Growing Gladiolus

How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Gladioli

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Gladiolus is a classic perennial known for its tall flower spikes. A great cutting flower, gladioli look beautiful in midsummer bouquets. Here’s how to grow gladioli in your garden.

Available in a multitude of colors, gladioli grow between 2 to 5 feet in height.

The taller varieties, which should be staked, are often placed in the back of a garden to nicely complement shorter plants.

In Zone 7 and colder, gladioli corms need to be lifted in the fall and replanted the following spring.

Planting

When to Plant Gladiolus

Plant gladiolus corms in the spring once the danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed. See your local frost dates here.

Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site

Gladioli like well-drained soil and full sun.
Ready your garden by using a garden fork or tiller to loosen the soil to about 12 to 15 inches deep. After loosening the soil, mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost or aged manure.

How to Plant Gladiolus

To ensure large-sized blooms, plant corms that are 1¼ inch or larger in diameter.
Set the corm in the hole about 4 inches deep with the pointed end facing up. Cover with soil and press firmly.
Space the corms 6 to 8 inches apart.
If your grow gladioli primarily for cut flowers, plant them in rows. It’s easier to tend the plants and to harvest the flowers.
If planted with other flowers in borders or annual bes, plant the corms in groups of 7 or more for best effect.
Water the corms thoroughly.
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 60 days from the time gladioli are planted for the corms to root, grow, bloom.

Care

How to Grow Gladiolus

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 blooms. Once all the flowers on a stalk are gone, cut the stalk off at about 2 to 3 inches above the soil.
Be sure to leave the plant intact so it can mature and rejuvenate the corms for the next season.
If you live in Zone 8, put down a layer of hay or straw for winter protection.
Corms should be dug before the first fall frost if you live in Zone 7 or colder.

Purple gladiolus

Pests/Diseases

Gladiolus corm rot (Fusarium wilt)
Gray mold
Viruses
Aster yellows
Spider mites
Thrips
Aphids

Harvest/Storage

Cutting Gladiolus Flowers for Bouquets

Cut the flower stalks early in the morning or at night, not during the heat of day.
Use a sharp knife and bring a bucket of lukewarm water to the flower bed.
Cut stalks with only one or two open flowers. The rest of the buds will open after you put them in a vase.
Cut diagonally through the stalks and place them in the bucket.
Leave at least four leaves on the plant in the ground if you want to re-use the corms.
Place the bucket with the flowers in a cool dark place for a few hours before arranging them in a vase.
Remove lower fading flowers and cut about 1 inch off the bottom of each flower stalk every few days.

Storing Gladioli Corms

In colder regions, dig up gladioli corms once the foliage has faded but before the first fall frost.

Use a spade and dig up the entire plant, grasping the top to pull it out of the soil. Avoid bruising or injuring corms while digging. Shake off all loose soil and discard damaged corms. Cut the stalk within 1 inch above the corm. Save the small cormels separately if you so desire. These will bloom in 2 to 3 years if you replant them each spring.
Allow the corms to dry in the sun for 1 or 2 days if the weather agrees. Sift out excess soil and place corms in wooden flats or trays. Cure in a warm and airy location for 2 weeks at a temperature of 80 to 85°F (27 to 29°C). Remove and throw away the oldest bottom corms (from the base of the new one).
Don’t remove the husks on the corms.
Dust the corms with a fungicide (“bulb dust”) to avoid disease problems. Place dust and bulbs in a paper bag and shake vigorously.
Store the corms in paper or cloth bags, pantyhose, or old onion sacks. Stack or hang the containers so air can move among them. Store the corms at 35 to 45°F (2 to 7°C) in low humidity. A cool basement is quite suitable. Do not allow corms to freeze.
Replant these corms in the spring for another year of beautiful blooms.
Learn more tips for storing gladiolus through the cold winter.

