The main secrets of growing gorgeous gladioli!

A beautiful and proud gladiolus flower will always be a decoration of any garden. Gladioli come in a wide variety of species, colors, and sizes. From graceful, miniature to large with huge flowers-caps. Growing gladioli outdoors does not require much effort.

Growing gladioli and planting rules

Before planting, you need to choose the right bulbs. A good gladiolus bulb should be small and free of dry spots, wormholes or other defects. The peduncle should not be dry, and the bottom should be flat. It is these bulbs that produce large flowers. Bulbs can be planted for two or three years in a row, then you need to buy others, since the older the bulb, the more it accumulates diseases.

Before planting, treat the bulbs with 1% potassium permanganate solution, or 2% hydrogen peroxide solution for disinfection. Then place them in a dry, light place. They should not be exposed to direct sunlight. After about two to three weeks, the bulbs will hatch and can be planted.

Gladioli love sunshine and dislike the wind. They can break from the wind, and in the shade they will grow and bloom poorly, so for them it is worth choosing a sunny, sheltered from the wind places.

Since these flowers do not like waterlogging, it is better to make a slight elevation for them. The soil is neutral or slightly acidic.

You can plant it in the ground when the soil temperature has become higher than +10 degrees. Make holes 10-15 cm deep, no more, at a distance of 25-30 cm from each other. You do not need to plant the bulbs too deep. Pour a well with complex fertilizer and add sand or sawdust to protect the plant from scab. Cover the soil with mulch on top. It will help the plant fight weeds, infections and water shortages.

For quick germination of the bulbs, they can be covered with a film that must be removed after the shoots appear.

Growing gladioli and care

Watering.

The ground of gladioli should not be dry. Water every 3-4 days, if the summer is hot, then every day or two. It is better to water in the evening or early in the morning. If you water in the morning, then the water should not get on the plants themselves. To warn the roots of the plant against fungus and slugs, it is better to water not under the root, but make a small groove next to the plant and water it.

Weeding and loosening.

Weed your gladioli, as weeds take up a lot of nutrients and the plant itself lacks them, which means you will not get beautiful flowers. In addition, weeds increase the risk of pest infestation, increasing vulnerability to slugs and caterpillars.

Loosen the soil after each watering so that fresh air passes to the roots.

Fertilizers.

You can start fertilizing the flowers as soon as the first leaves appear on them. Apply nitrogen fertilizers to stimulate leaf growth. When there are more leaves on the plant, complex fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium can be shed. After the inflorescences appear, only phosphorus and potassium need to be added. They will contribute to the appearance of beautiful large, bright colors.

Fertilizers need to be applied often, preferably in small doses, dissolving it in water for irrigation.

So that gladioli grown in the open field do not break under the weight of their buds, they can be tied up. To do this, drive posts around the plant and pull the string. Tie flowers to it.

You need to cut off plants (wilted or home) in the evening and only with a sharp knife. Cut diagonally without damaging the leaves.

At the end of September, while the weather is not cold yet, you need to collect the bulbs for storage for the winter. To do this, you need to cut off the stems with leaves and leave about 2-3 cm.The bulbs can be dug up five days after cutting. Rinse, dry well at room temperature for two days, and then put in a paper bag. Store gladioli until spring, either in the refrigerator or in the cellar. Ventilate the bulbs periodically to prevent mold from forming on them.

Gladioli need to be repotted every three to four years. Since the soil is gradually depleted, there are few minerals necessary for gladioli in it. Artificial fertilization - this depletion will not stop. Another reason for transplanting gladioli is that many pests of this flower accumulate in the soil, which live only on it.

As you can see, growing beautiful flowers is not so difficult, the most important thing is to observe the necessary conditions for growing gladioli in the open field.