too late to plant gladiola bulbs?

14 years ago

I've never grown them before. Is it too late in my zone to plant the bulbs? 6b. Also, do I have to keep good track of where I plant them in order to dig them up in the fall or will the leaves still be around?

thanks,

Natanya

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diggerdee zone 6 CT

14 years ago

I don't think it's too late - at least I HOPE it's not too late, since I haven't even received my order yet, lol!

I found that the leaves stick around, so I don't think you will have to mark them all that carefully. Actually, I've also found, to my surprise and delight, that the glads have been coming back for me! I left them in the ground two years ago (my first year to grow them) because I just can't be bothered digging and saving. I figured I'd treat them as annuals and buy new bulbs in spring.

Well, after I bought the new bulbs, I discovered that the old ones were coming up! Sure enough, they are coming up again this year. Perhaps you'd like to try leaving a few in the ground and seeing how they do for you.

:)
Dee

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Comments (8)

kterlep
14 years ago
My dad leaves them in the ground, near Flint, Michigan...and they "always come back"...

they may be hardier than we think, or it may be that they are near some sort of heat sink, or in some sort of microclimate. I am going to plant mine near my house's foundation and tell them they are on their own (I am about 5 miles from the 5b/6a line, so my house's foundation is probably a 7, lol!)
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who knew.. titles used to not be editable .. go figure... thought for a minute there i was losing my sanity ... shut up the rest of you .. lol .. plant at recommended depth ... you dont have to fill the hole all the way back up .. as it acclimates ... you can backfill more ... or just fill up the hole in fall after dormancy ... im presuming the lily will stay in the ground .. so it will need to be at proper depth.. if you think you can remember.. you can reset it in fall ... i have no clue if dahlia need to be lifter for a z8 winter ... but same logic ken
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
i will make it as simple as i can.. its for you to take the bullet points and go from there ...

heres how you do it... use google.. find out how long from planting to bloom ... lets say 90 days ... then work back from there.. you want them in july ... they should be planted 90 days back ... or may ... you want them in august ... plant in .. etc ... [did i count right.. lol ]

the problem is.. that every single one will bloom in one week.. which is nice .. but if you want a bigger/longer show... you plant some every week in may ... so you get a month of show ...

if you want them in late august.. plant them in june ..

got that part?? ... if not i can try again ... let me know ...

now... as with ALL SEEDS .. or in this case corms.. soil temps are imperative.. frankly.. you MIGHT be too early ... soil temps might be warm during the day.. but if it is often falling into the 40's at night .. you dont have the constant soil temps to start the growth.. the seeds wont die ... but they arent going to sprout until some magic temp number is hit.. which in my z5.. wont be for 2 or 3 more weeks ... like when it stays in the 60''s all night long ... most likely all chances of FREEZE.. as compared to frost.. are gone.. so we need not worry about freezing the corms ...

then in our zones.. you really dont want them getting too big.. until all frost possibilities are gone... and for me that is late may ... you.. maybe a week sooner ..

so are you late... ABSOLUTELY NOT FOR YOUR ZONE .. and you may be too early by a long shot ...

shall i try again.. i am willing..

ken

ps: i have lived 100 miles south of flint my entire life.. no glad is hardy .... UNLESS they are planted along the house.. where there might be a micro climate .. otherwise.. i would like to get some of those corms for my garden .... and maybe get them to market ....

pps: you could take an old tray.. put some damp media in it.. and loosely cover the corm .... and start forcing growth .... in the garage .... and when the growth points get an inch or two big.. go plant them out in the soil .... and maybe get them to bloom a few weeks earlier ... try it with 3 or 4 ... experimenting is the BEST way to learn ... just dont forget about them.. and find them in august.. lol ...
melaroma
14 years ago
Sorry Ken, but I have planted plenty around my house and away from my house and they always come up. I am in zone 6 and they even survived a harsh winter two years ago. I with Kterlep in that they are hardier than we think.

Mel
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
go figure on that.. but my experience is z5 ...

dad[z5] can get canna to winter over.. if they are planted on the brick furnace chimney .... out about a foot from the basement ... but that is the only micro climate for those ... so i suppose a corm might also winter over .. in z5

but if it is happening .... then it is a fair suggestion that your zone is not what you think it is ... in other words.. maybe flint is z6 ... where some corms winter over .... or a spectacular micro climate... i am not saying it is NOT possible.. i am saying others cant make conclusions without further research ...

ken
kterlep
14 years ago
dunno. All I know is, dad doesn't dig 'em up. I think he grows 'em out back of the pond as well as next to the house, I think mostly red ones. He lives near De Buck's Sod Farm which you can probably google, I'm not going to post my dad's address--which is between Davison and Lapeer. I can't think of other things that defy zone hardiness there, it's solid z5, about 3 weeks behind me (I'm near Dayton, Oh, in SE Indiana).

I'll try to get some corms to share, he's mad at me about glads because he tried to give me some and my husband lost them in the garage and we didn't plant them (gaah) and we got in trouble...(all that digging for nothing)...

Maybe once he sees all the work *I* have done he will forgive *ME*

:)
Kate
Cher
14 years ago
I first planted hardy Glads first of June some years ago and they bloomed first year so I think you are ok.

In Dayton, I do not dig my Glads up and they are in an open exposed site and come back each year but they were listed as hardy Glads. The Hummingbirds love them. In fact mine are up about 6 or 8 inches now and I just moved them from one open site to another open site.
Cher
backyardgrown
13 years ago
I planted some last year on June 30 and they bloomed from August until late Sept. The same color/variety will bloom pretty close, but different colors may bloom at different times. If you have enough I would plant them every two weeks until the end of June. Plant them at varying depths too and you may have some stagger in bloom next year if they come back.

I have planted mine every month of the year here except Dec and Jan and they do really well and come back every year. Most multiply too.

too late to plant gladiola bulbs?

diggerdee zone 6 CT

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kterlep

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