If gladioli sprouted in February. When to dig up gladioli, harvesting gladioli, storing corms, video. What can early growth processes lead to?
The thaw that suddenly arrived in February made many gardeners worry. Tubers of dahlias and bulbs of gladioli, sensing spring, began to wake up ahead of time and sprout. Agronomist Boris Alekseev tells how to return them to a dormant state.
GLADIOLUS
If they began to germinate in February-March, it means they either belong to early-flowering hybrids or were stored in too warm conditions. Ideally, gladioli are taken out of storage and peeled only on April 10-15. At the same time, once in the light and warmth, the late-flowering hybrids begin to wake up, and the early-flowering ones discover the presence of arrows up to 5 mm high, breaking through from the first days of April.
Solution. In the case when the sprouts have emerged a month and a half ahead of time, there is only one thing left to do - move the bulbs to a cooler place than where they were lying until now, with an air temperature no higher than 3-4 degrees. For example, on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. If you see that the sprouts have stopped growing, then everything is fine. The bulbs can be left there until mid-April, so that they can be planted in open ground in the first ten days of May.
DAHLIA
What to do with them depends on the size and general condition of the root tubers.
Big, healthy and juicy
They, unlike gladioli, in which it is under no circumstances possible to check the sprouts that have broken through, have “seven lives,” that is, new ones grow in place of broken ones.
Solution. Therefore, now it is better to remove the sprouts on large specimens so that they do not draw moisture from the root tubers, depleting and drying them. After which it is necessary to create cooler storage conditions for the dahlias until April, when they can begin to germinate.
Small, weak and frail
Such root tubers require other ways of saving them from drying out.
Solution 1 . The point of this method of saving root tubers is planting. We cut it by a third and disinfect the cut with charcoal, iodine or brilliant green. We fill the pot with soil, but no more than half the height, and plant the prepared tuber in it.
When the bud, which initially does not exceed a height of 1-2 cm, begins to grow, the soil will have to be constantly added little by little. If this is not done, then the roots that appear above the tuber simply will not grow or will turn out to be weak and short, which will affect the condition of the new nest that dahlias form on top of the old one.
Solution 2. The essence of this method of nursing is cuttings . It is possible when a weak tuber has enough strength to produce 3-4 sprouts at once, with the help of which you can both preserve this variety and rejuvenate the tuber itself.
Holding the sprout as close to the place of regrowth as possible, we break it off, dip the cut into “root” so that the preparation does not get on the bark, and plant it in a pot with light sandy soil that prevents it from getting wet. All that remains is to water the cutting, cover it with a transparent cup to create a humid environment inside, and wait for it to take root. Usually this happens easily and quickly, so that by the time it is transplanted into the ground, the plant already reaches 3-5 cm and has 2-4 leaves.
Many gardeners are interested in the question: is it necessary to germinate gladioli, and if so, when should gladioli be taken out of the refrigerator for germination? Experienced flower growers advise germinating gladioli planting material so that the bulbs germinate faster, bloom earlier and produce lush inflorescences. After all, during germination at home, they will not only produce young roots, but also “gain strength” and nutrients. Sprouted gladioli will bloom in mid-late July. If you need flowers by September 1, you don’t have to germinate the bulbs.
Store gladioli bulbs in a cool place in winter. They should be taken out of the refrigerator for germination 20-30 days before planting in open ground.
Attention! By the time gladioli are planted, the soil on the site should warm up to +10 degrees. This soil temperature should be at a depth of about 15 cm. If you place the onions in cold soil, they will be stressed, since you germinated them in a warm place. The result is late flowering or complete absence of flowers.
Gladioli bulbs are planted in the southern regions of the country at the end of April, in the beginning - mid-May they are planted in the Moscow region and other areas of the Middle Zone, and in Siberia and the Urals - no earlier than mid-May. Based on the weather conditions in your region, count 30 days from the intended planting of gladioli in the flowerbed and you can remove the bulbs from the underground or refrigerator.
How to prepare gladioli for germination?
There are many ways to germinate gladioli bulbs. But no matter which one you choose, first of all you need to prepare the onions:
Peel off the husks. This is necessary in order to check whether there are any diseases on the bulb and so that the planting material begins to germinate faster. Remove the peels carefully so as not to damage the onions, especially the central bud. If any of the husks cannot be peeled off, leave them on otherwise you may damage the bulb.
