How to grow gladiolus at home?

Gladioli. Short description

The Iris family includes many plants of incomparable beauty. A popular representative of this family are gladioli, or swords. The perennial corm plant has been known since ancient times and has a rich history. The natural habitat is the tropics and subtropics of Europe, Asia and Africa. Skewers come in a variety of shapes. Tens of thousands of varieties of garden gladioli and at least two hundred natural species are known.

The graceful long plant has vertical stems. Its height ranges from fifty centimeters to one and a half meters. Hard leaves, the length of which reaches eighty centimeters, rush upward, like a sharp sword blade. Funnel-shaped flowers have different colors and shapes. The spike-shaped inflorescence can be quite dense or loose.

Types of gladioli for home cultivation

If you want to have gladioli, do not forget that not all types are suitable for growing in pots. Those species that grow no more than 60 cm are suitable for this. But regardless of the species, in order for gladioli to sprout, all the rules must be followed.

"White City" can be planted in a pot; it reaches 7.5 cm in inflorescence diameter; this parameter of a primrose plant classifies it as a medium-flowered plant. In total, there can be up to 23 of them on the arrow at one time. It is characterized by a snow-white hue.
"Columbine" is characterized by red and white flowers and is classified as a small-flowered plant. It is a representative of the primroses.
"Tinkerbell" gladiolus from butterfly varieties. The plant can grow up to 75 cm. At the time of flowering, bright orange inflorescences with a yellow throat appear.
"Melody" is a soft pink flower with a red spot in the center. Its maximum height does not exceed 100 cm.
"Georgette" is a flower with red or yellow inflorescences.

"Greenbird" is characterized by a bright shade of green-yellow.
"Moscow White Stone" has an unusual and beautiful appearance. The maximum flower height can reach 60 cm. It differs from other varieties in the corrugated petals of the inflorescences, which can number up to 40 pieces.
"Robinetta" reaches a height of 60 cm. Suitable for planting in pots. During flowering it is characterized by a dark purple inflorescence.
"Bow Peep" can reach 70 cm. The inflorescences have a delicate apricot tint.

The listed varieties are suitable not only for planting in pots, but also for flower beds.

How to grow gladioli? General landing rules

To grow a full-fledged gladiolus that will delight you with abundant and beautiful flowering, you must follow certain rules of agricultural technology. Skewered plants are moisture-loving and heat-loving plants. When planting bulbs, an important point is the choice of site. Gladiolus will be powerful and healthy in a well-lit area, protected from wind and drafts. In poor lighting, plants become very elongated and bloom poorly. Normal flower development is ensured by soil fertility. Its most suitable type is chernozem or light loamy soil. When planting, complex fertilizers will be useful. They are added to the hole under each plant.

Gladioli are vigorous flowers. The question arises: how to grow gladiolus so that the stem is stable and does not break? The correct planting depth will contribute to the stable fixation of the plant in the ground. After choosing a site for a flower garden and preparing the soil, the corms ready for planting are sorted by size.

Large corms are deepened by ten centimeters, medium ones by five to seven. Small bulbs - children - are planted to a depth of two to three centimeters. The distance between the holes is from five to fifteen centimeters (depending on the size of the planting material).

GROWING GLADIOLUS STARTS WITH PLANTING

Gladioli corms are most often planted after May 10, choosing the sunniest place for this. Place them in a flowerbed at least 20 cm high so that rainwater does not stand around them. When digging, do not skimp, add compost, sand (one bucket per square meter), potassium-phosphorus fertilizers and stove ash.

Plants do not like acidic and heavy soils. The best for them will be neutral or slightly acidic (pH 6.8 - 7). It won’t be difficult at all to grow gladioli on this one.

Every three years, gladioli are transplanted to a new place, otherwise pathogenic microorganisms will quickly accumulate in the ground. Before planting, the corms are treated with a solution of potassium permanganate or “Fitosporin M” for five hours.

