Growing Gladiolus in Your Garden
There is nothing more glorious than a rainbow of colors in your garden! The gladiolus fits the bill perfectly for this. It is a tall flower that produces large blossoms of a multitude of colors. Glads, as they are sometimes called, grow in colors of pink, white, orange, yellow, purple, peach and green. It is even possible to find glads in a mixture of colors.
The word gladiolus means sword in Latin, which is why it is sometimes referred to as a sword lily. The glad is not from the lily family, however, but is instead a member of the iris family (Iridaceae).
Glads come from corms, which are bulb-like, and they are especially lovely in floral arrangements. If you have a special occasion coming up, then look to the gladiolus for the splash of color you need to make a room come alive!
Planting Gladiolus
Planting glads in rows is best, if you plan to use them for floral arrangements. It is easier to harvest and take care of them when you plant them in this manner, which is akin to how vegetables are planted. Please be aware that gladiolus tend to be a little stiff and not always the simplest flower to work with.
You might choose to plant them as borders around flower beds or mix them with your annual plants. If you choose to do this for the most aesthetically appealing effect, it is recommended that you plant them in groups of seven or more.
Glads should be planted in the middle of May and then approximately every two weeks until the middle of June. This will ensure that you will have lots of blossoming throughout the months of July and August. Another option is to plant a variety of sizes of corms. The larger corms tend to blossom sooner than the smaller ones and have larger flowers.
When buying corms, choose ones that are tall and plump as opposed to wide and flat. Thicker corms make for flowers of a higher quality. Use this as a guideline- look for corms that resemble Hershey’s Kisses.
Plant the corms in an area of the garden where there is lots of sunlight. Gladioli will grow bigger, stronger and more vibrant if they receive an ample amount of the sun’s rays on a regular basis. In the same way, make sure that the soil they are planted in is drained well.
