What are the cultivation methods and precautions for gladiolus?

Gladiolus is a plant quite suitable for appreciation as a cut flower. Its flowers come in very rich colors, it has spherical stems, and its surface is covered with a brownish-yellow membrane, giving it very high ornamental value. Many people want to grow a pot of this beautiful flowering plant and place it in their homes. As a bulbous plant, the first thing you need to do to grow it well is protect its corms. Below, the editor shares some growing experience with everyone.

How to grow gladiolus

1. Soil: It likes fertile, deep sandy soil and requires good drainage. Sandy sloping soil with good drainage is most suitable, with a pH of 5.6-6.5 being appropriate. It should not be planted in heavy clay soil where waterlogging easily occurs.

2. Watering: Gladiolus is a flower that needs a lot of water. Timely watering and keeping the soil moist are important measures to encourage it to bloom more. If there is hot, high temperature, spray promptly to increase humidity and lower the temperature. After rain, attention should be paid to drainage.

3. Temperature: The optimum temperature for growth is 20-25°C during the day and 10-15°C at night. When the temperature is higher than 27°C, growth is hindered and the petals are easily scorched. Below 10°C, growth is slow.

4. Sunlight: Gladiolus is not tolerant of shade and is a long-day plant. The most suitable condition is 16 hours of light per day. Cut flower varieties are greatly affected by light. Sufficient sunlight makes them grow strong, with strong resistance, and the flower colors are bright and long-lasting. However, in hot summers, strong direct sunlight should also be avoided.

5. Fertilizing: Gladiolus is a shallow-rooted plant, so fertilizer should be applied shallowly. Fertilizing should balance nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Topdressing should be done at the two-true-leaf stage (after flower bud differentiation) and at the heading stage, applying dilute manure water plus urea once. In the middle stage, apply a heavy dose of potassium fertilizer once. In the later stage, pay attention to controlling nitrogen to avoid excessive vegetative growth, which can cause lodging. For plots mainly producing corms, potassium fertilizer should be the main focus of increased application.

Gladiolus cultivation methods and precautions

I. Cultivation methods

1. Potting soil

To plant gladiolus, you should choose sandy soil with deep soil layers, good drainage, and no easy water accumulation. For flower pots, it is best to choose unglazed clay pots or plastic pots with holes at the bottom for ventilation. If possible, choose shallow pots for planting, with the pot height smaller than its diameter.

2. Watering

Small gladiolus seedlings should be watered once every 10 days to keep the potting soil moist and prevent the leaf tips from turning yellow. After flowering, water should also be replenished in time. In summer, the weather is hot and water evaporates quickly, so you can water once every 4 days. After flowering, appropriately controlling water can extend the flowering period.

3. Fertilizing

Gladiolus is a flower that likes fertilizer, so timely topdressing should be done after planting. Generally, apply fully decomposed liquid fertilizer 3-4 times a month. Pay attention to the nitrogen content, and increase phosphorus and potassium fertilizer to increase the rate of flower bud differentiation. After flowering, superphosphate can be chosen as a topdressing to promote vigorous corm growth.

4. Temperature

Gladiolus generally blooms three months after planting, but during growth it is greatly affected by air temperature. During the growth period, the higher the temperature, the faster the growth, though of course it should be controlled within a certain range.

5. Light

Gladiolus likes sunlight. With more than 14 hours of light per day, flower bud differentiation will be better. After flower bud differentiation, appropriately reducing the light duration can promote the growth of flower buds and advance flowering.

II. Precautions

1. The most suitable temperature for gladiolus growth cannot exceed 27°C. Especially in summer, when the temperature is too high, ventilate and cool it down in time, so that excessively high temperature does not cause the plant's growth to weaken.

2. Gladiolus is a bulbous plant, so after the flowers fade, the corms must be protected without delay. When the leaves begin to turn yellow, dig out the corms, dry them, and store them.

How to choose gladiolus corms

1. Shape and size

For gladiolus corms, those that are flat-spherical and medium-sized are best. A flat corm indicates that it has already degenerated or even aged and is not suitable for planting. If the corm is too large, although it sprouts more, it consumes a lot of nutrients, and flowering is not good.

2. Presence or absence of pests and diseases

Choose corms with no brown or black disease spots, no mildew spots or rot, and no insect bites.

3. Damage to the bud eyes and base

Since the bud eyes are the parts where the corm sprouts after planting, and the base of the corm is where roots sprout, these two parts must not be damaged, otherwise rooting and sprouting will be affected, and the plant cannot grow and develop normally.

4. The variety must be pure

There are many kinds of gladiolus. When choosing, select pure varieties and try not to choose hybrids, otherwise you will not get the flower spikes you want. If you want a specific flower color, you can choose according to the corm. For example, for yellow or orange flowers, the base of the corm will appear yellow

How to store gladiolus corms

1. Saving corms for seed

Gladiolus corms are mother corms, and many small cormels grow around the large corm. When storing corms in autumn and winter, you can break off the small cormels and plant them in spring. Because gladiolus corms degenerate relatively quickly, they are mainly rejuvenated through propagating cormels.

2. Storage methods

Room-temperature storage: Wrap the corms directly in newspaper or a mesh bag and place them in a cool, ventilated corner.

Low-temperature storage: Place the corms in the refrigerator's cold storage compartment.

3. Precautions

Try to replace the soil with new soil for planting each year. If growing them in the open ground, try to change the location. The planting depth should reach at least 5-8 cm to ensure the healthy development of the new corms. Small cormels harvested in autumn, sown the following spring, can produce new corms by October. However, for saving seed, it is best to choose cormels the size of a soybean or pea.

That is all for now on how to plant gladiolus. I hope it helps everyone. Gladiolus is not difficult to grow, but any plant needs to be cultivated according to its own growth habits. Gladiolus is very susceptible to pests and diseases, so everyone needs to take extra precautions during cultivation.