Gladiolus is one of those old - fashioned peak that is enjoying a renaissance . Maybe it ’s because florists love them for bouquets , or because more gardener are growingcutting garden , but gladioli are not just for grannies any longer .
It ’s easy to see why : They are easy to grow , create contact blossom , can be grow in container , in a bed with perennial or annuals or in rows for cut - flower bouquets . We Minnesota gardeners should be especially majestic to plant gladiolus because they have a connexion to our northern state . St. Charles , MN , was home to Carl Fischer , one of the world ’s lead gladiolus hybridizers . ( HisFriendshipgladiolus was stick in in 1949 , but is still view an excellent variety . ) In his 98 years ( more than 70 of them raise gladiola ) , Fischer make lashings of hybrids on his 10 - acre spread in St. Charles . Every August , the city celebratesGladiolus Daysto honor Fischer , who expire in 2005 , and treat visitor to the view of rows and words of gladiolus . To see this valet de chambre amid his life history ’s work , check out thisvideomade when he was 87 .
Growing Gladiolus in Minnesota
Gladioli are summertime - blooming annual bulbs in Minnesota . Technically , the plant life arecorms . These source structures must be pulled every fall and replanted each spring . you may deal glads as annuals or teetotal and lay in the corm over the winter .
take corms that are large for their weightiness . Anything less than an column inch across is unlikely to flower . Do n’t rush to put these in the background either . await until mid - May , when all peril of frost is preceding and the territory has had a chance to warm up . For a successiveness of salad days , consider planting every two weeks from mid - May to mid - June .
Gladioli like a well - drained web site in full sun . If your soil is clayish , consider raised beds or even container for develop your gladiolas . set them six inches aside and at a profundity that is twice the bulb ’s width . Some reservoir recommend a light fertilizer with extra phosphoric for blooming , such as a 5 - 10 - 5 . sword lily need about an in of body of water a calendar week once they start develop from rain or the hose . Blooms should begin to look about 10 weeks after planting . Because they can get improbable , some gladiolus take adventure .
When the rosiness begin to open up , you may cut the flower spike with a knifelike knife at an angle . Put the ear immediately into a bucket of water supply and allow them to “ harden off ” in a cool spot before using them in bouquets . The University of Minnesota has anexcellent pageon glad for detailed entropy .
What ’s your preferred heyday for indoor arrangements ?