Planting material is sorted by size: large corms - separately, small ones - separately. Otherwise, adult bulbs will take away nutrition from young ones. It is better to allocate a separate flowerbed for each.

Plant the corms at a distance of 16 centimeters from each other.

The depth of the planting hole should correspond to three diameters of the bulb plus 2 centimeters, since sand is placed at the bottom of the hole with just such a layer as drainage. Corms are laid out on it, covered with soil and watered well.

When the first shoots appear, they are once again sprinkled with fertile soil so that they form more adventitious roots. This will ensure the growth of large leaves and the formation of a powerful inflorescence with a large number of buds.

How to grow gladiolus at home? Choosing pots for growing

Bulbous flowers can be found not only in garden flower beds. Swordsmen sometimes settle in the most unexpected places. Growing gladioli in open ground is not the only possible option for planting bulbous flowers. In artificial soil conditions, they will decorate any interior. But before you grow gladiolus, you need to solve a number of issues. First of all, you need to choose the right container in which the flowers will grow.

Mistakes made will not allow you to get a full-fledged flowering plant. In order to solve the problem of how to grow a gladiolus with a normally developed root system, you need to know the degree of its growth. It branches in the soil to a depth of forty centimeters. A layer of soil at least forty-five centimeters thick can provide adequate nutrition for the flower. Based on this parameter, a suitable container for growing is selected. You can use large flower pots or plastic containers, the capacity of which should be at least twelve to fifteen liters.

Compatibility of flowerpot and flower

How to feed gladioli in spring and summer

Even miniature types of gladioli have a branched root system; it is worth taking this into account when choosing a pot for planting. It should be wide in volume and deep. You can start with 6 liters, or even better with 10 liters.

Important! If gladiolus is planted in a long container, then the distance between the bulbs should be approximately 6 cm.

Pots must have drainage holes, as gladioli do not tolerate high humidity. Before planting, a drainage layer of pebbles or broken cuttings is placed on the bottom. A nutrient substrate is poured on top. Gladiolus prefers loose, moisture-absorbing soil with a high humus content.

Before replanting a plant, you need to consider the reason for replanting. If the root system is partially damaged and needs to be reduced, then you can take a pot of smaller diameter than it was before. In general, frequent transplantation of gladioli is not recommended; it should be done only in rare cases when this is the only condition for the survival of the flower.

For your information! To transplant a healthy flower, you need to choose a pot that is on average 3-4 cm larger than the previous one.

When choosing a pot, it is important to remember that gladiolus does not tolerate excessive moisture, so ceramic ones are best suited. You should not use wooden pots for these flowers because wood retains moisture for too long.

Plastic pots are best suited for planting gladioli outdoors. They are the most unpretentious and easily tolerate different weather conditions.

Gladioli on the windowsill. Landing rules

An unusual sight - gladioli on the window of a living room. How to grow gladiolus in a pot so that it is healthy and fully develops and blooms? At home, small-flowered and miniature varieties of swords will be more suitable. They have a stem height of thirty to fifty centimeters. The root system of flowers of these varieties is less powerful. The selection of a suitable container has already been discussed.

There must be a drainage hole in the pot. Flowers do not tolerate stagnant moisture. Drainage material is poured onto the bottom of the container to ensure normal outflow of water. A good drainage system will ensure normal growing conditions. The pot is filled with soil, which should be quite fertile and at the same time moisture-absorbing. The success of growing full-fledged plants depends on its composition. Corms in pots are deepened eight to twelve centimeters, maintaining a distance between them of six to seven centimeters.

Disembarkation instructions

Placing gladioli in potted containers begins with choosing the best option for such containers, preparing the substrate and plant material for further cultivation. To achieve the most positive result from all work performed, it is worth paying attention to each of the listed stages.

Video: Planting gladioli in pots

What is needed for planting

In addition to the pot and soil, it is worth considering the other requirements of these flowers before carrying out planting measures. For example, the place where they grow should be well illuminated by sunlight, which means that when growing indoors, you need to prepare such a place in advance: on a windowsill or balcony, if the temperature there is suitable.