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 tall (and it has pretty light orange flowers with large yellow centers)
‘Prins Claus’, which has white flowers with splashes of pink on its petals
‘Black Star’, which has deep purple-red blooms and reaches 36 to 60 inches tall
Glamini Glads are pest resistant and bloom in full sun or partial shade. Their shorter height is perfect for the middle or front of flower beds.

Wit & Wisdom

Gladiolus is one of the August birth flowers.
Gladiolus is sometimes called a Sword Lily due to its sword-shaped leaves.
In the language of flowers, gladiolus signifies remembrance. Learn more flower meanings!

Reader Comments

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first frost coming... still flowers blooming

I live in Canada and we are forecast to have our first snowfall, with temperatures at well below freezing for a few days. I still have several glads that are about to put forth flowers. Should I cut all flower stems and then dig up my bulbs despite the fact the plant has not "died off"? Thanks for any info

Awesome

These are really pretty interesting in taking care of gladiolus. Thanks for sharing your insights and tips.

Neon Green Glad's!

I dug up some of my Mom's Glad's when we had to sell the home after my dad's passing & my mom was put into a Memory Care Home. So far I have Purple, Pink, & Neon Green Flowers. Not Yellow! Nowhere have I ever seen the Green Glad's nor has anyone I know. My Mom's are the only ones! Is this unusual?

after the first year my glads

after the first year my glads just grow good green leaves? no flowers. i do not dig them up each year is that a problem?

Gladiolus leaves but no flowers

Usually, the reason you get leaves without flowers is because 1. bulbs have been overfed with with a nitrogen fertilizer (or lawn fertilizer) which encourages leaf production sometimes at the expense of flowers, or 2. bulbs are planted in too shady or wet of an area. Most bulbs need at least 6 to 8 hours of sun and soil that drains well.

Another possible reason is that the bulbs leaves were cut too soon the previous year. Bulbs need the leaves even if the blooms are done. The leaves collect nutrients for next year. Once the leaves yellow, they may be removed.

Finally: If you have been growing these bulbs in the same area for many years, they may need to be divided. Bulbs can be dug and divided once the leaves yellow this spring. Replant soon after digging. No need to wait until fall to replant.

cladiolias

I planted glads and spikes came out but got broken off by watering it
will it still grow

Zones

Why can't I find a map showing the zones you are talking about? I am not sure which "zone" I live in.

USDA Zones

The zones in question are those defined by the USDA. Find a map here: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

Gladiolus

I received a stem of gladiolus with my Mother's Day bouquet of flowers and would like to plant it, how do I do that? Is there anything to need to do to prepare if for the dirt or do I just put it in dirt. I'm not good with flowers of any kind at all, but these are so beautiful I would like to keep it growing.

I live in the very south, my

I live in the very south, my gladiolus stay in ground year round. They now have multiple small shoots around each original plant. Do I need to thin them? The larger plants have beautiful flowers. By late spring the bed looks like it needs mowing.

Gladiolus

I live in southern tip of Texas, zone 9b. I have never grown glads in this kind of climate. It is January 5th and most of my glads still have green leaves. We may not get even a light frost here. Do these need to be cut back before spring growth? Please advise.

Glads in zone 9

Do not cut them back; the flowers bloom on the stems. No stems, no flowers. We are finding sources that assure that glads will thrive in zone 9, perhaps none better than the Galveston County office of Texas A&M’s Agrilife Cooperative Extension. They produced a 100-page booklet and a search for “gladi” in it brings you to Chapter, 5, page 49: https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/publications/Creating-the-...

We recommend that you reach out to folks there; you can find them here https://www.almanac.com/content/cooperative-extension-services Click on Texas and numerous options come up (we clicked on “AgriExtension” at the top, and in the middle of the page pops up a button for asking questions.

We hope this helps.

gladiola

My tallest glads this year have grown to a height of 7 foot, they had plenty of water in heatwave. and the colours were vibrant. 90 days from planting six inches deep to flowering.
all fed Epsom salts and home made compost.

giant glads!

