Gladioli are beautiful and elegant, for which they are loved by gardeners, but at the same time they require special handling. Bulbs of a heat-loving crop can only be preserved by digging them up for the winter. They begin to prepare plants for wintering immediately after the gladioli bloom. Compliance with all stages of the preparation process will help keep the planting material in excellent condition. You only need to complete 5 steps.
Timely pruning of flower stalks
Gladioli flower stalks should be trimmed immediately after flowering. This will not only help keep the flowerbed tidy, but will also allow the plants to accumulate strength for the winter. If the flower shoots are not removed in time, seeds will begin to set on them, which will cause an outflow of nutrients from the bulb.
In this case, you cannot remove the leaves of gladioli. The leaf apparatus is involved in photosynthesis. It is through the leaves that the bulb receives nutrition and matures for wintering. The next 50 days after the flowers wither, the necessary substances accumulate in the underground part of the plant. Dig out the bulb when the leaves just begin to turn yellow, without waiting for them to completely wither.
Correct digging
When removing a corm from the ground, it is important to maintain its integrity. Do not stick a shovel into the ground near the base of the plant. It is necessary to make an indentation of 15–20 cm and pry up a clod of earth along with the bulb, after which, by pulling the leaves, the plant is brought to the surface.
The planting material is sorted directly on site; the bulbs are immediately placed in separate containers so as not to confuse the varieties in the future. The leaves are shortened with scissors, leaving no more than 2 cm in length. A tag with the name of the variety is placed in each box.
Selection of quality corms
Bulbs of each variety need to be further sorted to get rid of material with signs of rot or drying out. At the same time, the dug up children are also sorted; bulbs that are too small will not survive the winter. Their minimum size should be at least 6–8 mm.
In this case, only babies that have covering scales will be stored well. It is better to throw away old bulbs; they will no longer produce full blooms. Young large corms have a regular round shape, their diameter is usually equal to their height.
Processing of planting material
Before storing, gladioli corms are washed and disinfected. For washing, use warm water, you can add a little soap shavings to it. The easiest way to disinfect is soaking in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 20–30 minutes.
For the same purpose, drugs such as “Maxim” or “Fundazol” are used. The soaking procedure helps determine the quality of the babies. Full bulbs will fall to the bottom, and unsuitable bulbs will float on top.
Then the planting material is dried for a week at a temperature of about +30 °C. After this, the temperature is reduced to + 18 °C and the corms are kept in such conditions for another month.If it is not possible to ensure a temperature difference, the corms are dried at home at room temperature for 2 months.
Bookmark for storage
Before storing the planting material, inspect it again and separate the exfoliated scales from the bulbs (the shell cannot be removed from the bulbs). Cardboard boxes are most suitable for storing gladioli.
The corms are placed so that they do not touch each other. For more reliable storage, you can sprinkle the onions with wood ash and place cut garlic cloves between them. It is better to store babies in a kraft paper bag. Until spring, planting material should be stored at a temperature of + 3–5 °C and a humidity of 80%.
In winter, corms are periodically inspected in order to remove damaged specimens in a timely manner. It’s okay if the bulbs wrinkle a little by spring. Before planting, you just need to soak them in water. Proper preparation and optimal storage conditions for gladioli corms will make it possible to plant them next season and wait for luxurious inflorescences to appear.
