Children of gladioli: what to do with them, when to dig them up and how to store them

Gladioli are magnificent flowers that delight every year with their solemn and majestic beauty. But many novice gardeners are convinced that updating them is only possible by purchasing new corms. Children of gladioli, as a rule, are either not taken into account at all, or it is considered that preserving and using them for subsequent planting is a very labor-intensive task.

Children of gladioli - description

What is a baby and what is it for?

During the growing process, adult gladioli bulbs form tubers, which are called babies. They are analogues of the “parent” (corm), differing from it only in their size. With proper care, such children grow into a gladiolus, which completely repeats all the characteristics of the parent.

ON A NOTE! As practice shows, gladioli that are grown from children are more resistant to many diseases, and they also adapt well to the conditions of a particular area.

The size of the children depends on the variety of gladioli, the age of the adult bulb, and agricultural technology. Very tiny ones grow - up to 1-3 mm, and larger specimens - 15-20 mm - are formed. The plant's tuber buds appear at the base of the large bulb; their number may vary. Some corms have 15-20 children, there are varieties that produce up to 150-200 corms. The peculiarities of agricultural technology, the planting depth of an adult bulb, varietal characteristics, and the age of the plant all play a role here.

Adult gladioli bulbs have their own classification (analysis from 1st to 4th). Tuber buds are classified according to size in the same way. The first group includes children, the size of which varies from 5 to 10 mm, from which plants are obtained with powerful peduncles, the most intense varietal color of the inflorescences, and corrugation (if the parent plant had one).

The second group includes small children, from which corms of the 3rd or even 4th grade are most often obtained, with gladioli of slightly lower quality.

IMPORTANT! There are varieties of gladioli, the genetic feature of which is a predisposition to miniature children.

Most modern varieties produce medium-sized tubers (up to 4-7 mm). Babies have a dry and fairly dense shell, which serves as reliable protection from all external influences.

Inexperienced summer residents, mistakenly believing that children are unnecessary material, remove them from the bulbs when digging and throw them away. Meanwhile, tubers are one of the most important organs of vegetative propagation of these wonderful flowers. With their help you can:

increase the number of gladioli in the collection;
update existing varieties, while maintaining all the characteristics of the mother gladioli;
obtain plants that are maximally adapted to specific climatic conditions and to the area in which they grow.

Experienced flower growers know that a responsible approach to digging, disassembling and storing tubers, as well as their further cultivation, will allow you to obtain bright and magnificent flowers in the following seasons.

What to do after digging and how to store them?

Everyone knows that gladioli corms need to be dug up in the fall. The timing of digging depends on the region, but it is important that the bulbs are ripe. Typically, gardeners determine the period by counting the days from the completion of flowering of gladioli or cutting of flower stalks. On average - 30 days, for late varieties - up to 45-50 days. All tubers are separated from adult bulbs, carefully washed and then laid to dry.

ON A NOTE! When selecting children, try to sort all the specimens and put them in storage. This will allow you to obtain a large amount of planting material of all varieties of gladioli in the spring.

In winter, children are preserved very well, much better than adult bulbs. For them it is necessary to create an optimal mode:

room with ventilation;
temperature – from +3ºC to +8ºС.

The temperature at which children are stored should not exceed +15ºС. Every month it is necessary to inspect the children, removing damaged or dried tubers.

When to dig up gladioli and lilies. Tips and questions

When to dig up lilies and gladioli

In the fall, one of the gardener’s problems is how to preserve gladioli bulbs until spring. The summer resident looks - in the garden bed there are only skewers of green leaves spread out like a fan. You need to dig up the bulbs and find a good place for them where they will overwinter. Some people store gladioli bulbs in the apartment, others in the cellar. And we will tell you how to properly collect and preserve the material until spring, so that later you can get excellent plants with good flowers.

When to dig up gladioli

Autumn has come - there is a lot of work for the gardener in the flowerbed. You need to dig up the gladioli bulbs in time, because they are afraid of frost and will not overwinter in the ground.

IMPORTANT! Do not leave the bulbs to overwinter in the soil, they will freeze.

If you want to get beautiful large inflorescences next year, you need to dig up in a timely manner, and most importantly, properly preserve the gladioli bulbs until next spring.

