Bulbs of all varieties and types of gladioli, like dahlia tubers, do not tolerate frost and die. Therefore, before the first frosts come, you need to take care of your flowers. Many novice gardeners have a question: “When to dig up gladiolus bulbs?” As a rule, gardeners remember that they need to prepare the bulbs for the winter when it starts to get colder.
Depending on the region and weather conditions, they start doing this from the second half of September. There are varieties that are dug up already with the onset of the first frost.
In any case, regardless of the variety and type of your gladioli, you need to remember and try to take into account the nuance that at least 30 days must pass from the moment of flowering to the moment when the tubers ripen. This is the minimum period, if you do it earlier, the corm will not have time to form and most likely will not “overwinter” well. There are situations when you see that the plant starts to hurt, then early digging of the bulb can save the gladiolus, while the corm itself must be washed in special "healing" solutions.
When to dig up gladiolus bulbs?
Experienced flower growers, sharing their secrets of growing gladioli, often mention that the first thing to do is to dig bulbs of dark varieties (black, purple, brown-cherry) and varieties in lavender-blue shades. And the last ones to dig out are the children who have grown up over the summer.
Need to guess when to dig up gladiolus bulbs. It is best if it is dry weather. And if it rains at this time, you will need to wash the bulbs more thoroughly to remove dirt and dirt.
How to dig up gladioli?
In order to dig up gladioli, you will need a garden pitchfork or a small shovel. Carefully dig the flower and pry it with a pitchfork. It is impossible to pull and swing the plant by the foliage. So it will be possible to damage the bulb itself and tear off the children from it, which will remain in the ground. They remain viable in the ground for several years in a row and will germinate in a chaotic manner, spoiling the appearance of the flower bed.
Preparing bulbs for storage
After you dig up the bulbs, you will need to remove the stems and wash them thoroughly. Then you need to process the future planting material from pests. The most common pest that loves gladioli very much isthrips. It very often damages bulbs during wintering. In order to avoid this, you need to lower the cooked tubers for 15 minutes into a solution of "Karbofos" or another drug. After that, repeat the procedure for a few minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
How to store gladiolus bulbs in winter?
The bulbs should dry for at least 20 days. Before sending gladioli for wintering, all bulbs need to be reviewed in a special way: remove roots and scales.
Bulbs are best preserved in a double nylon (dark) stocking in a dry, cool place. For this, a basement, garage, cellar is suitable, most importantly, do not allow sub-zero temperatures in this room. In other words, the "grandmother's" method.
Well, now you know when to dig up gladiolus bulbs and how to store them in winter.