Etch. To disinfect the bulbs, they can be placed in a solution of potassium permanganate (1 g of powder per 10 liter bucket of water) for 3 hours. More effective are solutions of HOM, Maxim and other fungicides that will protect plants from fungal and other diseases. The drugs should be used strictly according to the instructions.
Inspect. The bulbs need to be examined carefully, as they may be damaged or rotten. If the rotten areas are small, they are cut out with a knife, capturing some healthy tissue. The sections are covered with brilliant green, iodine or sprinkled with crushed charcoal.
Attention! If the bulbs have many rotten or damaged areas, it is better to throw them away. It is unlikely that such onions will be saved, but they may well infect others.
Germination of gladioli before planting
Cleaned, pickled and discarded planting material is ready for planting for germination. To germinate bulbs before planting in open ground, you need to:
Place them in a box with the sprout facing up, distributing them in one row.
Place the box in a bright, warm place (not in the sun).
Three days before planting in the flower bed, plant the gladioli bulbs in a container with moist soil, sand, sawdust or moss. The height of the container should be about 5 cm. The onions are carefully pressed into the soil with their roots down, and covered with a transparent bag on top. Planted onions will quickly send out small roots and sprout the first shoots.
You can skip the last point and not plant the bulbs in the soil, since small roots will simply grow in the light and warmth. But if you want flowering to start earlier, place the gladioli in a moist environment (sawdust, soil, etc.) for several days. There is no need to wait until the roots become large. Gladioli should be planted with small shoots and roots.
To make gladioli bloom earlier
Early flowering of gladioli can be achieved if the bulbs are planted in the soil immediately after cleaning, culling and dressing. To do this, each onion is planted in a separate peat or plastic cup. Plants should be kept in a cool place and watered as needed.
When planting in open ground, you need to cut the plastic cup and carefully place the gladioli in the hole so as not to damage the roots. There is no need to remove the onions from the peat pots; they are placed in the hole along with the pot.
In order for your favorite flowers to bloom earlier and more abundantly, you need to remove gladioli from the refrigerator for germination in early - mid-April, properly prepare and germinate. Have beautiful flower beds!
Harvesting gladioli corms- one of the important moments in the life of gladioli. 40-50 days after flowering, the corms reach full maturity, which is approximately mid-September.At this time you need to start digging. You should not delay it, as cool and damp weather with sharp fluctuations in day and night temperatures contributes to the development of diseases.
Cleaning begins from those varieties that bloomed earlier. Plants grown from tubers are harvested last. It is better to dig up gladioli with a pitchfork - there is less risk of damage to the corms.
Buried plants pulled out of the ground by hand, carefully shaken off and placed on a tarpaulin or plastic wrap. Sick corms are immediately discarded and burned.
When harvesting, the stem is cut off under the base of the corm or leave a small stump (0.5-0.7 cm). Then they are dried in the open air for 1-3 days, laid out in a sunny place in good weather.
To avoid fusarium, which very often affects gladioli, after digging or drying, the replacement corm is separated from the mother, cleaned of the roots, upper covering scales and the corms are separated. After digging, this is easy to do; later there is a danger of damaging future planting material. Then the corms for Etch for 30-60 minutes in a dark solution of potassium permanganate and dry thoroughly.
For this placed in gauze or nylon bags and hung from the ceiling of the kitchen, where it is always warm and dry. First, they are kept at a temperature of 25-30 degrees for 2-3 weeks, then at room temperature for 3-4 weeks. The faster the corms are dried, the better they are stored in winter.
Children separated from the corm, together with the crumbled earth, are placed on plastic wrap and dried in the shade. Then, to sift out the remaining soil and reject the smallest tubers, from which weakened plants usually develop, they are passed through a sieve with 5 mm mesh.
Before storage inspect the planting material again. Diseased corms are discarded, and diseased tissue is cut out from weakly affected ones and covered with brilliant green.
Store corms at a temperature of 5-7 degrees and relative humidity 70%. It is undesirable in cellars, the temperature there is too low. Before the onset of frost, you can keep them on glassed-in loggias in paper bags or cardboard boxes, lined with newspapers, and then transfer them to the refrigerator, placing them in the fruit compartment.
Before putting into the refrigerator The corms are lightly dried and wrapped in newsprint. Several of these packages are wrapped in thicker paper. 4-5 holes about 1 cm in size are made in it for ventilation. Place it in a plastic bag, in the lower part of which 5-6 holes are also made. Once a month, the corms are inspected - the diseased ones are removed, the damp ones are dried.
