Proud handsome - gladiolus

This plant bears its name from the Latin word ‘gladius ’, in translation - a sword or a sword, which is quite true: the long xiphoid leaves of the gladiolus resemble these types of weapons. The origin of gladiolus are southern. Large flowers in the shape of a funnel are collected in spike-shaped inflorescences from 30 to 150 cm in length. The color of these flowers is very diverse. Gladiolus, although a perennial plant, but not wintering. The plant is propagated by corms and seeds. To date, breeders have bred more than 10,000 varieties of gladiolus.

If you want to engage in the cultivation of gladiolus, then first you need to purchase a good planting material. Several plant varieties should be selected taking into account the flowering time, in order to have constantly flowering plants until the fall.

The area for gladioli should be lit throughout the daylight hours and closed from the cold north wind. Any land can be used.

The roots of flowers are able to penetrate deep into the ground, and therefore it is necessary to dig up about two bayonets. During digging, mineral fertilizer should be applied.

Prepare seed material three weeks before planting. Corms should be soaked first in a solution of chlorophos (20 g per 10 liters of water) then in a solution of potassium permanganate (1 g per 10 liters of water), each procedure should be carried out for 30 minutes.

After the earth warms up to 10 degrees, the bulbs are planted to a depth of 10-15 cm.The distance between plants should be at least 20 cm.

Within 20 days, the first shoots will appear. After germination, regular weeding and loosening is mandatory, all this time should be abundantly watered. When a second leaf appears, you can limit yourself to weeding and watering only.

In the process of growth, gladiolus needs to be fed. In the first month, a urea solution (30 g per 10 l of water), during flowering - nitrophoska (30 g per 10 l of water), after flowering - a solution of superphosphate (15 g per 10 l of water).

In the second half of September, dig up the corms and immediately rinse, then place in a solution of chlorophos and then in a solution of potassium permanganate, after drying, lay in a cool place to store.