When to dig up gladioli in autumn and how to store them until spring

Gladioluses are beautiful flowers that grace our gardens with their exquisite beauty. To enjoy their colorful blooms next year, it is important to dig and preserve the bulbs correctly.

If you remove the gladiolus bulbs very early, the plant may not come up or bloom in the spring. If you over-hold gladiolus bulbs in the ground, they may freeze and die.

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How to determine the time of digging up gladiolus bulbs

You need to be guided by the above-ground part of the plant, it should wither and turn yellow. Do not cut, cut off or twist the stems and leaves of gladiolus before they die off completely.

It is better to dig up flower bulbs 30-50 days after the gladiolus has finished blooming.

Bulbs of early varieties of gladiolus (lilac, blue, purple, dark red) are the first to be dug up. Late gladiolus are harvested last for winter - usually white, yellow, pink and orange flowers. Young gladiolus grown from "baby" plants and gladiolus that have not yet bloomed are the last to be dug up.

If you dig up bulbs and notice signs of disease on them, they should be soaked in a weak solution of manganese for 5-8 hours before storing.

How to dig up gladiolus bulbs in the fall

It should be done only in dry weather. It is necessary to cut off the ground hour of the plant with secateurs or scissors. Then garden forks at a distance of 20 cm from the stem pierce the soil and extract the bulbs of the plant together with the earth. Put the dug up onions with the soil in a dry room to let the soil dry out. Only then separate the soil from the bulbs and cut off the roots.

How to store gladiolus bulbs in winter

To prevent rotting, gladiolus bulbs are disinfected after digging out  by soaking for an hour in a weak solution of manganese. Then the bulbs are left in the fresh air to completely dry out for three days and every night they are brought indoors.

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Then gladiolus bulbs are decomposed in crates, boxes or baskets in a single layer and stored at a temperature of 20-25 degrees for a month. After such drying, bulbs are moved to the basement or cellar, where air circulation is good. The optimum temperature for storing bulbs is 8 degrees.

The best place to store gladiolus bulbs in the apartment is the refrigerator. Just wrap each bulb in paper, put it in a canvas bag and put it in the vegetable compartment. And if there is no space in the refrigerator, use the loggia or balcony. Here they should be placed in a single layer at a height of 40 cm from the floor. If frosts hit, the bulbs need to be covered.

Recall, we told you about 5 useful tips for caring for indoor plants in the fall.

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