2006-08-31 05:38:37 · 5 answers · asked by Tammy 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
No, wait until the fall to dig up your gladiolas. (I would cut them off slightly above the bulb.) Store your glads in a dry, dark place for winter. The gladiola plant is very much still alive and making food for itself after your flowers die, just is most any other flowering plant in nature. If you want to cut the flower stem off (so that no spent flowers are showing) after your glads stop flowering, that is fine, and it keeps the plant tidy, but leave the leaves alone -- they are making food for the entire plant.
2006-08-31 06:25:42 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cut your flowers during the coolest part of the day. Select firm-stemmed blooms that are just ready to open. Hold the knotted end of your string below the bloom of the first flower you cut. Make the cut an inch or two below the bottom of the length of string. You can continue using the string as a measure or just be sure to cut the rest of your flowers at approximately the same length or longer. Strip any leaves that would lie below the water line of your vase. To keep each flower from immediately sealing its wound, plunge the stem into your bowl or bucket and cut about one inch from the stem while holding it in the lukewarm water.
2006-08-31 05:47:38 · answer #2 · answered by Smartypants 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wait until the first hard frost kills the leaves and stems. Then, dig up the corms, snip off the stems and leaves, brush off the soil and let them dry out for a couple of days...up to 1 week.
Store in a cool dark place (like a dry basement) in a bag full of woodshavings or peat moss until spring. Check on them once in awhile to be sure they're not drying out too much or collecting too much moisture and rotting.
2006-08-31 09:18:01 · answer #3 · answered by redneckgardendiva 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cut the stalks completely down but leave the leaves. The leaves is where the food for the bulbs will be next year. Make sure you dig up all of your glad bulbs before the ground freezes.
2006-08-31 08:30:26 · answer #4 · answered by couchP56 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The advice that I have seen says to leave at least four green leaves near the base so that the bulb can continue to store energy for next year.
2006-08-31 07:40:35 · answer #5 · answered by Cornpatch 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