Preparing gladioli for planting in spring - smart tips and tricks. Gladioli have begun to grow, how to preserve them? What to do if gladioli start to grow

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, finding themselves in the light and warmth, late-flowering hybrids begin to wake up, and early-flowering ones reveal 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.

Gladioli - garden decoration. It is best to prepare gladioli for sowing in March.

Despite the fact that these flowers are usually prepared for sowing in March or April, and planted in the first half of May, it happens that the bulbs sprouted already in March. Experienced gardeners know that this is common for gladiolus if the corms are kept at room temperature.

Why do flowers begin to sprout prematurely?

This happens if the storage conditions of the bulbs are violated. If you store gladioli bulbs at room temperature and high humidity, they will begin to germinate as early as March.

During the period of natural and forced dormancy, the bulb cannot germinate. Natural dormancy lasts 40 days. During this time, the corm will not germinate, even under favorable conditions. But after natural dormancy, this can happen, therefore, to prevent the flowers from germinating ahead of time, the bulbs need to be immersed in forced dormancy. Bulbs should be stored at a temperature not exceeding 10 °C and 60-70% humidity.

If the storage conditions of the bulbs are violated, they germinate, while only the sprout lengthens, and the roots do not develop. This is harmful to the plant as it depletes it.

What to do with early germination? You cannot plant the bulb in the ground. There is still little light and nutrition, the plants will grow poorly and will not form flowers at all.

To avoid early germination, closer to spring you need to inspect the planting material more often. If there are sprouts there, they need to be dried in a warm place for 2-3 days, and then removed to a place where the temperature is not higher than 5 °C. 2 weeks before planting, the bulbs can be moved to more comfortable conditions - 15 °C. This will prepare them for germination.

If you can't wait to drop off

Some sprouted bulbs, already peeled, can be planted in peat pots. Using them, you won’t have to replant, since the flowers don’t really like it. However, the plants will require additional care - there is very little natural light, and the plants are sun-loving. The place for pots with bulbs should be cool and well lit. There is no need to overdo it with watering, otherwise the leaves will stretch out greatly, which can lead to breakage after planting in open ground. It is also worth considering that such early gladioli will not bloom this year.

After planting in open ground, it is advisable to cover young gladioli from the sun and wind. You can grow gladioli in tubs at the dacha or on the balcony in flower pots.

Is it possible to grow flowers by March?

It is possible, but this process is very complicated and requires a well-equipped place. In order for gladioli to grow in winter and delight with their flowering in March, they need good lighting, comfortable temperature, humidity and constant ventilation. In an apartment, it is almost impossible to achieve all the conditions for growing gladioli at a time when in nature they are still supposed to be at rest. This requires a special greenhouse with lamps, heating, constant humidity and ventilation. Often, by March, gladioli are grown exclusively for sale, and not for their own pleasure. The process itself is labor-intensive.

It is difficult to prepare the material for planting. To get beautiful bouquets of gladioli in March, the corms need to be dug up in the first half of September and planted by the beginning of December. Since there is little natural lighting, it is necessary to additionally use artificial lighting. It is turned on no earlier than a week after the bulbs have finally sprouted.

How to plant gladioli correctly (video)

Preparing bulbs and soil for planting

Whatever the decision about which month to grow gladioli, several conditions must be met when preparing the bulbs for planting:

1. A month before planting, you need to bring the material home.
2. Gladioli bulbs must be cleared of scales. Diseased bulbs are thrown away, but if the lesion is small, you can cut it out. The cut area is lubricated with brilliant green.
3. Peeled bulbs cannot be planted immediately. You need to keep them in boxes in the light until they germinate. After this, the sprouted corms of the plant are planted in a pot.

The soil should be thoroughly prepared before planting gladioli. A good choice of location and land is the key to successful cultivation of gladioli. What do we have to do?

1. Choose a well-lit place.
2. Dig up the beds for future crops and clear them of weeds in the fall. The digging depth is about half a meter. In the spring you don’t need to be so zealous; you can dig not so deep.
3. You can add fertilizers to the soil, such as phosphorus or potassium. Lime or dolomite flour is added to acidic soil. Peat mixed with sand is added to clay soil. You can fertilize gladioli with humus, but you cannot add fresh organic matter, as this harms the plant.
4. Gladioli should not be planted after root crops, as there may be a risk of wireworm infection.
5. It is best if melons, legumes, strawberries, and garlic previously grew at the site where gladioli will be planted. Dahlias and zinnias are also safe neighbors, since they do not share diseases with gladioli.

How to properly store gladioli (video)

Planting bulbs

The optimal width of the bed is 1 m. Planting depth depends on the soil. The heavier the soil, the less deeply you need to plant gladioli bulbs. Smaller bulbs also need to be planted at shallower depths. Typically the depth varies from 8 to 15 cm.

In one row, the distance between plantings is 15 cm, and between rows - 25 cm.

Before planting the bulbs, the furrow should be well watered and the bottom should be covered with a 1 cm layer of sand.

Gladioli feel good if planted in moss.

Moss has the ability to retain water, this will help prevent plants from drying out during drought.

Feeding with humus should be introduced when the seedlings grow at least 10 cm.

If all the conditions for planting are met and the soil is properly prepared, the gladioli will bloom at the right time and produce good bulbs for sowing next year.

What to do with gladioli bulbs in March if it’s time to plant, they have sprouted but don’t sprout? Let's consider all the options for preparing gladioli in early spring.

