As trends changed, gladioli lost popularity and grew associated with stiff rows of allotments and Dame Edna with a bunch of them on TV. Sadly, they remain a victim of a retro, poor reputation. A July bunch of gladioli all out, show stealing in all sorts of muted variations, with smoky purples and soft apricots, are a far cry from gaudy gladiolus mixes. Gladiolus evokes an old school 70’s allotment flower, but they truly a show stopping flower bunch.
With corms averaging anywhere from a couple of cents to a buck, they are one of the cheapest flowers to add to your summer garden. You get a bang for your buck seeing a meter tall flower in as little as 3 months with a corm! Gladiolus is a great in a garden with little investment.
Timing is Everything
Gladioli grow from corms instead of true bulbs. In reality, this makes little difference. Like true bulbs, corms are also planted in the spring. This happens after the soil warms, anywhere from late March in the mild areas to the later parts of May for the rest. Experienced growers suggest the practice of succession planting for the planting of corms. This is particularly useful for the short flowering nature of the gladiolus. Rather than corms being planted all at once, for the best outcome, dozens of corms should be planted every two weeks for the spring months. This makes for an extended flowering display that lasts from July all the way to September. Companies such as Bloms Bulbs allow customers to purchase single named varieties. This makes color planning easier, as opposed to the pot luck of a mixed bag. Gladioli corms can be stored in a cool, dry place until ready to be planted.
Planting and Care
Gladioli need bright sun and a good draining soil. The corms should be planted at least 10 to 15 cm deep, and should be spaced 15 cm apart. Gladioli look best in bunches and intermixed with other plants. Staking is often unnecessary with good deep planting. Corns shouldn’t be allowed to sit wet in the soil. A small planting hole filled with grit should be good to go.
In dry weather, all I really have to do is water the gladiolus and stake the tall ones, since the exposed ones can easily be broken by the wind. I have found it hard to get a stake strong enough to prop them up. You need to keep an eye out for thrips since they can damage flowers by making them develop a silvery streak, and are worse some years than in others, but gladiolus are pretty much trouble free.
After flowering
Here is the honest part, since gladiolus are not even half hardy. Their corms really cant be left in the ground in most of the U.K. and are traditionally lifted every autumn. After flowering, and the foliage turning yellow after about 6 weeks, the corms are dug up and the stems are cut off near the corm to dry for a week or two. After that they are stored in a frost free shed for the winter. The dried corms are kept in paper bags or trays, and a new corm is formed each year on top of the old one to give the next years plant, small corms which need some patience to grow and some more to get to flowering size.
In gardens with milder climates and free draining soil, people get away with storing gladiolus under dry mulch over winter to avoid the cold and wet, corms are so cheap to replace that losing a few doesn’t matter, and the winter wet tends to hurt the corms rather than the cold. Gladiolus communis byzantinus blooms tiny magenta spikes that people grow everywhere across the country and can remain in the ground year round. They are also hardier and much more attractive than the giant gladiolus that people are used to seeing.
Gladioli for cutting
Gladiolus are some of the best and most affordable cut flowers. Growing a few rows makes for an affordable and attractive supply throughout the summer. It is best to cut the stem with the fewest remaining leaves because this allows the corm to continue to feed. Constrained in a vase, the remaining flowers finish budding over the course of a week. To encourage the upper flowers to bloom, they can be pinched, and the bottom flowers fade away and fall off after they bloom.
Gladioli may never escape their reputation associated with allotments, and perhaps they shouldn’t because allotment growers knew all along the power these flowers. Buying a few corms to fill some gaps in the garden is less expensive than buying a single perennial and by July, the non-believers will be converted.