Planting Gladiolas

So I bought fifty bulbs ,wanted more but ?.In reading up about them ( I did have them before ) I read up on the "" Proper "" way way of planting the bulbs and they say that they should be 6" deep ? Now I know that I didn't do thid before due to haveing to digging them up in fall ( wrong zone ) .Now if someone can tell me if this is okay .planting in about three inchs of soil instead of six ? I want to start them earlier as well ( have six to seven inch deep pots )and will be transplanting them as soon as the climate allows .Any one have any suggestions ?

The deeper you plant, the stronger the stem will be, but you don't need to plant them that deep. My dad plants a hundred or so of them every year and he only puts them down about 3 inches. They just start them inside in a shallow tray of water until they can go out. I am sure planting them in pots will be fine. They sure make a beautiful show. You will have to post pics when they bloom.

I just shoved them in the dirt all willy nilly last year. They did tip over as they grew those heavy heads of flowers but I staked them and they were fine. I will be planting MANY this year. It seems in front of the south facing barn is a perfect location. You will LOVE them PD, and thanks for the advice Bowker!

I grow glads in my pots every year. I put them in the middle of the pot instead of the spikes. You can use a white glad with colored plants around it. Once the flowers die you still have the greens which look better than the spikes which I am not too fond of in the first place. Mine are never planted very deep.
Geri

Ooh! Nice idea!

If you are going to plant them in the ground then 3" will be deep enough but you may need to stake then. I would start them in a cookie sheet with water but not too much water because they can rot or grow mold.

Also, the looser your soil, the more apt they are to fall over if unstaked at that depth. One of my favorite flowers! I have some lime green ones I planted alongside the red barn, and what a nice contrast.

I read once about planting sunflowers in a trench, and then adding soil as they grew until the trench was filled, so more of the plant would be buried and they would stand up better. Maybe this would work for Glads, as well?

Being the gardener with no sun, no soil and starving herds of deer, I have no luck with anything! But I did try glads years ago and they grew and actually bloomed! What a stunning display they make in a chunky, crystal vase.

I ordered from Peeters Gladiolas. I think they are pricey, as a good friend pointed out. But they do have some AWESOME glads that I have not seen in the local nurseries.

When staking...do you set a stake by each plant and tie, or stake the end of a short row and run a string on each side of the plant, like a little fence for them to lean on? I need staking instructions.

I run twine from one side to another and run it through the leaves near the base of the flower stem. A greater distance end to end might require a stake in the middle periodically.

Roots wrote:If you are going to plant them in the ground then 3" will be deep enough but you may need to stake then. I would start them in a cookie sheet with water but not too much water because they can rot or grow mold.

......okay ? I assume it's to start them rooting ,I would assume that I could use one of those plastic tray starter kits with the plastic dome ? and then put into soil ? I like this idea if I am getting it right .This way I can see which ones are takeing and I assume as they sprout you pot them and add soil till the bulb is at a reasonable depth ? ...........I think I need to get more bulbs ! I'll be looking at Peeters for some of there unusual colors etc and will have to order from them hopefully this year .I think I'll used the string method as was mentioned , would sure hate to have them breal once they have there heads ,sounds like a great idea

I would not start glad bulbs until the middle or end of April(Edmonton). We always give my father glad bulbs in his Easter basket and I can't remember every starting them earlier. Put them in the shallow cookie tray of water with no soil and no cover and let the roots and leafs grow and don't use fertilizer. The green leafs can get a couple inches but you don't want them any longer or they can break when you transplant. Then transplant directly into the garden with bone meal.
I have never transplanted into a pot with soil so I'm not sure what the procedure would be but I have seem several pictures of glads in pots and they look awesome with other flowers.

Is it normal to start glads indoors? I have always just plunked them right in the ground. Do any of you plant bulbs weeks apart, to ensure bloom throughout the season?

I don't see whey you couldn't plant them in pots ? they plant tree's in them so a flower ? as long as you dig out the bulb in fall I can't see any problem? .I read somewhere to stagger them when planting ? Plant a couple of bulbs every other day or so ? I thought that they held there flowers longer ?

prairie dog wrote:I don't see whey you couldn't plant them in pots ? they plant tree's in them so a flower ? as long as you dig out the bulb in fall I can't see any problem? .I read somewhere to stagger them when planting ? Plant a couple of bulbs every other day or so ? I thought that they held there flowers longer ?

I am going to try Rasilon's idea!

I imagine a glad in the centre, petunias all around and trailing lobelia. Pretty!

Schipperkesue wrote:

prairie dog wrote:I don't see whey you couldn't plant them in pots ? they plant tree's in them so a flower ? as long as you dig out the bulb in fall I can't see any problem? .I read somewhere to stagger them when planting ? Plant a couple of bulbs every other day or so ? I thought that they held there flowers longer ?

I am going to try Rasilon's idea!

I imagine a glad in the centre, petunias all around and trailing lobelia. Pretty!

I may try the same thing. Don't know if they will grow here, nothing does.....