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Gladioli are luxurious flowers. Gardeners love them for their species diversity and splendor. After all, they are able to delight with their flowering for a long time, especially if you correctly select varieties of early and late flowering.
Gladioli are grown for cutting and for decorating design projects in the plots. At the end of the season, summer residents have an important question: how to prepare gladioli for winter? The preservation and reproduction of your favorite flowers depends on the fulfillment of this task. Annual digging, winter storage and spring planting are mandatory activities for the main list of gladioli varieties. Modern breeders always delight summer residents with their novelties. Frost-resistant varieties of gladioli are a real gift for flower growers. However, in the northern regions, they are also unable to withstand prolonged low temperatures. Therefore, they are also dug up after flowering and planted in winter. In fairness, it should be noted that there are very few such hardy varieties: Gladiolus imbricatus and Byzantine (Gladiolus Byzantinus). And all the rest require special attention in the winter.
In order for gladioli to be able to winter well, you have to perform certain activities. Their further development and flowering depends on how well the storage of gladioli bulbs is organized. Indeed, it is impossible to leave the bulbs in the soil, they will die when the temperature drops below zero. How to properly prepare and store gladiolus bulbs?
Preparation for winter storage
To make your gladioli delight with lush flowering and health next year, listen to the advice of experienced florists.
Preparation of gladioli for winter begins during the flowering period. During this period, it is important to monitor the timely cutting of the peduncles. They must be cut before the seeds form. This factor is the key to good development of the main gladiolus bulb and children. Cutting the peduncles in time will give you double benefits:
- Save the decorativeness of the flower bed. Withered flowers will not spoil its appearance.
- Give your gladiolus bulbs the strength they need to overwinter.
At the time of cutting the flower stalks for a bouquet, leave the leaves. After the flowering process is over, bulb formation continues for another 50 days. Leaves play an important role during this time. Digging gladioli begins without waiting for the yellowing of the leaves. After all, first and foremost is meeting deadlines. Overexposing the bulbs in the ground means allowing the development of fungal infections.
Depending on the region, digging begins in September - early October. The term varies from the time of the end of flowering and the onset of cold weather. For the middle lane, the optimal time is September. In more southern regions, October is optimal. They begin to dig up gladioli from early varieties, then move on to medium and late ones. The very last ones to extract from the ground are the bulbs of young gladioli grown from children.
Digging out the bulbs
The procedure is carried out on a sunny dry day. Before digging the bulbs, decide where to store them. Cardboard boxes, cloth bags, small wooden boxes will do. Prepare separate containers for different varieties of gladioli so as not to be confused during storage. Be sure to sign the boxes.
Dig out the corms carefully.It is best to use a pitchfork or shovel. Try not to damage the planting material. Dig a shovel or pitchfork into the ground away from the gladiolus, stepping back from the ground part by 10 cm.
After digging in, pull the plant by the leaves, lift it out of the ground and shake it lightly.
Cull spoiled or damaged gladioli bulbs immediately. Examine the clumps of earth. If you find small children, be sure to save them. Cut the remaining stems at a height of 2 cm to 5 cm.
Do not try to leave all the bulbs for "wintering". Choose the healthiest and in the amount that will be needed for planting next year. Selection criteria for planting material:
- Lack of damage and disease.
- Age. Store bulbs no more than 4 years old.
- The form. Choose rounded ones with equal heights and diameters (ideally). Send flat ones with a large bottom to the rejected ones, it is better to leave those grown from children.
- Select the largest babies with intact covering scales.
Do each action efficiently and do not rush so that damaged or diseased gladiolus bulbs do not get stored.
Primary processing of bulbs before storage
After selection, start primary processing.
Primary processing of tubers includes washing and drying of planting material:
- Washing with the addition of potassium permanganate to the water allows you to clean the bulbs from contamination and protect against diseases. Do not remove the scales and keep them in the solution for at least half an hour (ideally an hour) or treat them with a disinfectant. At this point, carefully examine the quality of the babies. The inferior ones swim in the solution, while the healthy ones sink to the bottom.
- Drying must be done efficiently. If you do not dry the bulbs well, they will rot and you will lose valuable material. At room temperature, this operation takes about two months. It is recommended to keep the bulbs at t ° from + 28 ° С for the first week, then reduce to 18 ° С for a month.
The next preparatory step is to remove plant debris from adult bulbs.
Winter storage technology
After processing and cleaning, the planting material is sent for storage until the next season. There are several styling options:
- In cardboard boxes... Arrange the bulbs in one layer so that they do not touch. Make a few holes in the box for easy ventilation. Pre-drilled drawers are a great alternative to boxes. Experienced flower growers advise wrapping the bulbs in newsprint.
- In vegetable nets... Ordinary nets for vegetables and fruits from the store network will be useful. Summer residents stock up on nets in advance during the summer season, and then place gladiolus bulbs in them.
- In paper bags... This option is chosen for storing children. Due to their small size, they can fall out of boxes or netting. The bags are periodically ventilated so that the children have access to air.
There are some nuances when choosing storage containers. They must be able to ventilate. Plastic bags or plastic containers without holes are not suitable for this purpose. The gladiolus bulbs in them will quickly begin to rot.
Wood ash can be a great substitute for garlic, just sprinkle it on the bulbs.
The temperature regime during the winter storage period is maintained within the range from + 3 ° С to + 8 ° С. Air humidity - 80%. In order to ensure the desired performance, the boxes are placed in the basement or refrigerator (on the bottom shelf in the door). Bulkheads are done monthly. The bulbs are carefully examined and dried as needed.
As soon as the dormant period of the bulbs ends, the storage conditions must be changed. This happens in the middle of winter.If you miss the moment, then gladioli will begin to sprout.
The boxes are moved to another place where they can be provided with diffused sunlight. Direct sunlight at this time is detrimental to the bulbs.
A few tips for gladiolus lovers
- Store different varieties separately and be sure to sign each box. This will make it possible to not confuse the types of gladioli when landing.
- Try to provide a ventilated storage area for the bulbs. If this is not possible, regularly ventilate the planting material.
- If moisture appears on the bulbs, dry them; if dry, soak them before planting.
- If you find pests, be sure to treat with "Inta-vir" or another means, then dry and put back into storage.
From the foregoing, it should be concluded that it is necessary to inspect the bulbs regularly and carefully during the winter. In this case, you will save the planting material of gladioli until spring with minimal losses. The requirements for the winter storage conditions of gladioli are not at all difficult for experienced gardeners. And for beginners, it is necessary to carefully adhere to all recommendations, and their favorite varieties will delight with their flowering every year.
