Gladioli
Hi everyone,
I have grown gladioli for the first time this year. I am pretty impressed, they look amazing. I think I will relocate them next year as they are getting a bit battered in the wind.
So I am looking for any top tips for getting a really stunning display. This year I planted 2 batches a few weeks apart, which had given me a great succession of flowering, want to try 3 next year, would like to know how to avoid accidentally breaking the ones growing already, as I did this year.
Also some tip on lifting and storing would be great!
Many thanks in advance
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From the look of those stems you should be giving the rest of us tips I think! (or maybe I just need more tips than you do!).
I grew them for the first time this year - partly in my 'flower bed' in my veg patch to use as cut flowers, partly in pots. Yours look much straighter than mine - did you stake them at all? I didn't which might be the mistake I made?
Yours also seem to have bloomed along the stem for a long stretch of the stem (if that makes sense?!) - mine tended to have a shorter flowering section so that I had to pick off the bottom dead flowers as the higher flowers were coming into bloom. Not sure what could have caused that?! Could in part be the variety I guess?
I've now cut the flower stems off and left the leaves on, and am continuing to water and occasionally feed them to prepare for next year. Not sure if it's ok to 'heel them in' to another pot or flower bed until the leaves die back or whether it's too risky to disturb the roots?
So I'll be interested to see what forum experts can give in the way of advice re: planting, staking, feeding, watering, lifting, storing etc (they are my wife's fave flower so plan to grow more next year!)
I have grown the same...Priscilla, £1 for 15 corms from Lidl.
two bags full have given me loads of cut flowers for the house.
At that price, its no hardship to buy a couple of dozen each year. In free draining soil, if they are planted deep, they will survive most winters and rebloom next year.
I grow them in lines in the veg patch, taking the space when the broad beans come out.
Hi ImpHosta,
I too had to pick off the dead heads while the top one we just opening, but mostly lovely long spikes of flowers. I was torn between putting some in vases so I could enjoy them in the house and leaving them in the garden to make the neighbours jealous
the weather decided for me as the wind had made them fall over. I never staked them (didn't like the look) planted them really deep in the hopes that would be enough. I think a move to the bed in front of the house will help with that next year.
I'm not sure about different varieties, I got these from Tesco (50 for £5, I think) All the first ones were the ones I the picture, now got peach, yellow and purple.
Such a lovely flower, had to patient though, took ages to come up. and weeks before the flower spike formed.
I don't think I will risk moving them until they hand died back completely, will wait for the experts input though!
If you want to lift, then wait until the remaining spike has gone brown.
Hi Fidgetbones,
I will remember to try lidl next year, I might have fallen in love with this flower.
So does the Priscilla give the curly petals? The others I have aren't as frilly! Sorry for all the technical terms! ha ha!
Also I assume that if the are left in over winter they will all flower at the same time (more or less) I like the idea of successive flowering, but not so much the effort of digging up, storing, replanting each year.
Ah do I not have to wait until all the leaves die back, like daffodils?
Just lifted my gladioli bulbs - amazing! they went in the ground as small brown things and are now enormous bulbs with hundreds of tiny bulbils hanging from them. Do I leave them somewhere dry to let the stem die back, or is it ok to cut the stem off. Obviously I have to make sure they are dry for storage purposes. Could lay in the greenhouse for a while to dry off.