When to dig up gladioli?

It is impossible to say the exact date when to start digging up gladiolus bulbs. It all depends on the weather. There are only recommended average periods for flower growers.

in the middle zone - gladioli are dug up in late September-early October,
in the southern regions in October.

REMEMBER! In order for the bulb to ripen well, it is necessary to remove the dried flower stalks from the plant.

To form a good bulb, the plant needs to be given a month after the peduncle is cut. Therefore, do not leave faded inflorescences on the plant.

It is more convenient to dig up gladioli bulbs with a wide shovel, carefully lifting the soil and removing the plant. You should not shake the roots of the flower off the ground too vigorously, especially if you want to preserve the baby gladioli - small, round baby bulbs. They are attached near the bottom of the young bulb and can get lost or remain in the soil.

When the gladiolus bulb is removed from the soil, use sharp pruning shears or large scissors to trim the stem, leaving a small stump.

It is not recommended to forcefully twist or break the stem, so as not to damage the delicate bulb!

Preparing gladioli for storage

It’s not enough to just dig up the bulbs; you need to properly prepare them for storage.

After you have dug up the plants and shaken off the soil, you should lightly dry the bulbs. Then clear them from the ground and select the baby (if you plant it next year).

If the old mother bulb (it is located at the bottom of the new bulb) comes off easily, then it must be removed immediately; if not, then after drying it will easily come off along with the old roots.

Do not rush to immediately tear off and clean the gladioli bulbs. Dry them and after a few days try again to remove the mother bulb and roots.

To prevent your harvest of gladiolus bulbs from getting sick and dying from various fungal diseases during storage, you need to treat it with special preparations.

The bulbs can be soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate (dark pink solution of potassium permanganate) or treated in a solution of the drug "Maxim" (according to the instructions).

Gladioli bulbs treated for fungal diseases need to be thoroughly dried. After drying (if you have a lot of bulbs), sort the gladioli by size and variety. I recommend immediately marking the variety on the boxes in which your bulbs will be stored throughout the winter.

When sorting bulbs, pay attention to the size of the bottom. If the bottom of the bulb is large, then the plant is already old, and it is worth thinking about rejuvenating the variety.

Gladioli need to be dried for a whole month - a full 30 days at a temperature of 20° C. After drying is completed, the bulbs are put away for storage.

How to store gladioli in a room

It is best to store gladioli bulbs in a cool, dry basement with a temperature of at least 4°C. But what if you don’t have such a room? It’s okay, gladioli bulbs can be stored in an ordinary apartment. To do this, we place the dried onions in cardboard boxes (don’t forget to label the variety) and put them in the refrigerator, away from the freezer compartment.

Never place gladioli bulbs in the freezer!!!

Periodically remove the box of bulbs and inspect them for rot and mold. Check, process and quarantine all suspicious specimens.

Some gardeners store gladioli bulbs on the tiled floor in the bathroom. Of course, the temperature there is lower than in living rooms, but the humidity is too high.

What to do in the fall?

Autumn activities with gladioli babies come down to digging them up (together with adult corms), sorting, and drying. The covering scales are not removed from the children; this will need to be done in the spring, before planting.

Note that if the corm has not yet matured a little, then the baby may have a light gray color and be firmly attached to the “parent”. This is convenient for digging, since the baby will not get lost in the ground. Fully matured tubers have brown scales, and they have often already separated from the mother bulb. Selecting them is more difficult, since they are similar to soil and can get lost. Therefore, you need to look through the bed very carefully, without leaving individual children there.

Reproduction of gladioli by children

The method of propagating gladioli by children is one of the most common and simplest. Thanks to this propagation, all rare and beautiful varieties will be preserved in the gardener’s collection. Without working with tubers, these varieties will be lost as they age.

Frequent updating of children makes it possible to quickly obtain a large number of plants of your favorite variety of gladioli. By preserving the tuber buds correctly and caring for them, in just a few years you will get luxurious flower beds of magnificent, handsome gladioli.

Storing baby bulbs is not particularly difficult, and often these bulbs are better preserved during wintering. Experience, of course, plays a role, since there are proven methods and techniques, certain rules for growing gladioli that are best suited to specific conditions.