If after digging It was not possible to separate the mother bulb from the replacement one and remove the roots; this can be done 5-7 days after complete drying.When cleaning, only the outermost covering scales are removed. There is no need to remove all the scales, as this will lead to the planting material being scattered.
Gladioli sprout, what to do in this case
It happens that in early spring When the dormant period ends, the gladioli sprout - the roots develop, the buds wake up, the sprouts stretch out, but it is too early to plant them.When the roots have reached 2 mm, they are carefully broken off at the base, and the break points are sprinkled with crushed coal. Sprouts larger than 2.5 cm, developed from buds, are carefully cut out with a sharp knife. The sections are smeared with brilliant green and allowed to dry. Then finely crushed charcoal is rubbed into the wounds.
Removing roots and sprouts is a necessary measure. It allows you to avoid unnecessary waste of nutrients, preserving them as much as possible in the corms for spring planting.
N. Ya. Ippolitova, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences
In the fall, after flowering, gladioli corms are dug up and stored. In winter they are dormant and are best preserved at temperatures from +4 to +10 degrees. The bulbs awaken in the spring, timidly releasing green “beaks” of sprouts. It is believed that corms with small sprouts and roots take root better and bloom faster, so gladioli must be germinated before planting. It’s bad when the bulbs germinate ahead of schedule, so balance is important here: don’t rush and don’t delay. “Mom’s cheat sheets” will help you navigate 😉
The germination period is counted from the planting date
In order not to be unfounded, I would immediately like to refer to the sources. We analyzed a lot of literature on floriculture before starting to write the article: magazines “Flower”, “I Love Flowers. Gladioli" and "Garden. Garden. Flower garden”, book “Your favorite roses, dahlias, gladioli”.
- As a rule, gladioli corms begin to be planted in open ground. late April – early May. In central Russia, the favorable landing time begins approximately on May 10. And if the spring turns out to be cold, you need to have time to plant gladioli no later than June 15, otherwise they will not have time to bloom. It would be a good idea to look at the weather forecast to determine the timing of planting and, accordingly, germination.
- 20 – 30 days before landing Gladioli bulbs begin to sprout. Dry scales are removed, being careful not to damage the sprout. Sick specimens are discarded. Onions with minor damage are treated: the “ulcers” are cut out, and then smeared with brilliant green or sprinkled with ash/crushed coal.
So, the start date for bulb germination should be determined by the planting date. If you plan to plant gladioli in the flowerbed on May 10, this means you can prepare for germination on April 10.
Germination? Easily!
When the bulbs are cleared of scales, you can begin to germinate them. The two most common methods are simple germination in boxes in the light and in wet sawdust.
On the picture: Germination of gladioli in wet sawdust.
Germination methods:
- Germination in boxes. The bottom of a wooden box or cardboard box is lined with dry newspaper. The bulbs are placed sprouts up. The boxes are placed in a bright place where direct sunlight does not reach. The light should be diffused.
- Germination in sawdust. Sawdust is poured into a plastic container and moistened. The bulbs are placed side by side in damp sawdust, sprouts up. The container is also placed in a bright place, but not in bright sun.
- On wet cloth. You can also germinate gladioli on a damp cotton napkin. The moisture obtained is very insignificant, so the roots do not outgrow, and the sprouts have time to stretch to the optimal height - 5 cm.
Note: If gladioli were stored at the correct temperature in winter (4-10 degrees Celsius), then at the end of March they are brought into the house (or taken out of the refrigerator) and stored at room temperature until the beginning of April. These are the recommendations in the book “Your Favorite Roses, Dahlias, Gladioli” (
Planting material stored indoors all winter (near a window or balcony door) should be given more attention. When the bulbs are still stored, you can take them out from time to time and check them for damage from diseases and pests. During winter storage, the bulbs may become diseased, dry out, or germinate prematurely.
Before planting them in wet sawdust for germination, gladioli bulbs can be treated with the drug “Maxim summer resident” or “Fitosporin” in order to get rid of pathogens and pest larvae.
If the bulbs were germinated on time, then by the time of planting they have small roots and sprouts (one or several) 5-10 cm high.
About two to three months have passed since the gladiolus corms were stored for storage, so today is the time to look at how they are stored and whether signs of disease or thrips have appeared. In addition, the period of natural dormancy ends in January, which means that if stored improperly, the corms can germinate.
