How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Gladioli Flowers
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For the best blooms, plant glads in full sun (6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day) in well-drained soil that’s moderately fertile. They will not do well in heavy, soggy soil. Mix compost (humus) into your soil to improve consistency and fertility.
When to Plant Gladiolus
- Start planting gladiolus corms in the spring once the danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed to at least 55°F (13°C). See your local frost dates here.
- From your last frost date to early summer, plant another round of corms every 10 days or so. This will result in continuous blooms through early fall!
- Depending on the variety, it takes between 60 and 90 days from the time glads are planted for the corms to root, grow, and bloom.
How to Plant Gladiolus
- 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.
- 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 you 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 beds, plant the corms in groups of 7 or more for the best effect.
- Water the corms thoroughly at planting.
- If you’re planting tall varieties, be sure to stake them at planting time. Be careful not to damage the corms with the stakes.
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 grow the corms for the next season.
Winter Protection for Gladiolus
- If you live in USDA Hardiness Zone 8 or warmer, put down a layer of hay or straw for winter protection. Gladiolus can remain in the ground through winter, provided a hard freeze (28°F or colder) isn’t common in your area.
- In colder regions (Zone 7 or colder), dig up gladioli corms once the foliage has faded after the first fall frost. A light frost will kill the foliage, but not the rest of the plant. Be sure to dig up the gladiolus corms before a hard freeze (28°F), or the plants could be fatally damaged.
- All that said, many gardeners who live in the “border” zones 6 and 7 have tried leaving their glads in the ground and found that they survived; this is a judgement call and based on your microclimate, your variety of gladiolus, and climate shifts.
Digging Up and Storing Gladioli Corms
To dig up the gladioli corms for winter storage, follow these tips:
- 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 (do not wash them off) and discard damaged corms. Cut the stalk down to 1 to 2 inches 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 2-3 weeks. Remove and throw away the oldest bottom corms (from the base of the new ones).
- 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 winter.
To cut glads for bouquets, follow these tips:
- Cut the flower stalks early in the morning or at night, not during the heat of the day.
- Use a sharp knife and bring a bucket of lukewarm water to the flower bed; cut diagonally through the stalks and place in the bucket.
- Cut stalks with only one or two open flowers. The rest of the buds will open after you put them in a vase. Leave at least four leaves on the plant in the ground if you want to reuse 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.
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This has me confused—
“Cure in a warm and airy location for 2 weeks at a temperature of 80 to 85°F (27 to 29°C).”
If I’m lifting the bulbs in the Fall temperatures are not 80 to 85°…….outside or inside.
Paula, Thank you for pointing this out. We’ve amended the information!
—The Editors
So, i just bought corms from a local nursery. I have no idea what variety other than the colour. I am planting them where they will get 4 to 6 hours of sun in the summer and 6 to 8 hours in the winter. I live in the tropics, so shall i expect the plants to die back in winter like the canna lilies, and ornamental turmeric and gingers? Do i need to dig them up or can i leave them in the ground year after year until they need thinning, as i do with the lilies and gingers? Thank you for your help!
It states that in USDA Hardiness Zone 8, put down a layer of hay or straw for winter protection. I feel compelled to caution against using hay. I have made the mistake of using hay, which is dried grass, as it may contains grass seeds. I am still pulling out grass sprouts! Straw is the better option.
Pls help. Planted store bought bulbs on Easter 2022. It's now May/28/22 and it looks like we planted grass. We have 12 smallest is about 18inches tall, biggest 24in. But it just looks like extra tall blades of grass. The instructions on the packet said plant them in groups, so we have 4 in each 6in diameter pot. After reading the article, I know I need replant. Will they flower soon? I don't even see any little buds. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated
Hi, Keely, So you planted in pots? You seldom see glads in pots because they need depth to perform but that’s not to say you can’t replicate the conditions; the question is, did you? The guidance above is for in-ground but when planting in pots you have to consider similar conditions. So, above it says, Ready your garden by using a garden fork or tiller to loosen the soil to about 12 to 15 inches deep. Are your pots that deep? After loosening the soil, mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost or aged manure. Did you do this? To ensure large-sized blooms, plant corms that are 1¼ inch or larger in diameter. Does that sound about right? (New, the corms should be the proper size.) Set the corm in the hole about 4 inches deep with the pointed end facing up. How about that: 4 inches deep? Cover with soil and press firmly. Space the corms 6 to 8 inches apart. This would be hard to do in a six-inch pot such as you describe. If it’s at all possible to get a larger pot (yes, it will require a lot of soil/compost/growing matter) or move them to a suitable spot in ground, you might try replanting them but remember that transferring any plant to a new locations involves a certain amount of upset and adaptation, so please understand that this may not be successful (may not produce the results you want) but it doesn’t sound like conditions are suitable for growth as it is. Sorry we don’t have better news.
Pls help..flowers die & then something like a bulb or nut pops up in the same plc of once flower, what is it?? What do i do ? The flowers r fabulous.
These are just seedpods. It’s normal once the flower stop blooming. They will not re-bloom this year.
We planted glads for the first time last year, and were thrilled with the results! We dug up the corms, which had grown in size, saved them in the house over the winter, and replanted this spring. They are blooming, but the color is remarkably different. All the bloomers so far are a much-faded yellow with a tinge of pink in the middle of the flower. We did have over a week of early extreme heat here in Zone 5. Could that have altered the color? Thank you!
I have several glads blooming now - they are all yellow and white. Beautiful never-the-less. I have heard that glads all change to the same color over time. Is this true? If so, how does that happen, or why does it happen? I will always keep growing glads because they are so beautiful! Maybe we need a "used" glad department if this is what will keep happening. Then those new to gladiolas could/would be happy with the yellow/white blooms.
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