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Saving leftover gladiolus

17 years ago

Sometime last month, I noticed that a locally-owned nursery near my house still had dahlias, gladiolus, and lilies leftover from the spring planting season. When I asked about them, they gave me 4 bags of lilies (8 bulbs) and one bag of gladiolus (also 8 bulbs) free. I think the lilies were dead, but the gladiolus were sprouting and are now fairly tall. Recently, they gave me another package of lilies and 2 more packages of gladiolus, which still have green sprouts. I planted one package a few days ago, and plan to plant the other soon. What is my best course of action from here? I presume that if I let frost get them (average first frost date here is Oct. 15), they won't have time to form new corms. Will the old corms grow again next year? I happen to have some Walls 'o Water at my disposal - enough to cover all of these glads. Supposedly, they protect plants from freezing to 16F. Should I use these to extend their growing time?

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Comments (4)

blueheron
17 years ago
I would have saved the glad corms. They might not overwinter in your climate.

As for the lilies, I'm not sure if they're alive because lilies never really go dormant and should be planted as soon as they are received. If yours have been out of the ground since spring, they may be dead.
Nancy
17 years ago
Were you planning on digging the glads when they do die back? I know I have read of people in your zone that successfully overwintered glads, they multiply like crazy for me. Since you have them in the ground, why not try the wall o'water, whether you plan to dig or leave them in the ground. I "think" that if the old corm has not bloomed, it should still be alive, but I'm not sure if I read that or just something I thought. If you have green though, you should have some healthy corms somewhere. Makes sense to me though that since you were late getting them in the ground, that the extra time might give them a bit more energy. They probably don't really need the extra trouble, glads are pretty tough but might make an interesting experiment.
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You could give a liquid feed every five days until you start to see the colour of the petals showing in the bud - then stop. When the leaves start to go yellow lift the corms and cut off the foliage with a sharp knife or garden scissors close above the corm immediately after. Put them to dry in the sun or an airy place. When they are dry take off the old corky-looking corm and any old roots. They need to dry quickly to prevent any damage from diseases. Store them in a cool dry place over winter and repot with fresh mix and some added superphosphate (2teaspoons) bonedust (1.5 teaspoons) and sulphate of potash (1 teaspoon) well mixed together in your usual potting mix with two or three handfuls of good and aged compost added. They like being well-fed, in a free-draining mix, and placed in an area which has long sunlight hours. If they are tall - provide stakes when you plant so you don't end up with corm kebabs. :-( There could be 'spawn' - which are young corms - gathered around the corms when you lift them. Often a creamy colour. You can also save them over winter and plant them like peas any time from March to June. So long as the spawn are larger than a thumbnail they could also flower next year.
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Marie, glads will form seeds that can be sown at 70-75F for germination in approx 20-40 days. The seedlings should be left in the pot for the first year while corms form below the grass-like seedlings. But not deadheading (removing the spent flowers) and allowing seed to set will take energy away from the existing corms that you plan to save, and unless growing the species types the seedlings will not come true to the parent glad. You'll have glads but will have no way of knowing what color if that matters to you.
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Thanks for the advice! I've never grown gladiolus before and wasn't sure how best to help them. I'll just keep an eye out for yellowing. And, yes, I sure am glad I wasn't out there! Going out into the rain even after it slowed was awful enough! I'm just mostly irritated that I didn't have a picture of all the beautiful greenery. Oh, well, live and learn. Thanks!
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Lots of people here in NJ leave them in the ground, and they come back. I used to dig mine up, only because the winter of 95/96 (I believe; the year we were buried under snow), the fall of 96 I had only foliage; no blooms. I finally got sick and tired of digging them up, so I left them in the ground. Of course, they never returned, and I had ALOT of glads...
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thomas521
Original Author
17 years ago
Yes, I was planning to dig them up for the winter. I planted these shallowly, so I don't really think they would have a chance of surviving the winter without replanting, anyway. I suppose I could cover some groups with WOWs and let others get hit by frost, and see what the result is. Since they were free, I guess I don't have much to lose!
karenforroses
17 years ago
Tom, I'm in zone 5 Northern Michigan and my glads come back on their own every year. I found out a few years ago by accident - I didn't get a chance to dig up my glads because of a family illness, and thought they'd just freeze and rot. But they've come back every year like gangbusters (including little baby ones I thin out). We do get a heavy snow cover, which helps insulate the soil. That helps.

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