How to Plant Gladiolus Plants

Gladiolus is a very popular plant because its cut flowers remain fresh for 7 to 10 days. Due to its sword-like leaves, it is also called Sword Lily. Apart from this, it is also known by the names of Corn Flag and Water Fall Gladiolus. Gladiolus is a plant of the "Iridaceae" family.

Gladiolus is believed to have originated in Southern Africa, Central and Southern Europe and Mediterranean coastal regions, about 200 species of it are found there. It is estimated that its systematic cultivation started in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Its cultivation in India started at the end of the nineteenth century. It ranks fourth in the international trade of cut flowers. Apart from flowers, some species of South Africa also use its corms for food.

Gladiolus is a herbaceous perennial plant, which is propagated by seeds and corms. Corms are spherical in shape, knotty and covered with dark brown fibrous sheath. Leaves are sword-like and form phyllode, which emerges from a swollen basal stem. Inflorescence is a spike, flowers are dioecious, sessile and consist of asexual.

Classification

Its various species can be divided into four classes—

1. Purifoliaceae - This class includes 22 species, out of which 5-8 have fully developed, fan-shaped leaves.

2. Paucifoliaceae - This class includes 34 species, in which 2 to 5 fully developed, bifurcated or cyclically arranged leaves are found.

3. Unifoliaceae - This class includes 21 species. There is a fully developed basal leaf and the length decreases towards the top.

4. Exfoliaceae - This class includes 24 species, which have the shape of fully developed leaves at the time of flowering.

Varieties

There are details of about 30,000 varieties of Gladiolus, which have been developed through various interspecific and intraspecific hybridizations. Therefore, it is very difficult to classify them on the basis of species. On various basis of floriculturists, it is classified in the following manner-

1. On the basis of height -

(i) Dwarf varieties: The height of the plant is up to 50 cm.

(ii) Medium varieties: The height of the plants in these varieties is from 50 to 100 cm.

(iii) Tall varieties: The height of the plants in these varieties is more than 100 cm.

2. On the basis of inflorescence -

(i) Miniature flower diameter: Less than 6.5 cm.

(ii) Small flower diameter: 6.5 cm to 8.9 cm.

(iii) Average flower diameter: 8.9 cm to 11.4 cm.

(iv) Very long flower diameter: More than 14 cm.

3. On the basis of flowering time-

(i) Early blooming varieties- These varieties can start flowering within 60 days of planting of corms.

(ii) Medium blooming varieties- These varieties start flowering within 60 to 80 days of planting of corms.

(iii) Late blooming varieties- These varieties start flowering after 90 days of planting of corms.

4. On the basis of colour-

Gladiolus is also classified on the basis of colour which is as follows-

(i) White - Apsara, Dream Girl, Moon Frost, Eastern Star, White Wonder, White Oak, Lunar Mogamalier Pearl, White Goddess etc.

(ii) Cream - Bonnie, Classmate, Dairy Queen, Landmark, PartyRock etc.

(iii) Yellow - Bright Side, Bright Eye, Vasant Bahaar, Golden Harvest, Limelight, Royal Gold, Mukta, Manmohan, Manisha, Fatima, All Day Burn, Jackson Willow Gold.

(iv) Red - Agni Rekha, Oscar, Black Prince, Decius, Redventum, Jwala, Kalima, Manohar, Samyukta, Sadabahar etc.

(v) Orange - Arun, Archana, Desiso, Fox Fire, Coralsies, Gypsy Dancer, Setting Sun etc.

(vi) Pink - America Beauty, Brigadier Cliff, Golis, Sugarbaby, Summer Garden, Field Champion, Shobha etc.

(vii) Purple - Blue Bird, Blue Mist, China Blue, Enel Eyes etc.

(viii) Brown - Brown Beauty, Chocolate Chip, Little Tiger, Mestil Glow etc.

Improved Varieties

The characteristics of major popular varieties are mentioned below-

(A) Red Flowered Varieties

• American Beauty – Its florets are reddish pink, throat is white and anther is white-blue. Spikes are 70-75 cm long and each has 15-16 florets. The size of florets is 9.5-10.5 cm. Each corm produces 70-80 cormels.

• Eurovision – Florets are bright red. Spikes are 75-80 cm long and each has 18-20 florets. The size of florets is 10.0-10.55 cm. Each corm produces 25-30 cormels.

• Friendship – Its florets are carmine rose with yellow throat. Spike is 90-100 cm long. Each spike has 18-20 florets of 9.5-10.5 cm size. 15-20 cormels are produced from each corm.

