Gladiolus: care and cultivation. Advice from experienced gardeners

Modern gladioli (care and cultivation of them -a kind of challenge for any beginner gardener) are the result of many years of selection work. The first varieties were characterized by the presence of very weak stems, as well as loose inflorescences with small flowers having smooth margins. Today, everything has changed dramatically: the stems are noticeably stronger and now they can hold on to the weight of a dense and often two-row inflorescence. Many large-flowered varieties acquired corollas with a diameter of up to 14 centimeters and even more. The petals also changed their shape and became corrugated, which gave the plant beauty and refinement.

Gladiolus: care and cultivation

In any garden, these flowers, above all, are verydemanding of location and lighting. They need complete protection from gusts of wind and maximum bright illumination. And the north of latitude, where they are grown, the more light they need. In the southern strip of Russia, gladioli can tolerate a slight shading, while retaining their unique decorative properties. In addition, these plants are extremely demanding on the soil. They need a loose, well-drained land with a slight acidity. On the other soil gladioli often get sick and bloom much worse.

To plant the corms of this plant begincook ahead of time, about two to three weeks. Usually this happens at the very beginning of April. Gladiolus, care and cultivation of which - a rather troublesome process, must be cleaned of scales before planting. In this case, the plant will germinate a couple of days earlier. In addition, this procedure will identify defects in planting material and some diseases.

Purified corms spread on warmilluminated place and wait until small bumps of the root system appear on their bottom. Before planting, they must be soaked in a weak manganese solution and can be planted in the ground. Do this in the middle or late spring, when the earth is warm enough and will depart from the winter frosts.

Planted gladioli, care and cultivation of which- quite an interesting and fascinating process, to a depth of 2 to 5 centimeters (depending on the size of the bulb). The distance between the bulbs should not be less than 15 centimeters.

Watering and top dressing

It should be remembered that these plants requirecorrect care. In dry and warm weather, they need abundant watering. This is due to the very deep bedding of the roots. In addition, after watering it is useful to loosen and cover the ground around the flowers.

One of the most pressing questions in the process of growing these plants is the following: how to feed the gladioli? Basically, they need three types of fertilizer:

• nitrogen - at the very beginning, before the appearance of real leaves;
• complex - until the appearance of the 6th sheet;
• phosphate-potassium fertilizers - in the period of inflorescence.

When gladioli blossom, it is trulyan unforgettable sight! Such beauty is a worthy reward to any gardener, who took up the difficult task of growing them. However, it should be remembered that gladiolus have very heavy inflorescences. That's why to preserve their beauty, they need to tie to small stakes.