Need info on Glads

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blucrz White Rock, Canada Oct 18, 2016

Hi.

For the first time this spring I planted a mixed lot of garden center variety glad bulbs of varying colors. I am starting to pull some out to over-winter and replant in the spring. I have a few questions...

1. Everything I read says to pull the old bulb off the bottom of the new bulb and throw it out. What happens if I store the old/new bulb combo still joined and plant replant in the spring? Won't the old bulb still help feed the new one?

2. i am tempted to save the old shriveled bulbs that i have removed from some of my new growth... is there any point? Will they grow again in the spring if I replant them? Seems a waste to throw them out if there is a hope I may get some new growth from them...

3. Cormlets... do i try to leave them attached to the new bulbs and replant together in the spring, or remove and plant them separately?

4. Roots on new bulbs.... Should I cut them back to the bulb or leave them attached?

I've tried to take some pics to help with the questions.

Thanks!

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CountryGardens Lewisville, MN(Zone 4a) Oct 19, 2016

Break off the old bulb & toss it out. Some may have 2 or more new bulbs. Break off the new cormlets. Plant them ½ inch apart. Some will bloom, but all will raise new bulbs. If you have mixed colors, you can tag the favorites & keep the cormlets separate for increasing your glads.
There shouldn't be any roots left after you separate the old from the new.

This message was edited Oct 19, 2016 11:25 AM

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Post #10261731
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Pistil Lake Stevens, WA(Zone 8a) Oct 19, 2016

And, in this mild climate some glads (not all) are perennial-you don't have to lift them for the winter at all! I have some that have survived outside for years without any care-like yours, no particular named variety, just what I found on a sale rack, plus Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus , a variety native to the Mediterranean region.

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MollyBlooms Grosse Pointe Farms, MI Oct 19, 2016

I agree with CountryGardens and your other sources. The dried-up shriveled bulb from this past summer is to be pulled off and thrown away (I found this easier to do after I had dug my bulbs and let them dry on newspaper for about a week in a dark, cool part of the garage). The old bulb is used up from this past summer; all its energy went into producing flowers and helping to produce the new bulbs and cormlets. The little cormlets should be planted separately; if you have a vegetable garden, you might set aside a row for them and let them grow to maturity for you to plant the following summer.

Post #10261758
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