Gladiolus - when to plant, how deep

I picked up some glads today, I've never planted them, I just need to know how deep, when (after danger of frost I'm guessing), and do you dig them up each fall OR do you put them in container's and over-winter in a garage or basement? Thanks, Jill

Depending on the size bulb you bought. 8-10 cm plant 4-5 inches deep. Size 10-12 and 12-14 cm plant 5-6 inches deep. Size 14-16 and 16/up plant 6-8 deep. Plant in the garden after danger of frost and dig for winter storage. Dry the bulbs, clean them and store in a cool and dry place.

After the season, I dig mine up, clean them off and let them dry for a day or so, then I store them in paper bags (mixed with some dry potting mixture). When the soil warms up to 55-60 degrees or so, I put them back in the ground, usually 4-5 inches deep.

Thanks, I'll pick a sunny spot in late April or early May and get them in the ground.

You don't have to dig them up if you live in zone 7 or farther south, but up in IA you would have to. Mine come back every year and I leave them in the ground. They tend to be very top heavy, so regardless of how deep you plant them, you may have to stake them once the flower spike shoots out.

Thanks Tx Steve, I'll do that!

You can plant them once the ground has thawed, which it has here now (for a few weeks). I planted mine last year in March, if you can plant them earlier they start coming up in late April/Early May here.

Ok, thanks Wygardener! I think I'll be able to plant very soon.

Gladiolus leaves starting to poke through for another year (in front of Hollyhock leaves on right side)

How deep they're planted really depends on the height of the glad. Most of mine will reach 48" and I'll be planting those at least 6" deep so the flowers aren't lop-sided. One thing to remember is that they'll bloom about 3 months after you plant them, so might want to think about staggering the planting times for continuous bloom.

Emilyrasmus, thats a great Idea, how long do the blooms last? Thanks, Jill

Some of mine got about 6 ft tall last year (well, a little less if you subtract the raised bed).....you may need to stake them, since the stems aren't terribly strong and will sometimes buckle under wind of a heavy flower stalk no matter how deep you plant them.

Steve, those are beautiful, the bulbs I have are suposed to be multi colored, so it will be interesting to see how they turnout, and hopefully I'll have some results since I purchased them at a discount store. Iowa is so weird weather wise, we were at 70 degrees yesterday, 30's today w/rain & snow and mucho grande wind. So, I'm guessing I'll plant them in April. They'll most likely go along this fence in the pic.

steve beautiful glads. how many bulbs do you have planted in that section? how long have you had them? do they naturalize? how long do they bloom? thanks for your help

Thanks momo...I like what you have done there with your fence. Looks very pretty with all your greenery and trees as a backdrop. That looks like a great place for glads. You can tie the stems to the chainlink with those plastic coated wire ties like you use for garbage bags if they get too tall, and no one will be able to see them.

Vossner - I have probably two or three hundred in total throughout the yard, front and back. They do return in my area very easily, and yes also seem to naturalize quite well here. They're hardy in zones 7 and farther south. I have dug up a corm I planted the year before only to find two or even three new ones on top of the old one...and once I found about six of them stuck together. I have had mine in the ground for 4 years and they have bloomed every year. I found leaves coming up all over the garden this weekend. They also seem to do better in damp soil than most bulbs, though good drainage is still recommended and beneficial.

I would say a dozen or so in a group makes a nice looking cluster, and the flowers last about a week or week and a half on the stem, so not terribly long. They're quite large and dramatic, so it doesn't take many to make an impression. I have had some where the flower stalk alone was about 2 feet long. You can plant them in waves (a week or two apart) to get a succession of flowers. Like most bulbs, each corm will produce one flower stalk per year. They are quite heat tolerant though they are HIGHLY susceptible to thrips and especially slugs, so I would put down slug bait wherever you have them. I found the leaves missing strips of green a couple summers ago and tried every insect killer I could think of...only to find a whole bunch of slugs munching on them at about 4:30 am one day. The problem disappeared overnight with the slug stuff I put down the next day.

Glad corms are pretty inexpensive compared to many other bulbs, so they're a good value.

Good luck and post pics when yours bloom!

thanks steve for the info. just what I needed. I will certainly post pix.

Thanks Vossner - BTW here is the same clump posted in the pic above from last summer - picture taken today, just coming up again.

Thanks for all the info here Steve. I went ahead and bought two bags at Home Depot yesterday and plan on planting them today and over the next few weeks.

Good to hear that, sweezel :-) I think you'll find they do quite well in our area and perennialize even.

I live on the border of zone 6-7. We are told to dig them here. However, neither my daughter nor my Father-in-law dug there's and they did fine. I think they mulched them rather heavily.