Seven feet tall?! Were they a particular variety? That is amazing! No doubt your “formula” worked magic on them! Thanks for sharing! Although we can not post pics here, we’d love to seem them on Instagram if you tag TheOldFarmersAlmanac . Cheers!

7’ gladiolus

Hi. First of all congratulations on your 7’ glads !! I am utterly in awe & would love to see pics if u could show me these beautiful flowers uv grown!! I must learn your secrets to grow them here for my mother!! I live in Central TX out in the country & my mother’s fav flower is gladiolus. I have tried to grow them 3 years in a row with poor outcome!! this year will be the first year I have been able to actually cut a flower for the table, I have planted hundreds of bulbs!! I have used a variety of planting spots to see what if any area is best. I have tried full sun part sun ground soil potting soil and miracle grow food I have tried potting the.bulbs as well! I’m so frustrated that out of so many bags of bulbs i have only produced one beautiful red gladiolus that was breathtaking... the rest are either of poor health dismal color or get eaten.by our annoying grasshoppers before I ever see color bloom!!! Some are curled when they come out of the stalk and don’t look good at all & others the flower itself dies before ever blooming!! This is exasperating as I want so badly to produce multitudes of fresh flowers daily or weekly at least for my 80 yr old mother!! I feel like she may pass away before I ever get to spoil her with bouquets of fresh gladiolus on our table!! Please help! Thank you!

gladiola

I see the remarks about glads being called the sword lily.

may I add to that, the Romans had a short sword called the gladius. look up wiki.

My gladiolus leaves are 30 to

My gladiolus leaves are 30 to 35 in., no stems yet
And no sign of them either. What would you suggest?

glads

Hello, glads bloom by color, meaning certain colors will bloom first in the garden. August is usually when they start to bloom, and when it happens, it seems to happen v ery quickly. All of a sudden you will notice a flower spike that you hadn't noticed before. They are worth waiting for.

Glads in Summer!

I transplanted my Glad's when we moved in Sept. or Oct. 2018. By March 2019 they were already starting to bloom & all were finished well before Summer. I live in Houston, TX. & they are under a small Japanese Maple, yet get lots of Sun. I need to find out when to plant more Corms to get them to bloom all Summer!

Gladys

My gladiola has two stems on one plant!

Glads

Trying to figure out if all this extra stuff that has came up around my gladiolus is more glads or just grass .

Galdiolu

I haven't grown these before bought a mixed bag is it alright to plant in to fairly deep pots rather than the ground soil and the best compost to use, once planted if I can put in pot do I use a ferterlizer like fish and bone? Jocelyn Leyland

glads in containers

Yes, you can plant gladioli in containers! The shorter varieties work better, so that you won’t have to stake them. Choose a pot at least 12 or 18 inches deep. A good potting mix with loam works well–you can also mix in some compost. You can add in a little bonemeal when mixing up the potting mix, if the potting mix doesn’t already have fertilizer for flowers already in it. Fish meal might have too much nitrogen, which encourages leaf growth over flowering. Hope this helps!

Do deer eat gladiolas?

Not having grown gladiolas before, do I need to plant them somewhere protected from deer, or are they like daffodils that deer don't like? Thank you!

gladiolus deer-resistant?

Gladiolus are somewhat deer-resistant but not as resistant as daffodils. See our list of most deer-resistant plants: https://www.almanac.com/content/deer-resistant-plants

gladious

i live in mass. and yes those darn deer do eat them, even with a fence.

Gladiolus

Very informative. Thanks

Gladioli

Will Gladiolus return the following year if the stems are not cut? My mom died suddenly last year and in my grieving I forgot to cut the stems...

I have always just stuck mine

I have always just stuck mine in the ground and that is all. I have never cut my stalks and mine return each year for about 4 years now

Where do you live?

Where do you live?
I’m in West Texas

My Glads are about 4 yrs. old, they came up this year,but never bloomed
Wondering if I should cut I should leave them alone
Thanks