IMPORTANT! Growing gladioli through children is not only an update of the variety, but also its improvement. Adult corms, which are grown from children, are complete planting material, free from viral diseases.

How to preserve baby gladioli in winter?

After digging, the corms are cleared of the soil, the children are separated, washed, and then dried for two to three weeks. Many gardeners treat planting material with special preparations before storing it, but this depends on personal preference. If there are a lot of gladioli, it is not always possible to find time for additional processing. But drying is mandatory.

Also, with a large number of varieties, it is advisable to label the children, sorting them accordingly by name.

Basic rules for preparing baby gladioli for planting

You may be interested in: When to dig up gladioli in the fall in 2022: the most favorable days for digging up bulbs Dates for planting gladioli in the spring according to the 2022 calendar of gardeners Growing gladioli in pots outdoors

Each gardener uses his own methods of preparing for planting gladioli children and corms. But there are also general rules:

It is recommended to clean the babies from a durable waterproof shell, as it slows down the germination of flowers;
You can also treat the children in a solution of potassium permanganate (it is convenient to do this by placing the tubers in gauze bags).

You can use the soaking method:

the baby is placed in warm water for 24 hours so that it swells;
then put it in jars, containers, and other containers, covering it with a damp cloth;
containers are placed in a warm place;
control humidity, preventing the napkin from drying out.

After about 7-10 days (it all depends on the condition of the tuber bud and conditions), sprouts can be seen. Baby is ready to board!

I dug up the gladioli, what next? Digging up bulbs

Gladioli bulbs can be dug up about 3 weeks after the end of flowering, but it is better to give them at least a month to ripen. During this time, a new bulb and full-fledged children are finally formed. Digging time in most regions is the 2nd half of September. The procedure should be performed in dry weather, armed with a pitchfork.

For ease of digging, it is worth cutting off the stems and leaves almost at the ground so as not to break them during work, although you will still have to trim them later. You must dig up the bulbs with extreme caution: it’s not just that the bulb can be damaged, this almost never happens. The children are attached to it very fragilely, and we must try to prevent them from falling off.

It is easy to dig up gladioli without losing the baby only from sandy soil

Even if the children are not needed, there is no point in leaving them in the ground. The children overwinter well in the ground, and next year in the garden bed in which you plant, for example, carrots, young gladioli will grow like a brush. Therefore, you should try to get the bulb out along with the soil, carefully move it to the place where the bedding is placed or a large basin is placed, and only there you should get rid of the soil and carefully collect the baby.

The rest of the stem is immediately cut off with pruning shears: you can leave a stump of about 1 cm. Breaking the stem is strictly not recommended: this can easily damage the bulb. If the old bulb and roots come off relatively easily, this can be done right away. If not, it will be much easier in a week.

Although gladiolus is a relative of garlic, its stems, unlike an edible plant, are cut off immediately after digging

In case of dry weather and sandy soil, it is easy to remove dirt from the bulb by hand. If the soil is clayey and it has recently rained, the bulbs can be washed with water and then laid out to dry. They are not dried in the sun (this will cause them to wither), but in a ventilated area at room temperature. Usually 2–3 weeks are enough, after which the bulbs in cardboard boxes or paper (possibly fabric) bags are sent for wintering in a dry cellar with a temperature of +2…+5 o C. The bulbs are stored separately under the same conditions.

After the gladioli bloom, you need to let the bulbs ripen for at least a month, creating the right conditions for them. At the end of September, the bulbs are carefully dug up and prepared for winter storage.

The popular gladiolus flower, also called the “skewer”, is found on almost every gardener’s garden. To achieve bright and abundant flowering, you need to properly care for them not only in the summer, but also provide them with decent autumn care. In this article we will tell you when to dig up gladioli in the fall and how to store them.

Many novice flower growers are wondering: is it necessary to dig up gladioli for the winter? The answer to this question is ambiguous.

In the southern regions in winter the temperature rarely drops below 0, so you don’t have to dig up the bulbs. In case of frost, it is enough to cover the plantings with any covering material: film, agrospan, etc.

