we can expect its flowering to begin in the end of June.
This classification is very convenient for those who plan to create beds of continuous flowering or grow plants by a certain date without the need for forcing.
Various types of gladiolus
Florists also use the classification of gladioli into groups, which is closest to biological.
It distinguishes five groups of plants:
- large-flowered
- primrose
- Butterfly
- miniature
- Species
"Almost all in one": large-flowered, primrose and butterfly-shaped gladioli in one flower bed
Consider the descriptions of gladiolus groups in more detail:
large-flowered
These plants mainly grow in Europe, they are catchy and brightly colored. The length of the stem of such gladioli can reach 200 cm. Their flowers have the shape of a triangle, the diameter of the flowers exceeds 19 cm. The inflorescences are large, they can contain from 20 to 30 flowers. Arrows of gladioli have a length of up to 1 meter. The flowering time of most large-flowered plants falls on the period from the first decade of July to the end of August.
Gladiolus Belle de Nui
One of the most common varieties of this group is Belle de Mouy. It has an unusual darkish-purple hue of flowers. The petals are corrugated, the height of the stems is 150 cm. It is used both as a single plant and in in the form of flower bed filler or even fences. Due to its spectacular appearance, it immediately attracts attention.
primrose
Plants of medium height (100-150 cm) with flowers 8-15 cm in diameter. The inflorescences are small, but quite dense. On average, 20-25 flowers are found in them. The upper petals of the flower are slightly bent inward, so they resemble a hood.
Primulose Joyce
The flowering period of plants of the primrose group occurs mainly in August. The stems of these gladioli are also very strong, which is used in the creation of bouquets.
A typical representative of the primrose is the Joyce variety. The plant has a stem height of 13-0140 cm, flowers are quite large 14-16 cm in diameter. The color is bright, the shade is from white and lemon to orange. Blooms for about a month. Often used in mixborders and rock gardens.
Butterfly varieties
Small plants with a stem height of 90-100 cm. The petals are quite dense, have a corrugated structure. They got their name due to the shape of the petals, reminiscent of butterflies.
Butterfly variety Georgette
The petals are often fringed and shiny. The inflorescence is medium in size, contains up to 20 flowers. Their diameter is average, not more than 10 cm. The stems are thin but strong enough. As a rule, they do not need a garter.
An example of a butterfly-shaped gladiolus is Georgette. The plant has a height of up to 1 m and a flower diameter of 8 cm. It blooms in August.
miniature
Dwarf or miniature gladioli are a variety of primrose, but their growth is small: stem length is from 60 to 80 cm. Flowering in different varieties lasts from mid-summer to mid-September. They do not need support and are often used as flower bed plants.
Gladiolus Nymph
Within this group, there is a division of colors into mono-color and two-color. A typical example of a bicolor dwarf gladiolus is the Nymph. It has white petals with purple diamonds inside. The size of the Nymph flowers is from 6 to 8 cm, the stem length is up to 70 cm.
Species gladioli
Species hybrid Maxim
Winter-hardy varieties of gladioli belong to this group. They are able to tolerate wintering in the ground, but require shelter for this. In growth and flower size, they can vary greatly (from 60 to 90 cm stem length, flower from 6 to 9 cm), but at the same time their distinctive feature is funnel-shaped flowers on small inflorescences.
VIDEO: Cleaning and storage
Gladiolus: description, classification of varieties, planting in open ground and care (90 Photos & Video) + Reviews
Hmm...over-sprouted bulbs, you say... I have flowers growing from these over-sprouted bulbs...