• Hunting Song - Florets are scarlet red in colour. Throat is maroon with yellow markings. Spike is 95-100 cm long, which has 17-19 florets. Floret is about 10 cm in diameter. About 20 cormels are produced per corm.

• Mascagni - Florets are bright red in colour, whose diameter is 9-10 cm. Spike is 80-90 cm. Long, which produces 15-17 florets.

• Oscar – Florets are maroon in colour. Spike is 90-100 cm. Long, which contains 15-18 florets.

• Peter Pears – Florets are orange red in colour. Florets are 10.5 cm in diameter. Cormels produce about 25-30 cormels.

• Priscilla – Spike is pinkish mauve in colour. Which is white with yellowish tinge at the base. Which contains 14-15 florets. Florets have a diameter of 80-90 cm. Each corm produces 20-255 cormels.

• Rose Spire - Florets are of light pinkish mauve colour. Whose throat is cream white. Spike is 95-100 cm long. Which has 17-18 florets of 10.5-11.0 cm diameter.

• Rose Supreme - Florets are of light pink colour. Which have dark pink stripes and throat is cream like. Spike is 100-105 cm long and 16-18 florets of 105-11.0 cm diameter are found. Each corm produces 20-30 cormels.

• Applause - Florets are of dark pink colour. Their throat is red in colour. The spike is 90-100 cm long. From which 15-26 florets of 8.0-8.5 cm size are produced. Each corm produces about 20 cormels.

• Suchitra – The florets are light pink in colour. On which there are stripes of dark pink colour. The spike is 80-90 cm long. In which there are 16-18 florets of 9-10 cm diameter. Each corm produces 80-90 cormels.

Are Gladiolus Flowers Easy to Grow

(B) Yellow Flowered Varieties

• Anglia - Florets are yellow in colour. Spikes are 70-75 cm long and each has 13-14 florets of 9.5-10.0 cm diameter. Each corm produces about 10-15 cormels.1

• Yellow Stone - Florets are sulphur yellow in colour. Spikes are 70-75 cm long. Each spike has 14-16 florets of 10-11 cm diameter. Each corm produces 3-4 cormels.

• True Yellow - Florets are yellow in colour. Spikes are stout and 100-110 cm long. Each spike has 13-15 florets. Each corm produces 8-10 cormels.

• Nova Lux – Florets are yellow in colour and their throat is dark yellow and base is purplish. Spikes are 90-100 cm long. Which contain 16-18 cormels. Florets are 9-10 cm in size. Each corm produces 15-20 cormels.

• Jackson Ville Gold – Florets are light yellow in colour and their throat is bright yellow. Spikes are 70-75 cm long and contain 16-18 florets. Florets are 9.5-10.0 cm in size. Each corm produces 10-15 cormels.

• Jester - Florets are deep yellow in colour with red throat. Spike is 90-100 cm long and has 16-18 florets. Floret diameter is 9.5-10 cm. Each corm produces 15-20 cormels.

(C) Purple Coloured Florets Varieties -

• Wind Song – Florets are mauve in colour and throat is pale yellow. Spike is 90-95 cm long and each has 15-16 florets. Florets are 10-11 cm in diameter. Each corm produces 20-25 cormels.

• Her Majesty – Florets are deep purple in colour. Spike is 65-70 cm long and each has 13-14 florets. Florets are 8.0-8.5 cm in size. Each corm produces 20 cormels.

(D) White Coloured Flowers Varieties

• White Prosperity - Florets are white in colour. Spikes are 90-110 cm long and each spike has 18-20 florets of 9.5-10.5 cm diameter. Each corm produces 30-40 cormels.

• Sancerre - Florets are snow white. Spike is 85-90 cm long. Each spike has 17 florets of 10-11 cm size. Each corm produces about 50 cormels.

Climate

Gladiolus can be grown in different types of climate. For successful production of gladiolus, 16°C (low) and 23-40°C (high) temperature is required. There should be no rain during its flowering period. For its successful production, planting should be done at such a time that the weather should be favourable during its growing, flowering, corm and tuber production.

There should be open sunlight for gladiolus. Long day conditions increase the quality of its spikes. The plant chosen for this should have a fence or windbreak to protect it from strong winds.

Soil

Although Gladiolus can be grown in different types of soils. But fertile and well drained loamy soil is better than heavy soils. Texture of clay soil can be improved by adding organic manures. pH value should be neutral. Acidic/alkaline soils can be improved and then it can be cultivated. If 5-8 cm thick layer of sand is added to clay soil, then it becomes suitable for Gladiolus cultivation. It can also be cultivated in sandy soil having more organic matter.

The area where there is sufficient sunlight and water has good drainage is suitable for Gladiolus cultivation. Therefore, in hilly areas, places with southern slopes are considered best for its cultivation.

