They simply are not hardy in your area. If you don't dig them up they'll die off over the winter.

That´s exactly what´s going to happen, they will die, on the other hand, gladiolus corms are very cheap compared to other bulbs so you just purchase new ones again.

Well can anyone suggest a late summer bulb that doesn't require to be dug up each year. I really am looking for something just to bloom between my dwarf lilacs and evergreens, break up the green coloring. I put annuals in the area, but this area would look great with gladiolus, or something like. I just don't want to dig up each year. It's too much work for me.

German irises are perennial, you don´t need to lift them up, they survive the cold.

BIG Thanks, very pretty, keep those in mind when shopping. Can anyone suggest another, one that blooms late summer July/August. Would be great to have something blooming all the time.

Cyclamen hederifolium also tolerates freezing temperatures, it´s not the ordinary cyclamen you see for sale ( florist cyclamen ) this one has smaller blooms and only one color, pink/magenta.

{{gwi:11472}}

What about perennials rather than bulbs? Asters bloom in late summer.

What I'm really looking for is something that will just come up during the late summer and then just disappear all together. I don't want a plant that stays for the whole season, my area would just be too crowarded. I just want something that will come up and bloom late summer to break up the green I have left after my bushes bloom. There really isn't much room for perennials (i.e. hosta's). That's why I'm looking at bulbs, or corns.

You can try Lilies. They have dwarf and tall kinds and after flowering you can cut them somewhat short so they will not present crowd control issues.

As for glads, bulbs that you store will give you better results next season, as they likely to be bigger than original ones planted (depends on your soil of course). I have never seen such big glad bulbs (actually corms) in the store and cheap.

I have grown some Hardy glads now for couple years and I don't have to dig them up. The colors are different then others. I got the vibrant ones. I don't remember where I purchased them from.

I got gladiolus bulbs with huge foliage. some bulbs are smaller but with foliage. I have planted few of them. Will they survive?

My Naked Lady / Resurrection Lilly blooms about the middle of August. I have a bed planted in front (to the east side) of a baby red cedar. I planted pink Alyssum there years ago. Though it has mostly reverted to white with a little light pink, it self seeds and fills in everywhere.

The Lilies have spring leaves that are lovely and lush. A welcome sight after winter. But, the leaves mound up like a spider plant. They take up a lot of space and shade out short neighbors. Then, when the leaves die back they look terrible... I try to remove the dead stuff and encourage the Alyssum to cover the mess.

As I write this, looking at the bed to describe it, I realized that now that the Lilies are done; it looks kind of blah... I think I'm going to try some China Asters in there next year! They are blooming beautifully right now, and will keep going until frost kills them.

Sorry for rambling... but thanks for the fresh look at my garden!
DD

I just received some gladiolus bulbs which I've never grown and would like some ideas for planting; what plants look good with these?
Thanks for any suggestions.

grassy - the bloom stalk of glads can be pretty tall, especially if the corms you have are the grandifloras. When I've planted them in the past, I've put them with anything I have in the gardens, anywhere there's space. After blooming, the swordlike foliage is quite nice on its own and really doesn't need hiding behind other things.

One thing though, plant them in a bunch/group - not all lined up like marching soldiers (nothing looks worse). I plant mine a little deeper than the recommended 6 inches - this helps to keep them from flopping over because of the heavy bloom stalk. I'll plant 7 - 9 of them together in the same spot with barely 2 inches between corms. This also helps to keep them from falling over without having to use stakes. I also cut down the bloom stalk once the last floret goes - the spent stalk looks pretty sad.

I've also grown them for use as cut flowers for the house - sometimes they can be more impressive in a vase than out in the garden.