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Flowers that have bulbs do not have to be planted outside in a flower garden. So gladioli are often found in places where no one expects. Many fennel lovers have flowers in pots on windowsills and right on the street.
The green leaves of gladiolus resemble a knight's sword, which is why the flower received the name sword. The flowers are delicate, graceful with a varied color palette. Today there are a huge number of varieties of gladioli, which are valued by amateurs for their long flowering as cut flowers.
Attention! To grow gladiolus in a pot, you need to follow special rules. We will talk about them today.
A few words about gladioli
In nature, gladioli grow in the Mediterranean and African subtropics. They require soil rich in nutrients and warmth. Cold wind can cause the death of the plant.
Warning! Gladiolus bulbs can only be grown in one place for two years.
When growing gladioli in a room, you get a decorative decoration, but only if there is enough soil for full development.To the question whether gladioli can be planted in pots, the answer is unequivocal - yes.
Growing fudge in a pot has its own characteristics:
- Several bulbs are planted at once to obtain a lush bouquet.
- Compliance with agrotechnical procedures regarding the rules of caring for bulbs and plantings is required.
Russian breeders have created mini-varieties, the height of which varies between 30-50 cm. The flowers are also smaller than usual, but the colors of these regal plants are very diverse. Gladioli grown in pots are in no way inferior to those planted in the ground. You can see this for yourself by looking at the photo.
Landing rules
The method of growing gladioli in pots is not new. It was used by the ancient Greeks. Let's look at the features.
Preparing the container
Before you start planting gladioli, you need to decide on the choice of container. Usually this is a pot with a depth of at least 40 cm and a diameter of 20 cm or slightly more. This will allow the gladioli bulbs to develop successfully.
Flowers suffer if moisture stagnates in the pot, so drainage holes need to be made in the bottom to drain water. Broken shards, small pebbles or glass can be used as drainage.
What soil to choose
Soil is poured over the drainage. Gladioli should be planted in loose, structured soil. It absorbs water well. Flower growers often use ready-made compositions for indoor flowers.
If you prepare the soil yourself, you need to choose fertile, black soil. Loam will also work, but you will have to add coarse sand to it. It is pre-washed under running water. The height of the soil must be at least 30 cm so that the root system is comfortable.
The soil is first spilled with boiling water, adding a little potassium permanganate. This treatment is necessary to destroy fungal spores. You need to add a little wood ash to the soil, it serves as a top dressing.
Features of planting bulbs
To plant gladioli correctly and ensure their full development, you need to take into account the depth of planting of the bulb. This parameter directly depends on the diameter of the planting material. If there is loose soil in the container, then the bulb is buried 4 times its diameter. On heavy soils, the placement depth is equal to three diameters. A distance of 5-6 cm is maintained between the bulbs.
Preparing planting material
As a rule, bulbous plants are planted in April-May. But some gardeners begin to plant gladioli in March if the bulbs woke up earlier.
In this video, experienced gardeners will share how to prepare gladioli bulbs for planting in pots:
Before planting gladiolus in pots, each bulb is peeled. This must be done carefully so as not to damage the sprouts. Bulbs with dark spots and dried out are subject to rejection. In some cases, planting material can be revived. Small damage is cut out and smeared with brilliant green, a fungicide solution, or sprinkled with crushed charcoal.
Bulbs with a diameter of 3-5 cm (as in the photo below) are the best planting material. They will produce powerful flower stalks and there will be many flowers on them.
How to treat bulbs
Before planting, the bulbs should be treated for pests. For these purposes, you can use different methods:
- soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate, Bordeaux mixture or copper oxychloride;
- use the drugs “Maxim”, “Fundazol”, “Aktara”, “Karbofos”, taking into account the recommendations;
- treated with Dichlorvos, placing the bulbs in a plastic bag. The bag is tied and the bulbs are kept for half an hour.
Features of planting gladioli in pots can be seen in the video:
Rules of care
The first step to obtaining a blooming bouquet of gladioli has been completed. Now you need to understand the features of pot growing.
