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EmailBotanical name: Gladiolus
Plant type: Flower
USDA Hardiness Zones: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Sun exposure: Full Sun
Soil type: Any
Flower color: Red, Pink, Orange, Yellow, White, Multicolor
Bloom time: Summer
Gladiolus is a perennial favored for its beautiful, showy flowers. Its flowers grow on tall spikes and are often found in cutting gardens or in the back along the border (because they are tall). Gladioli have many different colored flowers, and grow between 2 to 6 feet in height. It's good for cut flowers.
Planting
- Plant gladiolus bulbs in the spring once danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed.
- Ready your garden by using a garden fork or tiller and loosen the soil to about 12 to 15 inches deep. After loosening the soil, mix in a 2– to 4–inch layer of compost.
- Plant your bulbs 4 to 8 inches deep with the pointed end facing up. Space the corms 3 to 6 inches apart. Water the corms thoroughly.
- Gladioli like well-drained, light soil and full sun.
- If you're planting tall varieties, be sure to stake them at planting time. Be careful not to damage the corms with the stakes.
- It takes about 90 days from the time gladioli are planted to root, grow, bloom, and store enough energy for the next season.
Care
- Put a 2– to 4–inch layer of mulch around your gladioli to keep your soil moist and help prevent weeds.
- If you get less than 1 inch of rain a week, water your plants regularly throughout the summer. Otherwise, water them moderately when in growth to keep the soil moist.
- Remove the faded/dead flowers to ensure continuous growth. Once all the flowers on a stalk have gone, cut off the stalk.
- Be sure to leave the plant intact so it can mature and rejuvenate the corms for the next season.
- If you live in zones 7 or 8, put down a layer of hay or straw for winter protection.
- Corms should be dug before the last frost in you live in zone 7 or ones colder.
Pests
Harvest/Storage
- At the end of the season, cut the stalks to within an inch of the corms, then leave them in a warm, airy location for 1 to 2 weeks.
- Remove and throw away the oldest bottom corms and store the new corms in plastic, mesh bags in a well–ventilated room. The temperature of the room should be between 35º and 45ºF. Replant these corms in the spring.
Recommended Varieties
- Candyman, for its beautiful deep pink flowers
- Dream's End, which makes a good back border plant because its flower spike is up to 3 feet long (and it has pretty light orange flowers with large yellow centers)
- Prins Claus, which has white flowers with splashes of pink on its petals
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Comments
If your glads are close to a
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By Almanac Staff on April 26
If your glads are close to a lawn they may have been getting too much nitrogen from lawn fertilizers. Nitrogen promotes leaf growth. Add bone meal to the soil and in a few weeks add a bloom booster fertilizer. Also make sure that the bulbs are not planted too deep in the soil.
what zone am i?
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By Anonymous
i live in utah what zone is that?
Depends on where in Utah
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By Anonymous on April 28
Utah varies depending on which part you live in. It ranges from 7B-7A-6B
should I cover ?
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By Anonymous
It's April 18th here in Missouri, & I have a lot of glads coming up, but its suppose to be near freezing tonight, should I cover them ..........
Glads should be lifted in
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By Almanac Staff
Glads should be lifted in places that freeze (zone 7 and lower). If yours are in the ground, try to protect them with a greenhouse plastic covering. It will heat up the soil and speed the plant along while protecting from frost. If the corms are planted too soon in cold soil, they will rot.
To dig up or not
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By Anonymous
Hi, what zone is MA. And do the corms get dug up each winter or not?
Folks, see map page:
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By Almanac Staff
Folks, see map page: http://www.almanac.com/content/plant-hardiness-zones
MA has more than one zone.
It's recommended to lift the bulbs in the fall in zones 7 and lower.
whats the zone
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By Anonymous
I live in Modesto, California so what zone do I live in?
Modesto, California is USDA
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By Almanac Staff
Modesto, California is USDA zone 9a.
How to I transplant Glads?
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By Anonymous
I forced some Glads in a large vase filled with rocks and water following some directions I found on the internet. It is now mid April and they are not calling for anymore really cold weather here in GA. The stems are getting really tall and starting to fall over. However, I do not know how to transplant them. Will this damage their roots? Where should I plant them? I don't want them to die because they seem to be doing so well. I would really like for them to bloom and flourish.
You can plant the glads
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By Almanac Staff
You can plant the glads outside if you carefully take them out of the vase without damaging the roots. Plant them in full sun. Dig a deep hole, add some compost and put the bulbs with the roots in the hole. Fill with soil. See above for planting and care information. Put stakes next to the tallest glads.