Gladioli are dug out of the ground and sent for winter storage. Repeated spring planting is possible with well-preserved material, active bulbs that have not outlived their usefulness, suitable weather conditions and prepared soil.

Gladioli are planted in spring after warming up the soil (from +10° C). The earth has thawed and warmed up. The area is leveled, forming beds, mineral fertilizers are applied to the planting holes and rows of places are formed for planting bulbs. Planting material of gladioli is removed 15 days before landing to inspect and prepare.

What to do with gladioli bulbs in March:

• Remove the scales by peeling the stored bulbs.
• Inspect and determine condition. If affected by fusarium or rot, prune or get rid of planting material.
• Treat with a weak solution of fungicide if pruned, as well as to prevent diseases after planting.

Dense, uniform and healthy gladioli bulbs are planted in the soil mixture, leaving a small portion above the surface. Approximate recess for miniature bulbs up to 5-7 cm. Sprinkle ash mixed with sand on top (2 cm of mound). Loosen the soil and water it.

Planting pattern in the beds:

• 13 cm between plantings.
• 10 cm between miniature varieties.
• Row width from 30 cm.

What to do if the bulbs wake up ahead of schedule?

If gladioli bulbs released sprouts ahead of schedule, then they need to be planted in the ground immediately. Why did gladioli sprouted earlier? Light, warmth and natural rhythms cause the bulbs to wake up. Usually sprouts appear 15-20 days before planting into the ground, but with high humidity they can grow faster.

How to prevent:

• Store in a dry place.
• Ventilate the room.
• Pack each onion separately.
• Place in dry boxes.
• Store in a dark place.
• Do not store longer than 35-55 days (depending on the variety).

Storage conditions: temperature from +5° C to +10° C, air humidity up to 60%, ventilated room without drafts, shaded place.

Why is this so important: may fail to grow inflorescences if stored improperly or may rot ahead of schedule.

What to do : Place in a warm place to dry. Prepare for planting in a greenhouse or in home pots. Air temperature +10-12° C. Move into the ground after the area has warmed up.

What to do with gladioli bulbs in March that do not germinate?

Bulbs that didn't sprout ahead of time and visually healthy can don't germinate in the soil mixture. Why did this happen? Incorrectly chosen planting site, unheated soil, poor storage - dead bulbs, low nutrients in the soil.

How to stimulate bulb growth:

1. Plant in a south-east, east-west orientation. Maintain distance in beds and between planting holes.
2. Plant after the soil has warmed up in the area. Check weather forecasts for several weeks in advance to see if there will be frost.
3. Plant in the same place as last year. Introduce alternation after 3-4 years. Reduces the risk of disease.
4. Apply fertilizers per 1 m2: 35 grams of superphosphate, 15 grams of potassium sulfate, 12 grams of ammonium nitrate.

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In regions with a mild climate (warm winter, early spring, hot long summer), preparation of gladioli corms for planting begins from the end of January to March, in regions with a cold climate - from the beginning of April. Corms are sorted into groups depending on the timing of flowering and carefully cleaned of scales (destroying specimens affected by fungal diseases), treated against diseases and with microelements, and laid out for vernalization.

If gladioli corms were properly prepared for wintering and stored in proper conditions, then the likelihood of their premature awakening is minimized. In winter and spring, corms are inspected once every 3-4 weeks in order to promptly detect undesirable phenomena (thrips attack, disease development, signs of early awakening) and take the necessary measures to preserve the collection. It happens that in March, gladioli corms (especially early and mid-early varieties) begin to grow: their root tubercles swell and sprouts begin to appear, sometimes reaching significant sizes (up to 8 cm).

Corms with sprouts discovered during the inspection are dried in a warm room for several hours (corms with dry scales - for less time, and if there was high humidity in the storage area - longer), placed for further storage in a cold place (preferably at a temperature of +1 degree or a little higher). A week before planting, these corms are taken out of storage, carefully cleaned (so as not to damage the sprouts and roots) and placed sprout up in low boxes, the bottom of which is powdered with dry peat. If there are a lot of such corms, then they can be carefully laid out in boxes or crates in 2-3 tiers, protecting the root tubercles from damage and without pinching the sprouts by neighboring corms. Boxes and drawers with sprouted corms are placed on light shelves and window sills in a room with a temperature of 25-30 degrees. Such specimens are planted in the garden very carefully, protecting the sprouts from breaking off and the roots from damage (they cannot be pressed into the soil, because damaged roots of gladioli are not restored). These gladioli bloom half a month earlier.

You can plant some of the sprouted corms of gladioli in bowls, but it is better to use large peat pots for this (to plant them in the ground with the plants in the spring), thus avoiding transplantation, which gladioli are sensitive to. Gladioli planted in peat pots will need to be kept in a cool and very bright place (preferably on a glassed-in loggia or in a cool greenhouse), watered very limitedly so that the leaves do not stretch too much, otherwise after planting in the ground the long leaves will be vulnerable to the wind and break, flowering in This year we won’t have such gladioli anymore. After planting in the ground, it is advisable to initially cover gladioli grown in pots from the sun and wind with covering material. Several gladioli corms can be planted in large pots and grown in the summer on a balcony or in the garden as ordinary pot plants (do not replant them in open ground).

Ziborova E.Yu.

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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 a 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. On wet cloth. You can also germinate gladioli on a damp cotton napkin. The moisture obtained is very slight, 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 sick, 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.