withered gladioli

jill johnson

hello everyoe, new gardener here, I bought some glaioli freesia and montbretia bulbsplanted them in pots, basically so i could find them. They have all grown lovely long leaves and have flowers in them but they all seem to have a papery sheath around them and the flowers have not blossomed, any help please. I am disappointed but undeterred.

Dovefromabove

Hello  No need to be disappointed Jill, the glads will open up soon, from the bottom up - I'm sure you'll be very pleased with them. 

Don't forget to water them, producing flowers takes a fair bit of moisture, and make sure they're getting some sunshine 

jill johnson

Hello, they have sort of opened but they are looking dead now, it,s as if they couldn,t quite break through the papery sheath, they arein full sunshine.

jill johnson

 this is what they look like, any ideas? please

Dovefromabove

They look as if they've been gorgeous but perhaps they didn't last as long as you'd hoped?

They don't really have enough space in that pot and perhaps they didn't get enough water?  I like to plant my gladioli with at least 6" of soil above them and 6" apart.   

Now they've flowered  the plants will start to die down and the goodness from the leaves will be taken up by the corms(bulbs) so they can grow and flower again next year. 

I think that if I were you I'd let them die down, and then when the weather gets cold I'd move the pots into somewhere frost-free and let the compost dry out. 

Then next March/April divide your gladioli corms into 3 lots and plant them in three pots at intervals of a fortnight - then the flowering period will be staggered and you'll have a smile on your face for longer.

Happy gardening 

 

jill johnson

hello thank you for the advice, the reason I planted in a pot was because the garden is full of snails and slugs and the bulbs i planted earlier were eaten. I will let the glads die back do I leave them or store the corms in a dark place ? and is it the same reason for the freesia ones (second photo)? I,m just trying to watch what gets eaten and what the snails on,t like. Could I also ask about climbing roses I planted about a dozen and only 4 have survived. I planted them under a large tree that is at the top of the garden.

jill johnson

my next door neighbour has his glads just left in the ground and he says the snails don,t eat his so would i be better to plant them instead of using pots?

Dovefromabove

I've found that snails will have a go at gladioli leaves, but don't do much damage.  I'd try planting them in the ground.    As they're in pots they're a bit more vulnerable to frost damage I'd put them somewhere frostfree when they've died down.

As for the roses, tell us more.  What sort of tree and how big.  What was the soil like when you planted the roses.  How much water did the roses get this summer?