hello. does anyone have any experience/advice growing gladiolas in florida, or anyone who has grown them successfully. thanks
gladiolas in florida
I'm going to bump this up, as I am a new Florida gardener and have the same question.
I have no experience with glads in Florida, but I know that many of the glads that florists get in the northern parts of the country during the winter come from Florida.
Glads aren't very hard to grow really. If you can find bulbs in your area, you shouldn't have any problems growing them now. Bloom times for glads are about 65-80 days, so planting them now will help you beat the summer heat w/o a lot of extra watering. Plant your bulbs about 6" deep and hill them later on when the plants are about 8-10" tall. Mix up your planting. Plant some of the bulbs right side up, some side ways and some upside down. It will give you a longer bloom time.
I don't dare plant them like that. I have enough trouble getting them to bloom here in our short season as it is. lol. but it surely is a neat idea. I have to get mine started now. Gives them a 2 month head start on going outside.
Mary, how do you start them early? Do you plant them in dirt in pots indoors?
Yup. I just put them in individual little cups, like 12 oz dixie cups. then plant them out in late (very late) May. they are still pretty late bloomming. I would have to check my pictures (I taken pics almost every day during the summer) to see exactly when and whom. Usually it is Atom first. I tried potting them in larger pots and put them on the deck but they (Abyssinians) didn't do as well as they did in the ground up next to the footings for warmth.
absolutely you can grow in FL, inground or in containers. they rot easily so watch the water. Also you may want to plant in the back, as they tend to flop and also the foliage gets ratty after flowers are spent. When I tug at them and the dead foliage detaches easily, then I remove all. In the right spot, they become great naturalizers. Planting a dozen/sq ft (or 12" container) makes a statement. 3-5 bulbs, not so much. Since they're economical, I never plant less than 25 bulbs as otherwise they can get lost.
thanks vossner! I forgot about this thread..
I feel better about growing glads here now, I just need to find a good bag of bulbs! in fact a house nearby grows them but those have been there previously and i guess they just needed some care to put out blooms.
At one time Fl. raised a large portion of the country's cut glads. I'm not sure that many are being grown now. I encourage you to look at our North American Gladiolus Council Website www.gladworld.org which contains a lot of information on gladiolus culture and much more. I suspect the key to growing in the south is planting at the correct time. Perhaps Vossner can suggest a successful time to plant. I do know a lot of the commercial planting was done in the fall.
The following link to a paper that is 60 years old may be of help in the best time to plant and cultural practices. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00028042/00001/1x
good luck on growing this lovely flower. I'm sure you will want to grow some of the modern glads shown on our website.
Lowell