Did you know? In the Middle Ages, gladiolus was considered one of the indispensable plants in folk medicine and was specially grown to prepare a cure for toothache and improve lactation in women after the birth of a child.

A decrease in temperature to +13°C can prolong flowering, so immediately make sure that the area where the plant is located can be regularly ventilated. In the southern part of the house and without air conditioning, gladioli may not tolerate high summer temperatures and will quickly die.

Among the tools and materials for planting work, you may need a shovel, a mini-rake for fluffing up the soil, expanded clay or broken brick to organize a drainage layer, and, of course, the planting material itself (mainly in the form of bulbs). As for the specific time of planting, it is better if it is mid-spring.

Preparing the soil and pot

When choosing a landing container, be sure to take into account its main characteristics of the product: material and dimensions. For most “potted” varieties of gladiolus, the suitable parameters for such a container will be a diameter in the range of 20–30 cm and a depth of about 30–45 cm. What exactly you choose, clay pots or long plastic containers, does not matter, the main thing is that they all have drainage holes for removal of excess moisture from the rhizomes of flowers.

As for the substrate, the ideal option for flowers would be a light and structured soil, quite nutritious and moisture-absorbing. You can buy such a substrate ready-made, but in order to save a little, it is worth mixing chernozem soil with chalk or crushed eggshells (50 g per 2-3 kg of soil is enough), a mixture of phosphorus and potassium (about 10 g per 2 kg of soil). Loams can be mixed with sand and peat before filling into containers.

Important! If you take soil from a garden or vegetable garden for a flower crop, after mixing it with the other ingredients, it should be calcined in the oven, which will get rid of all pathogenic microbes and pest larvae. Calcination of the earth is carried out for 30 minutes at temperatures in the oven of +70...+90°C.

Preparing the flower

Preparation of material for planting begins with its selection. Successful flower growing is only possible when using whole and absolutely healthy bulbs of the selected variety (miniature or small-flowered). To disinfect the material, a half-hour etching in a solution of potassium permanganate (0.1%) or a 12-hour soaking in a pre-diluted “Tsitovit” preparation is suitable.

How to grow gladiolus on the balcony. Choosing a flower container

Decorative design of balconies and loggias is impossible without flowers. Bulbous plants can be used for this purpose. When choosing varieties, preference is given to gladioli with a small stem height. In order to organize a miniature flower garden, select suitable containers. In this case, you can use containers of the required sizes.

Flower growers select according to the same principle that is used when choosing pots for growing gladioli. They must have a volume of at least fifteen liters. Typically, large containers are used on balconies or loggias, in which more plants can be planted than in pots used for indoor growing.

How to grow gladioli from bulbs to ensure normal water balance? Containers must have holes for water drainage. Before filling them with soil mixture, drainage material is placed at the bottom. The soil must be sufficiently fertile. At home, you can use purchased universal light peat soils intended for growing flower crops.

Seating of gladioli

Thanks to resourceful breeders, today there are many miniature or small-flowered varieties of gladiolus, which will not be a problem to grow on the balcony. After spending a little time, you will get luxurious decoration for your apartment that will delight the eye for a long time.

Tall bright flowers can decorate any balcony

Below I will talk about the main stages of preparing and planting such a wonderful plant at home.

Stage 1. Selection of bulbs

Need I say that bulb selection is one of the most important stages of planting? If you treat this process with insufficient responsibility, you risk getting weak flowering, or even being left without it. I will describe the main points that you should pay attention to during the preparation process.

The decorative properties of the flower will directly depend on the quality of the bulbs.

Inspect the bulbs carefully. This should be done about 3 weeks before planting (gladioli are most often planted in April). Peel each onion and examine it. Existing spots may indicate fusarium or bacterial scab . This kind of problem can be easily fixed. Using a sharp knife, cut out all the damaged areas, grease them with brilliant green and let the onion dry. If the degree of damage is critical, it is better to throw away such planting material.

