How to plant gladioli and take care of them

Gladiolus - an ornament of any garden. They have high decorative qualities, are good at cutting, and a variety of colors allows to revive the garden and fill it with bright colors. But to get a beautiful and healthy flower spike, it is worth to learn how to plant gladioli and take care of them.

Gladiolus breed with corms, which are updated every year. The old bulb gives a supply of nutrients to the plant, at the same time a new corms and babies are growing above it. Here they are dug in the fall, dried and stored until spring. Growing gladioli from seeds gives poor results. In these cases, the purity of the variety is lost.

Selecting a landing site

Before planting gladioli, you need to choose a suitable place in the garden. These flowers like loose soil, well drained: chernozem, light loam, non-acidic or slightly acidic sandy loam. Good lighting is important for gladioli. In a shaded place, you will not be able to obtain abundant flowering. Clay land with a close location of groundwater, slopes of slopes and open sections for drafts will not work.

Preparation for planting

Preparation for the planting of corms gladiolus begins in autumn. The chosen place is dug, the choice is made of humus, manure (3-5 kg per 1 sq. M.) Or compost (up to 10 kg per 1 sq. M.). Planting bulbs begin in the spring. Depending on the climate of the region choose the period from late April to early June. For disembarkation, healthy substitute corms and babies are selected. By the way, the large size of the bulb does not guarantee the beauty of the plant. Those gardeners who know how to plant gladioli in the spring, take not too large replacing bulbs for planting. This bulb gives large beautiful buds 3-4 years, so it is worth giving preference to the children.

How to plant flowers and how to fertilize?

3-4 days before the landing, you need to get the bulbs, pour water on the bottom of the saucer, put the onions in it and put it in a well-lit place. This simple trick will give an opportunity to wake up to flowers, and also to grow rootlets. Prepared planting material is planted in warmed soil to a depth not exceeding the height of three bulbs (usually 8-12 cm). Those who wonder how to plant gladioli, you need to know that planting corms better in the warmed earth (to about +10 degrees).

Usually the flowers are planted in rows with an interval of 15 - 20 cm. Warm sunny weather will provoke a rapid growth of the leaves. When they reach a height of 25-30 cm, you can dip the plants like potatoes - the earth's subgrade. This will give stability to the stem and retain moisture.

Those wishing to know how to plant gladioli and care for these flowers, it is necessary to take care of further fertilizing. The introduction of fertilizers - nitrogen, potassium and phosphoric - will allow you to get a powerful flower stalk and a beautiful flowering. Nitrogen fertilizers are introduced after 1 month (the first fertilizing), and then after 2 months (second feeding) after planting at the rate of 20-25 g per 1 square. meter. During the second feeding, in addition to nitrogen fertilizers, 25 g of superphosphate per 1 sq. meter.

Further care is regular watering. Do not allow the soil to dry out during budding and flowering. For this purpose, the soil is usually mulched with humus or peat. This method protects the earth from drying out, provides protection against weeds and good aeration of the soil.