I'm a big Gladiolus fan. What Gardenbench said about days from planting to blooming is correct. I can't vouch for how accurate the "days" count is because I'm sure many factors could speed up or hinder growing and flowering. In my warm zone though the earlier the dates the better. Glad flowers don't last as long in the heat, so in warmer climates early bloom dates are best. I believe the first Glad you have is a variety called Priscilla. It's one of my favorites and quite perennial here in my zone. In your zone you may have to dig up the bulbs in late fall and overwinter them in a cool basement or garage. One of the prettier plantings with Glads I've done is to put daylilies in front of tall Glads. A coupling of a white daylily (Joan Senior) with tall pink Glads in back (Good News Glad)was nicely successful this year. The upright sword shaped Glad foliage behind the arching leaves of the daylily complimented each other even before the bloom began. They are blooming together as we speak. This Glad overwintered from last years spring planting. Another perennial Glad for me. Hooray! Here is a link to a good American Gladiolus farm. In this economy it's nice to keep the dollars at home if you can and this company is a good one. Here is a link that might be useful: Gladiolus supplier

Last summer my basjoo got up to about 8' and I thought I'd be able to get a head start this year by heavy mulching - I cut the p-stem down to 3', surrounded it with chicken wire, packed garbage bags around the base to keep it dry, filled the thing with leaves, and covered everything with a tarp. Right before Christmas the temps dropped to -12F, but the rest of the winter was mild. When I uncovered it in April, the p-stem and corm was mush so I rather gave up on it. But at the end of May, 5 pups had sprouted. Now I have a clump of 5 basjoo about 6' and I'm about to start the same thing all over since temps are dropping into the low 40's - 1st frost date here in Columbus is Oct 3. I'll try again, but I think I'll give up on the 'head start' idea - with a 5 month growing season, just making it through to next year is a success in my book! Good Luck! Donn

depends on what the ground is ... if its pure sand.. full drainage.... i have done it before ... if its a clay cauldron... i would bet on death ... regardless..... late Oct. for zone 5 .... dig hole .... remove from pot.. insert into hole... refill .. water properly for the soil type ... be prepared for permanent placement as soon as the ground thaws in spring ..... the more variables you add ... the higher your odds for screwing one up .... wrong pot.. wrong potting media... wrong hole.. wrong water .... etc ... this is what i used to use the veggie garden for.. when it is frosted to death ... stick in holdovers for next year ... and remove them before veggie planting time in late may ... i would prefer you do a permanent placement now.. and fore go all these potential problems .... but you gotta do.. what you gotta do ... save root pruning and all that for next year.. dont make it harder than it has to be ... the pot is a winter problem .. because black pots in winter sun can thaw .. and thawed roots on a dormant plant is a problem... as well as that problematic week in the middle of winter when it spikes to 60 degrees ... get it dormant.. keep it dormant.. and most anything will survive.... so you could also just get 4 hay bales.. and surround the pot.. and have a good chance of success as they will insulate wild weather variations... especially on the north side of a building subject to winter winds ... good luck ken

I have kept mine in the ground for about 4 years now. They multiply if you leave them in the ground. They have done well in the garden in Metairie and in Montz (which is usually about 12 degrees colder than Metairie). They are the old-fashioned ones that I bought from Old House Gardens. Don't cut the foliage til it's brown as it is feeding the bulb.