Propagation

Gladiolus is propagated by seeds, corms, cormels and tissue culture. These are mentioned below

Seed

Propagation by seeds is done for the development of new cultivars. This method is not used for commercial production of gladiolus. Ripe seeds are collected when they are completely dry and then the seeds are taken out and stored safely in desiccators for the next season. Gladiolus seeds do not have dormancy like corms and tubers. They germinate easily in suitable environment, their wings should be removed before sowing the seeds. By doing this, their germination takes place quickly and easily. Rubbing the seeds with a rough surface by hand removes the wings. Only bold and healthy seeds should be selected for sowing. Seeds should be sown in flat or raised beds in rows made at a distance of 3-5 cm in 15 cm distance. Then they should be covered with a layer of 2-3 cm thick leafmould. The bed should be irrigated as per the need so that the soil remains moist and the seeds can germinate easily.

The seeds usually germinate in 15-20 days. Each seed produces one leaf and a small tuber. The tubers are removed when they are fully developed. When the leaves of the plant start turning yellow. In this method, it takes 3 years to produce the main corm.

Corms

Corms & Cormels are used for commercial production of Gladiolus. A single corm of Gladiolus produces 1-3 Daughter Corms depending upon its size and variety, whereas large corms produce more Daughter Corms than smaller ones. According to North American Gladiolus Council, corms are classified into three categories based on their size viz. Large, Medium and Small. Large and medium sized corms are used for production of cut spikes whereas small sized corms are used as planting material for production of floral grade corms. Most varieties produce 1-2 floral grade corms from one corm for propagation in the next season, whereas Suchitra, Jacksonville Gold and American Bury produce 3-4 daughter corms per corm.

The number of daughter corms can be increased by treating the corms before sowing with a solution of etheral 500-5000 ppm per tuber. This treatment should be done only on large corms because treating small corms delays flowering and also shortens the length of the spike.

How to Plant and Grow Gladiolus Bulbs

Cormels

Propagation of Gladiolus by cormels is cheaper and quicker. Because cormels are free from diseases and viruses; even if corms are affected by them, cormels propagated from cormels are healthier than cormels!

In sandy soils, cormels are grown on level ground, whereas in heavy soils, they are grown on ridges due to poor drainage. However, cormels should not be grown in heavy soils. Cormels should be planted in rows/ridges at a distance of 15-20 cm and at a distance of 3-5 cm. They should be planted at a depth of 2.5-3.0 cm. In the plains of northern India, they should be planted in mid-September, whereas in the hilly areas, they should be planted in spring. Before planting, they should be soaked in 15-20°C warm water for 24 hours. Doing so ensures uniform germination. The diseased tubers float on the water and should be removed.

Tissue Culture

This method is suitable for multiplication of new varieties as elite cultivars are produced from disease free small cornels and germ plasm. In this method, buds or spike buds or stem or flower buds of corms are used for cormel production. High quality tissues are produced from buds or spike buds of corms. As there is no problem of callus formation in these, shoot buds are formed directly. Explants are rinsed with detergent in tap water. Thereafter, they are washed with running tap water for 10-15 minutes. After this, the surface is disinfected with 0.1% Sodium hypochlorite (2.5% W/V free chlorine) or Mercuric chloride (0.1%) for 2 minutes.

The sterilized explants are grown in autoclaved MS medium containing sucrose (30 g/liter), myo-insitol (100 mg/liter) and benzoyl amino purine (BAP 5 mg/liter) gel agar (7 g/liter). The temperature of these cultures is to be maintained at 20-25°C and 16 hours of light (about 3000 lux intensity) and 8 hours of darkness.

When the shoot bud culture is established, they are to be subcultured on BAP medium 5 mL/liter. Shoot buds are elongated on MS medium of BAP free culture. 10 buds should be planted in each bud clump in this medium. These buds start elongating in 7-10 days and become 4-6 cm long in 4 weeks.

Preparation of Land

Ploughing should be done with a soil turning plough 30-40 days before planting the corms. After that 2-3 ploughings should be done with a cultivator or plough. After every ploughing, the land should be levelled. The width of the beds should be about 1.5 metres. Sandy soil requires more nutrients. Single super phosphate and muriate of potash at the rate of 200 grams per square metre should be mixed with about 0.125 cubic metre of compost or cow dung manure in one square metre of land and then irrigated 15 days before planting the corms. But nitrogen should be given by the method of top dressing 45 days after planting the corms at the rate of 100 grams per square metre.

To grow gladiolus in pots, soil, compost and half-decayed leaf manure are mixed in the ratio of 3:1:1 and used to fill the pots. For good flowering and corm production, 15 grams of single super phosphate and 15 grams of muriate of potash should be mixed per pot 15 days before planting the corms.