Watering
Gladiolus is capricious regarding substrate moisture. The slightest drying out of the soil has a negative effect on the development of fudge and can cause death. But you shouldn’t over-moisten the soil either: the bulb will begin to rot. Gladioli should be watered sparingly to avoid bending of peduncles and reducing decorativeness.
Watering will depend on the temperature and humidity of the environment. In hot weather, the plant needs to be moistened at least 3 times a week. To increase the moisture resistance of the soil, experienced gardeners advise mulching it with peat or humus.
Feeding
The rules for caring for flowers planted in pots require fertilizing. In order for gladioli to delight with beautiful, lush inflorescences, you need to carry out root and foliar feeding with complex fertilizers:
- The first time fertilizing is applied when the third leaf appears on the gladiolus.
- Fertilize the second time if there are six “skewers”.
- When the gladiolus throws out the peduncle, it needs to be fed a third time.
How to avoid deformation of peduncles
The peduncles of gladioli, although powerful, are quite long. They cannot be held in an upright position due to the weight of the flowers and often break in the area of the internodes.One of the reasons is insufficient, one-sided lighting.
There are usually 5 to 6 bulbs in a pot, and when they bloom, a whole bouquet is formed. To prevent deformation of plants, they are tied to pegs, but they spoil the appearance of the flower garden.
Advice! It is best to use decorative openwork mesh. Then our gladioli will resemble a bouquet in a package.
Growing conditions
Every gardener has many tricks for growing gladioli in pots; they are always happy to share them with beginners.
What you need to know:
- Gladiolus is a sun lover. If the flowers are in the apartment, when it gets warm, the pots are taken out to the balcony. There is enough lighting and heat there. In summer, containers with planted gladioli are placed outside.
- Gladioli bloom better if direct sunlight does not annoy them, so the optimal place for pots on the site is partial shade.
- Choose a south window in the apartment and shade it if necessary. Air humidification is necessary to create comfortable conditions. You can spray water from a spray bottle or place trays filled with moss next to the blooming gladioli. This plant perfectly retains moisture and releases it into the air gradually.
Pest Control
As you can see, if you put in the effort, you can always grow gladioli in pots. Fortunately, there are not many pests living on the sword. First of all, thrips. These are small creatures, their appearance cannot always be immediately noticed. Insects suck out juices and reproduce very quickly. Thrips can be killed using pesticides. Aphids bother the flowers. Sometimes it is enough to sprinkle the flowers with tobacco dust.
Flowers planted outside in pots may suffer from slugs that eat away the succulent parts of the wedge-shaped leaves, flowers, and stems.The decorative effect of the flower is lost. But this is not the worst threat from slugs. If they get to the tubers and roots, the plant dies.
Slugs threaten gladioli grown in flowerpots outside. They reproduce where there are weeds. Therefore, you need to mercilessly fight them not only in the pot itself, but also around it.
Obtaining planting material
When growing gladioli in pots, do not forget about the formation of future bulbs. They will be needed for planting next year. To do this, after the gladiolus has faded, cut off the peduncle.
After some time they will dry out on their own. Watering and fertilizing are carried out as usual. After the leaves have completely dried, they are cut off along with the stem, and the pot with the bulbs is stored in a cool, dark place. If the plant was grown outside, then the container is brought indoors before frost begins.
At the beginning of October, the bulbs are removed from the container, shaken off the soil, and inspected for the presence of pests. If at least one is noticed, all planting material is treated with chemicals as a preventive measure.
After this, the bulbs need to be placed on a sunny windowsill so that the scales dry. When they rustle in your hands, the planting material is put away for storage. Some gardeners store them in containers in the refrigerator.
In the village, planting material is perfectly preserved in the basement.Only each bulb needs to be wrapped in several rows of newspaper, as in the photo. If potatoes are stored nearby, they humidify the air when breathing.
Important! The newspaper will absorb excess moisture and will not damage the gladioli bulbs.
Conclusion
As you can see, growing gladioli in pots is a fascinating process. Imagine: it’s still cold and uncomfortable outside, and in your apartment there are whole bouquets of multi-colored gladioli on the window. Many gardeners plant bulbs of different varieties in one container. Try it yourself, you won’t go wrong!
