GROWING GLADIOLUS WITH EARTHWORMS

HERE ARE SOME POPULAR CULTIVARS OF GLADIOLUS / iridaceae:
Perennial corms
Gladiolus are popular and classic cut flowers, sword-shaped leaves and tubular flowers. Some popular varieties are: G. byzantinus / G. communis byzantinus– 3 feet tall, burgundy, pink, white, rosy purple with white stripe, G. callianthus / acidanthera bicolor / abyssinian sword lily-2 – 3 feet tall, bearing 2 to 10 fragrant, creamy white, with lower segment chocolate brown flowers. Each flower is 2 – 3 inches wide, 4 – 5 inches long and excellent cut flowers. G. cardinals – 3 feet tall, red with white, G. nanus – 2 feet red, pink white and bicolors, G. primulinus / G. dalenii-3 feet tall, african species with hooded, primrose yellow flowers. G. tristis – 2 feet, white streaked with purple fragrant flowers open at night.

HOW TO DO ORGANIC MIX FOR CULTURE OF GLADIOLUS AND THE USE OF EARTHWORMS:
The following is a simple mixture for bedding of Gladiolus:
1 part peat moss.
1 part other organic material such as earthworm castings, compost. Leaf mold or Nitrogen stabilized bark.  1 part builders’ sand.
After preparing the organic mix, dig and amend the soil where you plan to plant your Gladiolus with this mix. Plant the Gladiolus into it, cover with an inch of soil and water immediately and thoroughly, shade the plant for a few days with cardboard.  Dig a small ½ inch hole beside the plant the day after planting and put a dozen live earthworms into it, then cover the earthworm with soil so that birds won’t come and pick them up right away.

HOW TO PLANT AND CARE FOR GLADIOLUS:
Plant small-flowered hybrids in autumn and plant large garden hybrids mid-winter to spring or even early summer. For the best looking plants and flowers, purchase corms that are high crowned for their width; broad, flat corms are older and less vigorous. Choose a bright, sunny planting area, preferably with sandy loam soil; then dig and mix a generous amount of organic matter such as earthworm castings with some live earthworms and compost, into the soil before you set out the corms. Plant corms according to the height of each corms usually four times the thickness of the corms for heavy soil and six times the thickness of the corms for lighter soil. Corms bloom 65 to 100 days after planting. For cut flowers, cut spikes when lowest buds of the stem begin to open. Keep at least four leaves on the plant to build up stored energy in corms.

Gladiolus is a fairly demanding plant with regards to nutrient and moisture level requirements. Water regularly from the time that leaves emerge until the blooming season ends. Leave at least four leaves on each plant if you cut the flower-bearing stem. This will build up the store energy in the corms for the next years’ bloom. Stems that are left to bloom in the garden should be cut right beneath the lowest flower after the blossoms fade. Any uncut stems with faded flowers will set seeds, diverting energy from the storage in the corms. When the leaves begin to turn yellow, dig plants out, shaking off soil, and cut stems and leaves off just above each corm. Destroy the old foliage cuttings to prevent the proliferation of thrips and other pest. During rainy summer, it is advisable to dig a little earlier to prevent botrytis infection that can ruin corms while in storage.

HOW TO STORE CORMS IN WINTER:
Place corms in a flat, dry and dark surface. Let them dry for 2 to 3 weeks. After which carefully examine and discard any corms that has lesions, irregular blotches, or any discoloration. Small cormels are the same variety as the old ones and will bloom in 2 to 3 years.  Dip all corms in a 10 percent solution of chlorine bleach with water.  Then put them in onion sacks or in discarded nylon stockings and hang them up or put them single layer in a cardboard box, in a dry and cool place of between 40 degree to 50 degree F / 4 degree to 10 degree C. until planting season.  If you live in a warm climate, place the corms in cold storage to ensure that they enter dormancy.

HOW TO LENGTHEN THE BLOOMING SEASON OF GLADIOLUS:
Here is a helpful tip to lengthen the blooming season of your Gladiolus; since each gladiolus corm blooms approximately 100 days after planting, start planting the Gladiolus corms after the last frost, then plant more Gladiolus corms after every two weeks until two month’s before the first frost. This way you will have produced a longer plentiful and beautiful blooming season.