Keep the bulbs in a single layer on a flat surface for several weeks.

In a flat container, place the onions in one row and leave them for 18 days at room temperature. Due to the fact that the bulbs were stored in a cool place before purchasing, this technique will allow them to seem to “come to life.”
After the allotted period, dilute potassium permanganate or foundationazole in water (the instructions for the drug contain the required dosage). The bulbs should be soaked in a solution of foundationazole for 20 minutes, in potassium permanganate - for 30 .
Place a layer of cotton wool in a practically flat container and moisten it with water. Place the bulbs on it bottom down and leave them for three days.

After pre-treatment, the bulbs are ready for planting

After such manipulations, roots will appear on the bottom, which means that the gladioli are ready to be planted in the ground.

Stage 2. Landing

After the bulbs are completely ready for planting, you need to take care of a good container and filling it. To do this you will need:

Pots for gladioli should be large and spacious

Buy a fairly spacious pot, 30-40 cm deep and approximately the same diameter. Remember, the larger the capacity, the better.
Gladioli are not flowers that love moisture too much, and therefore it is worth taking care of the drainage holes responsible for the outflow of excess water . For these purposes, I recommend using broken shards that are placed on the bottom of the planting container.

Do not skimp on fertilizers for the soil

Pour nutrient substrate over the drainage.
To ensure that planting gladioli with your own hands is successful, use moisture-absorbing, structured soil. Fertile soil will be an excellent helper and will ensure beautiful flowering.
Using a narrow spatula, make small depressions in the soil and pour warm water into it. Place the bulbs there and cover them with soil.

Place the pot with gladioli in the brightest place on the balcony or loggia. On hot days, open windows to protect flowers from overheating. Fresh air is good, but make sure there are no drafts, they have a detrimental effect on the plant.

Stage 3. Plant care

As I said earlier, gladioli planted in pots require special care. Read below about the nuances of caring for these wonderful flowers:

In order for the plant to delight you with lush flowering, do not be lazy to care for it carefully.

When nourishing flowers with moisture, do not forget that from an excess of water the peduncle can bend and stop growing, causing it to lose its decorative qualities . Water the plant frequently, but sparingly. On hot summer days, you can moisten the soil at least 3 times a week.
Fertilize the soil periodically using peat or humus.

With good fertilizers and proper care, gladioli will look amazing

Use organic and mineral fertilizers, alternating them. The “feeding” scheme may look like this: carry out the first feeding at the stage of the appearance of the 3rd leaf, the second – after the formation of the 6th leaf, and the third and fourth – during and after the formation of inflorescences.
Treat weakened or wilted flowers with a growth stimulator. I recommend using Epin or Zircon for such purposes (the price for it in stores ranges from 20-30 rubles)

Special biostimulants will promote rapid plant growth

Flower garden at home. Agrotechnics of cultivation

Before growing gladiolus on a window or balcony, you should study the conditions for planting and maintaining these flowers. In open ground, gladioli are planted at a soil temperature of at least ten degrees Celsius. In closed ground conditions, swords begin to be planted in mid-April.

When choosing a place to place pots and containers on a windowsill, balcony or loggia, you should take into account the fact that gladioli are heat-loving and light-loving plants. Containers with flowers are placed in well-lit places. Plants do not tolerate drafts and low air temperatures. When growing on a balcony, you need to monitor the temperature. When the temperature drops to ten degrees Celsius, the containers are temporarily brought indoors.

The first shoots appear two or three weeks after planting. At this time, it is important to ensure that the flowers are properly hydrated. Lack of moisture will definitely affect the growth of the plant. It will be weak and lose its decorative shape. Provide moderate watering, avoiding waterlogging. Moisture can be retained by mulching with peat. At the same time, it will serve as additional nutrition for the plant. You should also pay attention to air exchange. The soil in the container is constantly loosened, thereby providing air access to the gladiolus root system.

The next important point is feeding gladioli. In closed ground conditions you cannot do without them. How to grow flowers to provide adequate nutrition?