Pathogenic fungi, thrips and other troubles
Inspection of the bulbs should be carried out several times during the winter.
Today you should carefully inspect the corms and if in any doubt, remove the outer scales and inspect the corms.
Corms affected by fusarium, sclerotinia and botrytis can dry out, and this is easy to notice, as they become light, “empty”.
Such corms (they are dry, wrinkled, brown-black inside) need to be urgently, immediately removed and, without any regret, thrown away. If burnt spots are noticeable on the scales, clean the corms from them.
If there are brown depressed spots, this is most likely due to bacteriosis - scab. Small stains can be cut out with a sharp knife, wiped with a solution of potassium permanganate and sprinkled with crushed coal (you can use an activated charcoal tablet). Don’t be upset, such corms can safely produce normal sprouts in the spring. But an operation to cut out brown putrefactive spots caused by Fusarium or botrytis will not help, since the hyphae of pathogenic fungi penetrate into the vessels of the plant and the infection will remain even if the rotten piece of the corm is cut out.
Therefore, it is better, no matter how offensive it may be, to immediately eliminate all corms affected by spots.
When storing corms in warm conditions, thrips often begins to “work” - a small insect that safely falls under the scales of the corms.
In storage, thrips begin to suck the juices of the corms, their surface becomes rough. With severe damage, the corms dry out. But they can be treated with insecticides. Naphthalene helps a lot, which can be poured into a bag with corms and closed tightly for up to one month. And then you can destroy the thrips and save the corms until spring, and they can produce normally developed plants.
If the corms are stored, as they say, in bulk, that is, in several layers and the storage is humid, then penicillium mold may develop: bluish sporulation may form on the infected bulbs, and a “nest” of affected ones may form near one corm. They should also be destroyed, the rest should be dried and storage conditions should be improved (reduce humidity and temperature).
In January, before the buds begin to awaken, the baby tubers are heat treated to destroy the hyphae and spores of fungi and microbes. It has been established that when tubers are kept in water at a temperature of plus 53°C (for 30 minutes), the hyphae of pathogenic fungi die. Treatment with hot water at a temperature of plus 55°C leads to the almost complete destruction of fusarium and botrytis spores, however, this temperature is not always harmless to gladiolus sprouts.
Therefore, it is better to use water at a temperature of 53°C and treat the tubers for 25-30 minutes. It is necessary to monitor the uniformity of water temperature. After heat treatment, the tubers should be quickly cooled in running cold water and dried, and then placed again in boxes or bags for storage until spring.
Gladioli bulbs sprouted early, what should I do?
This question can often be heard from “young” flower growers who are not yet fully familiar with the biology of this plant.
In fact, quite often already in March or early April, rather long sprouts appear on corms stored indoors, although 1.5-2 months remain before they are planted in open ground. This happens due to violation of storage conditions, namely due to increased humidity.
The dormant period of gladiolus consists of a period of natural dormancy and a longer period of forced dormancy. During the period of natural dormancy, the corm cannot germinate, even if it finds itself in favorable conditions for this. But the time of natural dormancy is short and for different varieties it is 35-40 days. The corm can then germinate if the conditions are right for growth, namely enough heat and moisture.
When properly stored, when the temperature does not exceed 5-10°C and the relative air humidity is 60-70%, the corms are in forced dormancy and do not germinate, since there are no conditions for growth. But when stored in conditions unsuitable for this, at high temperatures and high humidity, growth processes begin, basically the sprout is greatly lengthened, while roots are not formed. This depletes the corm; when planted in the ground, it may not form inflorescences. What to do?
Some, having seen large sprouts, decide that such a corm should be planted in the ground as soon as possible, but with a lack of lighting and nutrition, the plants develop poorly and, as a rule, do not form flowers.
In order to detect trouble in time, it is necessary to regularly and quite often, especially closer to spring, examine the stored corms. If the growth of sprouts is detected, you must immediately spread the corms in a dry, warm place and dry them for 3-5 days, and then place them in a place where the temperature is 2-7 ° C with low air humidity. 15-20 days before planting, namely from mid-April, the temperature in the storage is increased to 12-15°C, which promotes the preparation of the corms for the formation of tubercles and germination.
Until spring, inspection of corms must be repeated two or three times. We repeat: all diseased corms must be removed immediately.
|