When should you plant gladiola bulbs in Maryland?

Question

Recently purchased gladiola bulbs but the card doesn't say when they should be planted. I live in Maryland and this winter has been relatively mild. Also, do I have to dig up the bulbs after the blooming season?

Answer 1

~From early spring until June, in two week intervals so you always have blooms. Also plant them in groups of 6, and make sure you plant them deep enough so they stand tall instead of falling over.

Answer 2

You plant after the danger of frost. I don't think Maryland climate is mild enough for them to winter over. I'd dig them out after the foliage is brown and crisp and store them in the cellar. Cut off the dead foliage and leave them in the sun for a couple of days to make sure they are all dry.

Answer 3

PLANTING.
Soils, where bulbs are to be planted, should be spaded and thoroughly pulverized to a minimum depth of 12 inches. If the soil below this depth has a tendency to for a "hardpan," it should be loosened with a pick to an additional 10 to 12 inches and well-rotted organic matter added. Planting dates vary from one section of the country to another and it can vary in any one section. It has been found that, in general, spring flowering bulbs planted in early fall do better than those planted in late fall. This early planting causes the bulbs to develop an extensive root system before cold weather. This enables them to start off better as temperatures rise in early spring. Planting should not be made later than the last of October. Late September plantings would be more desirable. Although the planting dates given above are considered best, daffodils planted in January will, in most cases, flower the same year.

In sections where the ground is likely to become deeply frozen, a mulch of straw or other material 3 to 4 inches deep will be helpful to tulips, daffodils. bulbous iris, and hyacinths. Place the mulch over the bulbs immediately after the ground freezes and remove it when the first growth appears above the ground in the spring.

The type of soil will determine the depth of planting. Plantings in sandy loams should be made deeper than in tight or clay soils. In the average sandy loams, snowdrops and crocus should be planted with the tops of the bulbs approximately 2 inches below the surface.

Bulbous iris should be planted 3 inches and hyacinths 4 inches below the surface. In light sandy soil, tulips have responded well to deep planting. Some of the best results at the Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Maryland, have been from planting tulips 6 to 7 inches from top of bulb to soil surface.

Daffodils should be planted 6 to 8 inches from base of bulb to soil surface. If tulips, daffodils and bulbous iris are to be used as cut flowers, they should always be planted in rows to enable weed control. If used as a border planting around shrubbery, they should be planted in clumps with varieties kept separate. Daffodils and crocus may be planted around and near trees in grassy plots.

Answer 4

they could nonetheless improve plant them a minimum of 6 inches deep and two times the width of the bulb and no they do no longer could be lifted in the autumn I circulate away mine in all iciness and that i stay in zone 5