The northern regions and central Russia are characterized by long and harsh winters. To prevent flower tubers from freezing and getting sick, they must be dug up.

In the northern regions, gladioli are planted relatively late, sometimes the bulbs do not have time to ripen at all.
In the middle zone, gladioli begin to be harvested in the second half of September. It is at this time that constant autumn frosts begin.

Growing seedlings

If you have time and desire, you can always grow seedlings from children. What does this give?

Quickly obtain a full-fledged bulb in the same season.
The ability to use all planting material without losing children (even the tiniest ones).

Closer to spring, small babies may dry out. To avoid this, you can store them in the refrigerator, or you can plant them in prepared containers with soil and grow seedlings.

It is recommended to plant the baby in separate cups, pots, cassettes, since the roots of gladioli are fragile and can be damaged during transplantation. Planting separately helps prevent plant death.

The timing of planting depends on the region, since it is necessary to take into account the time of possible planting of gladioli on the ridges. Typically, seedlings should be 30-45 days old, so when planting at the end of May, seedlings are planted in mid- or late-April.

IMPORTANT! Gladioli seedlings need to be provided with optimal temperature conditions (so that the seedlings do not get too hot), as well as good lighting. The best temperature is +15ºС, since in such conditions a powerful root system is formed, and the seedlings do not stretch.

Watering seedlings is best done through a tray, this eliminates the risk of flooding the plants. A week before planting, it is recommended to harden the gladioli by taking the seedlings outdoors. The stay time at first is no more than 30 minutes, then the duration of such “walks” is increased.

What to do with gladioli tubers. How to choose the right time to collect corms

Digging up tubers is a necessary condition for growing gladioli. Frost and high humidity levels cause the bulbs to become diseased or die completely. Particular attention should be paid to varieties with dark or bright flowers; the rest can be dug up a little later.

The period of extraction from the soil depends on the variety:

Early varieties need to be dug up 30 days after the buds open;
Late varieties - after 50 days.

Attention! Blooming flowers must be cut off and not left as garden decoration. If you leave only the stems, the roots will receive more nutrients.

If weather conditions in summer are not very favorable, flower stalks may form very late. In such situations, it is recommended to break them off to allow the bulbs to ripen.

In central Russia, for example, in the Moscow region, roots should be removed in the middle or end of September, when the temperature at night approaches 10 degrees above zero. It is better to dig up even small, completely unripe bulbs before the thermometer shows +2o. Even this temperature can destroy a heat-loving plant. In the southern regions of Russia, where there is often a warm October, the excavation dates may shift slightly. If the night temperature is above the minimum (10 degrees), it can be removed from the ground at a later time. Then all the bulbs will be able to fully develop.

In addition, it is recommended to carry out work in sunny weather. It’s even better when there was no precipitation the day before. If the ground is too wet, you risk leaving babies in the ground, but they are rightfully considered the most viable.

Advice! If you find cinnamon spots on the leaves of your gladiolus, or the foliage begins to dry out prematurely, dig up the roots immediately.

Such spots are symptoms of a fungal disease, the further development of which will lead to the fact that the bulbs will become completely unusable. Immediate removal of them from the ground is the only chance to save the seed.

Planting and care

Children are planted (either the tubers themselves, or seedlings) only when the soil warms up to +10ºС. They make a separate bed for children, digging and loosening it in advance.

The average planting depth is 3-5 cm, the distance between plants is up to 5 cm.

ON A NOTE! The peeled baby is planted to a depth of 4 cm, the germinated one is planted deeper, 5-6 cm.

Planted in furrows, they are first shed with water. Planting children sparsely allows you to get quite large bulbs in the first growing season. But this is not always possible (the area of the plots is different for everyone), so many gardeners plant gladioli tubers at a distance of up to 2 cm. In autumn, the bulbs will, of course, be smaller than with sparse planting, but after a year they will be in good condition.

Further care is simple:

watering;
loosening;
fertilizing

On loose soils, watering is carried out more often than on clay soils, but it is also impossible to overwater. Excess moisture leads to rotting and death of plants.

Gladioli begin to be fed approximately 30-35 days after planting in the ground.

IMPORTANT! First, the plants are watered, and only then they are fed.