Glads
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By Anonymous
Last Spring I planted (zone 6) 75 glads as per the instructions on the package exactly. Not one came up. Do they bloom in year 2 normally?
Jennifer
Most glads are tender bulbs
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By Catherine Boeckmann
Most glads are tender bulbs that can't freeze--and Zone 6 is iffy. They don't always come back if it's a cold winter. I've made that mistake, but the bulbs are fairly inexpensive. If you plant some new glads now, you should have blooms in 90 days!
I live in RI, if I put hay on
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By Anonymous
I live in RI, if I put hay on the top of my flower beds in the fall will the bulbs be ok for the winter
I live in Middletown,RI
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By Anonymous
Where I live, I have never had to dig up my bulbs,(gladilous,tulips,cana,daffodils,columbine, etc;). All I do is put the Fall leaves on my flower beds before the 1st frost. Hope this helps you. Happy Gardening!
Most of RI is too cold to
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By Almanac Staff
Most of RI is too cold to cover with hay. In hardiness zones 7 or colder, corms should be dug before the first frost, stored, and replanted in spring.
I Live In RI
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By Anonymous
I have way to many Glads in my flower beds. They have started to come up and have the green stems on them, can I transplant them now before the flowers open up to other areas in my yard?
Yes, you can transplant them
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By Almanac Staff
Yes, you can transplant them now. Dig carefully so that you don't disturb the bulbs and roots. Plant in new spot and keep watering to prevent transplant shock. You may loose a few flowers but most should be just fine.
When to plant in ZONE 7
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By Anonymous
I live in Oklahoma and am planting a few gladiolus as well as a few other things for the first time this season, and I am not quite sure when exactly I should plant them? I know they say last frost, but that's sometimes hard to determine here.
You can plant the glads now.
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By Almanac Staff
You can plant the glads now. See our frost chart at almanac.com/content/frost-chart-united-states with last spring frost dates shown for Oklahoma.
Corms too old?
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By Anonymous
I bought corms last November and I would like to plant them this coming April. Thing is is that they were on clearance from last summer - would it be okay to plant them after they've never been in soil for this long? How long can the corms last without being planted? I kept them cool & dry all winter. Thanks!
As long as the corms are dry
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By Almanac Staff
As long as the corms are dry and there is no visible rot they are fine.
Planting gladiolus!
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By Anonymous
So Im planting gladiolus this spring :) been wanting to for awhile. Just wondering if I should lift the bulbs in winter? I live in paso robles, California, zone 8 :)
You can leave the bulbs in
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By Almanac Staff
You can leave the bulbs in the ground. It's recommended to lift the bulbs in the fall in zones 7 and lower.
wild gladiolus
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By Anonymous
I saw one blooming in the woods next to me, went over and pulled up a bunch of bulbs and planted them in my yard. Now a couple years later they pop up everywhere in my yard. Is there any reasoning to this? Also why do some bloom and others don't? Thanks
from North Florida (most southernmost part) zone 9a
The corms multiply by
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By Almanac Staff
The corms multiply by producing new corms on the top of the mother corm. You can dig them up in the fall and replant them where you want them to grow. The ones that don't bloom are probably the newer smaller corms.
I live in Fresno, CA and have
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By Anonymous
I live in Fresno, CA and have left my bulbs in the ground for the last three years. I noticed there is a lot of leafy (almost looks like tall grass) growing around the plant. When I dug it up to see what it was it looked liked little mini corms. What do I do with this? and will they grow to be full size gladiola plants?
They are mini corms and will
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By Almanac Staff
They are mini corms and will grow into big corms. Leave them where they are or you can transplant them.
LIGHTLY FROSTED
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By Anonymous
I LEFT MY GLADS IN THE GROUND IN SEQUIM WA..THEY MADE IT THRU MOST OF THE MILD WINTER..A FEW FROZEN DAYS AND THE LEAVES YELLOWED AND NOW IN FEB ARE BEGINNING TO BROWN...SHOULD I CUT THEM ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BULB (CORM)..AND WILL THEY COME BACK TO LIFE THIS SPRING ...DGH
cold corms
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By Almanac Staff
What's the weather forecast now??
With that in mind, if more cold days are likely, or worse, frost, you should probably just leave the foliage alone until all threat of cold weather has passed.
Glad corms should be lifted before cold weather sets in. Since you did not do that, consider whether or not they are deep enough in the ground to avoid the effects of any surface frost. If so, they may survive. Lifting them now may not make any difference.
We hope this helps.
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