Proper time for planting corms

The time for planting corms depends on where it is being grown. In plain areas, the best time for planting it is mid-September to mid-October, but for obtaining commercial flowers, corms can be planted from November to May and from September to the end of November. This can be done by planting different types of corms; for example, flowers are obtained quickly from large corms and similarly, continuous flowers can be obtained as per requirement by planting corms at depths of 5, 10 and 15 cm and by selecting varieties.

If it is planted in flat beds and the distance is kept 30 cm x 20, then 1,50,000 plants are obtained per hectare. For more plants, 80,000 to 1,00,000 corms are required per acre. If water logging is a problem, corms should be planted in ridges.

In hilly areas, corms are planted from March to June, which gives flowers from June to October. Corms are planted in rows at a depth of 8 to 15 cm and at a distance of 15 to 30 cm. The distance between the rows can also be 30 to 40 cm. For growing small cormels, they are planted at a depth of 6-7 cm, at a distance of 20 cm and in rows at a distance of 3-4 cm.

Irrigation

Irrigation of gladiolus depends on weather, type of soil and rainfall. Sandy loam soils require irrigation at an interval of 7-10 days. Irrigation should not be done at the time of maturation of corms.

Plants planted in pots should be irrigated daily.

Plant Protection

Weed Control

Many weeds grow along with the gladiolus crop which compete with the plants for moisture, nutrients, sunlight, space etc. Due to which the growth, development and flower production of the plants are adversely affected. Therefore, weeding should be done as per the need. The work of ridges on the plants is done at that time. The length of the organic plant becomes 20-30 cm. In any case, it is very important to keep the plants upright with the support of a wooden stick before flowering.

Keep removing weeds from the pots also so that their growth and development continues well. Also, high quality flowers can be obtained.

Insect Control

Pest

Control

Aphid

To prevent this, 0.1% Malathion should be sprayed.

Thrips

To prevent this, 0.1% Monocrotophos should be sprayed.

Cut worm

To prevent this, 0.1% Metasitox should be sprayed.

Stem borer

A crystal of penta dichlorobenzene should be placed in the hole made by the insect and the hole should be closed with wet soil.

White caterpillar

Use Thimet 10 G in the field before planting the tuber.

Termite

To prevent this, spray 0.2% Kelthane.

Disease Control

Diseases	Control
Botritis Soft rot	When corms are stored below 13-15°C, they become white and spongy. Circular brown spots develop on the lower side of leaves in the field. To control this, spray 0.2% Dithane M-45 twice a week.
Fusarium Corm rot	This is the most dangerous disease of Gladiolus. It affects corms equally both in the field and the godown. Excessive humidity, heat, lack of air and use of nitrogenous fertilizers promote the spread of this disease. Plants remain small. Corms rot. Leaves and stems become crooked. Plants do not flower. Outer leaves turn yellow. To prevent this disease, before planting the corms, treat them with water of 50°C temperature for 30 minutes. The soil of the field is treated with Thiamet or Furadan D at the rate of 3 grams per square meter. 0.2% solution of Venlate or Bavistin should be sprayed on the plants from time to time. The tips of the leaves turn red and dry up. The reason for this is the high amount of chloride or fluoride in the irrigation water.
Tip Burn	To prevent this, irrigation should be done only after getting the water tested.

Picking of Flowers & Digging of Corms

The flowers are cut with a sharp knife along with the spike in the morning while there is still dew on them. Keep in mind that the first 2-3 flowers should bloom on each spike. In the crop planted in September-October, the corms can be dug out in March-April. Irrigation is stopped about 90 days before digging and the digging is done when the plants start bending. While digging, care should be taken that the corms are not damaged. After digging, the corms should be dried in the shade and cleaned.

Maintenance of flowers

About 7 flowers bloom in commercial varieties. While cutting the spike, keep in mind that 1 to 3 flowers should show colour, but the buds should be firm. After cutting, at least 4 leaves should remain on the plant so that the corm can develop and mature more. Immediately after cutting, the spike should be kept in a room with a temperature of 6-7°C by immersing the cut part in water. If the flowers have to be stored for a longer period, then if the room temperature is 2.3 to 2.8°C, then the flowers can be stored for a week, whereas for keeping the flowers for one or two days, they should be kept at a temperature of 4.5°C.

To keep the spikes fresh for a longer time (Enhancing Vase-life), it is good to pulse them for 24 hours in a solution of 20% sucrose and hydroxy quinoline citrate. Cut flower spikes can be stored at 1-2°C for up to 2 weeks.