Gladiolus, or “glads” as they’re sometimes nicknamed are actually
popular flowers. Their tall, brightly colored flower spikes are showy in the
garden and last a long time when cut, opening gradually from the bottom of spike
upwards. Since I prefer to make open, relaxed looking flower arrangements, I don’t
grow glads for cutting. But I’ve grown them in a large flower border as
vertical accents and in the center of a small round bed filled with a tumble of
bright annuals. I can also visualize a fine gladiolus display with flowers
growing in a bed by them-selves along a fence. You might also grow them in rows
in the vegetable garden if your main goal is to have them for cut flowers. Glad
come in all colors but blue, and sizes very from six foot spikes to the dwarf “baby
glads”. Most baby varieties are hybrids of Gladiolus x colvilglads you can
sometimes find that are less artificial looking. Try G. byzantinus, a two foot
red flower. It is hardy to zone 5. How to Grow Gladiolus
Glads grow from corms. They’re planted in full sun and in
rich soil that should, ideally be more sandy than heavy. You can start planting
as soon as the danger of frost is over, then plant in succession every two
weeks till midsummer for a longer season of bloom. You should plant glads in
groups, digging some compost of 5-10-5 fertilizer into the soil, but add a
little soil over it. The corms should not rest directly on the fertilizer. The
corms should go about four inches deep, but you can plant tall varieties deeper
if you like for better support. Staking, or mounding the stems with soil may
also be necessary. I would plant no closer than six inches apart. I’d also
sprinkle a little ore fertilizer around the plants after they come up and once
again after picking. You should leave some foliage when you pick them so the
plant can continue to grow and form new corms. Water plants deeply once a week
during very dry spells. 
As soon as the first frost hits, dig the glad’s all up with
a spading fork and cut the stems back to one inch. Dry the plants for a few
weeks out of the sun, and then break off and discard the old corm, which will
have exhausted itself. Any new corms or cormels (immature corms) should be
saved and stored at 40 to 50degrees. Even gardeners in frost free areas dig up glad’s
and store them for a few months in a cool spot; the period of cold dormancy
makes them flower better the following season. If thrips are a problem grow
only early planting and dig them up before the thrips become active. Put moth
flake in the storage bags with the corms to keep thrips from wintering over;
dusting the corms with a fungicide is a good idea.
