Gladiolus Corm Planting Instructions

[Shamps]

Hi folks,

Er I have some Gladiolus corms for the allotment.  Please can someone jot down some planting guidelines for me to have a go at 

ta

[sunshineband]

Hi there - the rough rule with bulbs or corsm is for them to have twice the depth over them as their height, so a biggish glad would go in a three inch deep hole.
Underground slugs love glads and sometimes the base plate can rot off, so it's worth putting a bit of grit in the baottom of the hole, so make the hole a tad deeper to accomodate this.

They go in base plate down of course hahahahah you knew that.

If they are ones with massive spikes you are going to stake it is worth putting the stakes in as you plant the corms as this saves accidentally damaging the corm later on.

Once they have doesd down in the autumn you can digh them up and dry them off for the next year... where you are in Hull it might be a bit cold for them to survive in the ground.

Hope that helps.They can make a great display 

[Shamps]

Thanks for that Sunshineband,

I am going to give it bash this week am quite excited about em!

[Kristen]

I start some off in a tray with compost - about an inch under them, and an inch above.  They will start to make roots and shoot. That takes about 2 weeks, and gets us a bit closer to frost-free nights and gives me a slightly earlier flowering.

Also helps me stagger the flowering time - I plant the started-ones and the non-started ones out at the same time.

When you lift them in the Autumn they will have little bulblets around them.  These will take three years, or so, to flower.  I just keep them with the corms and then "sow them" in a drill, or similar, in the same area as the bulbs - then they get lifted at the end of the season too, and kept together with their parents (I have a few different colours)

[Shamps]

My Glad Corms as they are now (sorry the photos a bit focussy  )

[sunshineband]

You can see the tiny embryo corms that Kristen mentioned. Let's have some piccies when they are in flowers too, please 

[Kristen]

Here are some from last year's second crop

[Shamps]

Oooh theyre lovely    hope mine will be like that, I will have a good go at em'

[Shamps]

Hi folks,

Just wanted to say Im quite chuffed with me little self, some of my gladioli shoots (hope that terminology is correct?  ) have popped up 

[sunshineband]

  Good!!

[Shamps]

Hi folks,

Just thought I'd add a pic of the gladioli so far

[Shamps]

Hi all,

I know its taken ages to do this but I just wanted to post a pic of the gladioli flowers that grew and say thanks again for your advice with planting them.

[sunshineband]

Lovely colour.. well worth the wait