In total, up to 5 feedings are carried out, the interval is 10-12 days. In the first weeks, nitrogen is given (diluted mullein, poultry droppings), later it is convenient to use complex fertilizers. Watering gladioli with herbal infusions (“green” fertilizer) gives a good effect.

When peduncles are thrown out on children, it is advisable to break them off so that the plant spends all the nutrients on the formation of a high-quality and complete bulb. Flower growers often do this: they leave the two lower inflorescences on the peduncle to ensure the variety of gladiolus.

During the growing process, it is necessary to spray the plants to prevent diseases. For this use:

potassium permanganate solution;
boric acid solution;
zinc oxychloride;
with the drug HOM (according to instructions).

It is effective to dust the soil around plants with ordinary wood ash. Firstly, gladioli love ash, as it improves the structure of the soil, making it loose and breathable. Bulbs feel very comfortable in such conditions. Secondly, ash is an excellent fertilizer. Further, it prevents gladioli from becoming infected with various infections, and also repels various insects. Among them are thrips, as well as wireworms and slugs.

In mid-August, any feeding is stopped, and watering of gladioli is also stopped. This allows the bulbs to accumulate the necessary nutrients and increase their “weight” and size. In addition, the bulbs of fattening gladioli are stored worse in winter and get sick more often.

Transplantation into open ground

Drop off point

Gladioli love the sun. Therefore, choose the most illuminated areas for planting them. If you plant this flower in a darkened part of the space, then your pet will not bloom magnificently. In addition, you cannot plant a capricious flower in the same place all the time. Landing sites need to be changed every 3 years. Gladioli grow best in beds where vegetables used to grow. In general, any soil is suitable for them. If the soil is too loose, then water more often, and if the soil is heavy, loosen more often.

Instructions

In general, planting gladioli is similar to planting potatoes.

For each unit you need to dig a separate hole. The diameter of the hole is selected according to its size. If the seeded specimen has a diameter of more than 3 cm, then the hole should be 10 cm in diameter.
Try to plant the bulb as deep as possible. Flowering depends on this. In addition, you need to pour sand into the hole, fill it with water with manure diluted in it and treat it with Fitosporin.

This way you will get excellent flowering and many gladiolus babies. Therefore, the most correct distance between the holes should be more than 20 cm. Cover the planting site with earth and sprinkle sawdust on top. Then they proceed like this.

In autumn, the soil for gladioli should be dug up. If the soil is clayey, add sand. If it’s the other way around, add clay. The soil needs to be fertilized. Apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
In the spring, dig up the soil additionally. Make a bed approximately 10 cm high. Before planting gladioli, treat the soil with Fitosporin.

Aftercare

Excessive watering of gladioli is harmful, especially if the summer is rainy, otherwise your gladioli will develop rot. Therefore, ensure the soil drains near the roots. Like all plants, gladioli need to be fed with fertilizers (manure, compost). These flowers require regular loosening of the soil. It is necessary to actively combat pests. All the main troubles begin after about 2 weeks, when the first shoots appear.

From this point on, the sprouts need to be watered abundantly until they are saturated 4 cm deep. This needs to be done once a week. As soon as the shoots get stronger, the flower needs to be fed with mullein. The first fertilizing should be done at the end of May, then in July (fertilizers can be potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen) and in August (feed with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers).

Diseases are better prevented. Therefore, treat your flowers with fungicides. The main enemy of gladioli is thrips. Gladioli need to be treated for this problem in advance - when you see the first 3-4 damaged leaves. Chemical solutions help, but if you do not accept them, then treat your flowers with various decoctions of celandine or yarrow. This method is not very effective, but it can help.

When the gladioli gain strength and produce persistent shoots, they need to be tied up so that they do not break during gusts of wind. After flowering begins, when the first 3 flowers bloom, cut off the shoot. Place it in water. The rest of the flowers will bloom on their own. Remember that the cutting of gladioli must be appropriate. Before cutting the shoot, you need to disinfect the knife. Dip it in potassium permanganate. Then count out about 6 pairs of leaves and prick them with a knife. Then unscrew the stem of the flower.

To learn how to properly grow a gladiolus from a baby, watch the following video.