Normal development and flowering of gladioli will require three to four foliar fertilizing with mineral fertilizers, for the preparation of which the following substances are dissolved in one liter of water:

ammonium nitrate – 0.5 g;
superphosphate – 0.5 g;
potassium chloride – 0.5 g.

Feeding times are as follows:

the first is the appearance of three leaves;
the second is the appearance of six leaves;
the third is the beginning of flowering.

How to plant in a container or flowerpot?

In order for gladioli to grow and bloom, you must strictly follow the planting instructions. It is divided into several important components.

Preparing containers

To begin with, select a container. Growing in containers must be done correctly so that the bulbs develop fully. To do this, you will need a container with a depth of 40 cm and a diameter of approximately 20 cm. In addition, moisture should not stagnate in the pot, so you will need to make holes in the bottom through which water can drain. The holes must be drainage.

Where to grow - choosing location and soil

Do not forget that gladiolus needs warmth and light, so you need to choose the right place in the house that combines these qualities. The best place is near the window. You can also place gladioli on the balcony in warm weather. Flowers do not like drafts, so in colder times it is better to remove them from there.

Structural, loose soil that absorbs water well is suitable for planting gladioli. Black soil is considered the most fruitful, although loam can also be used followed by the addition of coarse sand.

Preventive measures

The next part of agrotechnical measures when growing gladioli at home is preventive techniques. In closed ground conditions, plants develop much weaker than flowers grown in garden flower beds.

How to grow gladioli from bulbs in pots and containers while preventing flower disease? First of all, you should use healthy planting material, which is disinfected for thirty minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate before planting. To prepare it, 0.5 grams of potassium permanganate per liter of water is enough. During the growth period, the condition of the flowers is monitored and the necessary preventive measures are taken.

How to plant gladiolus in spring

Early spring planting provides the bulb with large reserves of moisture, which significantly reduces the risk of various diseases. The flowering will delight you with its splendor, and the number of flowers in the inflorescence will increase. The size of the new bulbs will be 20-30% larger than when planted in May or June.

Preparations for spring planting are carried out in the fall. The place intended for planting gladioli is dug up, sand, humus and lime are added to the soil. In spring, treat with mineral fertilizers: double superphosphate, potassium sulfide, ammonium nitrate. The amount of fertilizer required is determined based on the recommendations indicated on the packaging. In total, 4-5 feedings are carried out during the period of plant growth and flowering. After two years, move the flower bed with gladioli to another place. This is done in order to avoid the occurrence of diseases, since constantly growing gladioli in one place leads to a concentration of pathogenic microflora. It is not recommended to place gladioli in close proximity to cruciferous vegetables; there is a risk of infection with pests such as thrips, which are attracted to some vegetable crops.

Planting material. Cleaning and storage

Gladioli are harvested in open ground at the end of September and beginning of October. The corm matures four weeks after flowering stops. In closed ground conditions, the flowering period lasts a little longer. The timing of cleaning is accordingly shifted. When harvesting, plants are completely dug out of the ground. After this, they are dried and the stems are cut off.

The bulbs are cleaned of soil and rinsed with water. Then they are kept in a solution of potassium permanganate and then dried well. Next, remove the old bulbs and root system. The final stage is thorough drying, which will last up to fourteen days.

Gladioli bulbs must be stored in a dry room at a temperature of three to eight degrees Celsius. At home, gladioli can be stored in paper bags or cardboard boxes, placing them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

Reproduction of gladioli

Several methods of propagation are used - by seeds and small baby bulbs. The last method is more common. How to grow gladiolus from children?

Tuber buds are an excellent material for propagating fennel. Children are formed on the main bulb. They are small in size. In order to speed up the flowering of this planting material, it is sown in containers in March. The sowing depth is from two to three centimeters. The baby gladiolus will grow in a container until September. Plant care is the same as for flowers grown from large corms. At the end of the season, the baby increases in size to three centimeters. Next season, such corms will become excellent planting material for full-fledged flowering plants.