Growing Nicely

gardening, sustainability, growing food, plants and flowers.

  • Home
  • About
  • Garden Writing
  • Garden Services
    • A Garden Consultation to Reveal the Beauty of your Garden.
  • The Blog
    • Sustainable Gardening
    • Growing Food
    • Gardening & Plants
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Visits
  • Contact Me

How to grow gorgeous gladioli

July 25, 2014 By Jill Anderson

 

how to grow gladioli. www.growingnicely.co.uk

There was a time when gladioli were deeply unfashionable, and although they haven’t become quite as trendy as their very stylish sisters the dahlia, they’re well on their way.

They are so easy to grow, plant them as corms in spring and they’ll re-appear, with only a small amount of care, every year.

I grew them for the first time this year and have been cutting them for the last couple of week, even a single flower spike in a tall, narrow vase look lovely.

How to grow gladioli:

Planting:

The best time to plant them is in March/April when the soil is warming up.

I planted mine in the greenhouse first and then transplanted them into the garden, but it’s much simpler to plant them directly into the garden.

gladioli growing in the greenhouse.

Dig a trench or large planting hole about 15cm/6in deep and fill the base with home-made compost or well-rotted manure, this gives the corms a nice rich soil to grow in that won’t dry out too easily. Pop them in, cover with soil, firm this gently down and water them.

After-care:

Water them if if’s very dry and warm and tie them to a cane as they grow to keep the flower spike straight.

The corms need to be fattened up so they’ll flower next year, simply water them with a diluted measure of Tomorite or comfrey tea once a week for four weeks when they start flowering.

They can be left in the ground in the south of England over winter, just give them a nice thick covering of compost to insulate them against the cold.

Buy them from  Crocus or any bulb nursery.

Jill

Related posts:

cut flowers from the garden in January- euphorbia Humpty DumptyCut flowers from the garden in January Covent Garden Flower Market London, wedding flowers,Friday gardening favourites. Delightful dahlias and how to grow them. The wisley flower show - www.growingnicely.co.ukA tour of the Wisley Flower Show 2014

Related posts:

cut flowers from the garden in January- euphorbia Humpty DumptyCut flowers from the garden in January Covent Garden Flower Market London, wedding flowers,Friday gardening favourites. Delightful dahlias and how to grow them. The wisley flower show - www.growingnicely.co.ukA tour of the Wisley Flower Show 2014
Filed Under: Blog, Gardening, Plants Tagged With: cut flowers, how to grow gladioli

Never Miss A Post

Subscribe for updates to be delivered straight to your inbox.

plants-gardens-growing-eating

Jill-profile image

Hello, I’m Jill Anderson.
This is where you’ll find good, solid information about gardening, growing fruit & vegetables and how to keep it all looking good.
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
The healing, calming power of nature in one photo. The healing, calming power of nature in one photo.
These wonderful autumn colours won’t be around for much longer. But that’s ok, because now is what matters, & their fleeting beauty makes them even more precious.
It’s easy to see how being among trees & nature is so beneficial for our health & wellbeing. 
Have a great Sunday.
Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it lo Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it look spectacular with this bold front door.
Today has been hard work, after a lovely time last week in Norfolk. The north coast there is spectacular. Realising these last few months, that there are so many beautiful places here. 
Have a nice evening.
Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Vis Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Visiting to see the Anish Kapoor sculptures, which are amazing, but unprepared for the beauty of the grounds & garden. 
Such a treat, worth coming to Norfolk for this alone!
Hope you’re keeping well, & managing to smile some of the time. x
P.S. more of Houghton Hall & Anish Kapoor on my stories
We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberrie We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberries, after coffee & cake, sitting in the churchyard - the cafe was full, & the churchyard is a quiet, peaceful spot..... as you’d expect.
-
One little advantage of lockdown is walking so much more, rather than using the car. Though it shouldn’t have taken something as momentous as this, for me to change bad habits 🙁
Hope you’re weekend is going well.
My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from a random clump of hazel on the garden. Now looking much better covered in winter squash plants, so you can’t see just how ramshackle it is. I like to think it has a certain home-spun charm .

Great for small space gardening, imagine how much room you need to grow these without vertical supports.

I’ve got 2 Uchiki kuri, lovely nutty flavour.
1 Turks turban, for its flamboyant shape & colours, though it also tastes good.
One unknown, grown by my grandsons in their homeschooled science lesson.
Close-ups of the squash over on my stories.
Stay cool my friends x
I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium reg I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium regale) which is flowering right outside our bedroom window. 
It gets sun for about 4 hours only, you can order the bulbs now for planting in September. It’ll reappear every year & waft delicious scent around your garden, or through your windows.
Have a very happy Monday x
It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be said for fabulous seasonal flowers that haven’t travelled thousands of miles ...... & are wonderful for biodiversity
A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-s A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-summer!) & it’s, mostly, all growing nicely.

Spinach, courgettes & garlic in shot here. 
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday x
Hope is a decision I’ve thought long & hard abou Hope is a decision
I’ve thought long & hard about how to view the tumult in the world we’re living in now. 
The only thing that works for me, is to choose hope.

It’s a tall order, but avoiding mainstream news & speculation helps avoid the anxiety, that’s often waiting in the wings.

One day soon there’ll be grandchildren clambering over this again.
Follow on Instagram

Don't miss any posts!

Enter your email address and receive notifications of new posts.

Archive

Copyright © 2021 Growing Nicely | Privacy Policy

Please note this website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent for cookies to be used. For further information on use of cookies please refer to our privacy policy Find out more.