Spring Plant Swappers Mad for Glads?

Another Group Buy opportunity, this time for Gladiolus!

Like the Lily buy, this offer is open to people who are planning to go to the spring plant swap, or people who can swing by my place in Frederick after the first week in May to pick up their part of the order. My apologies to others who would like to participate, but I've just been too distracted lately to get into mailing bulbs. Of course, you can always team up with somebody else who is willing to pick up your bulbs, maybe even to mail them.

A lot of the Gladiolus varieties on the ADR site are listed as available in trays of 500 and not in smaller bags. I don't think we, even as a group, can use 500 of any one kind of gladiolus!

However, ADR also offers "collections" with several varieties of gladiolus (separately bagged) as well as mixed assortments that might work for us.

Let's try it and see if we can split up a collection between several of us. Worst case, we'll drop the glads from our spring order and stick with the lilies.

Bear with me, I'm going to add some details in the next post, and then we can get started. As with the lilies, we're going to start with a tray of glads that I choose, because I figure that's my reward for organizing a wholesale purchase. :-)

Like the lilies, these are coming from ADR bulbs. They said size on their gladiolus corms is 14/16 (nice, should look about the size of a big daffodil bulb).

Gladiolus corms can be planted a few at a time, every week or so from June (maybe May) through July, for a long season of bloom. Planting them deeper than usual may help stems stay upright and may also allow them to come back year after year without being lifted in fall. (Works for me, anyway, but your mileage may vary, so lift a few to hedge your bet.)

I like the "something for everybody" variety in their collections, so we'll start with a "collection" and also an "assortment" and see how this goes!

Collection Unit 180 Large Flowering Gladiolus, 8 varieties with 40 bulbs of each variety.

$1.20 for 5 corms. Please order in multiples of 5, up to 25 corms ($6), putting each variety name on a separate line of your post.
example post
10 'My Love'
25 'Wine & Roses' (I would take 40 of these if available)
15 'Gypsy Baron'

Make a NEW post if you have changes or additions to your order.
example post
Oops, I changed my mind and want to change 'Gypsy Baron' to 'Traderhorn' and also get a few 'Green Woodpecker'.
DROP 15 'Gypsy Baron'
ADD 15 'Traderhorn'
ADD 5 'Green Woodpecker'
Thanks!

You can pay for your ADR order (lilies and/or gladiolus) at the "Think Spring!" seed swap or via PayPal. I'll post a list of totals or Dmail everybody with their total.

If you want more than 25, I will note your request in parentheses and try to fulfill it if we go to a second tray, but I don't want to "sell out" of a variety with one order.

2. They have several "assortment" trays, but the one that seemed a little different to me than the usual mix from the box store was the pastel assortment. If there's interest, we can try adding a tray of this assortment, also. This is a tray of 500, so I don't want to be bagging them 5 at a time.

Pastel Assortment $1.50 per bag of 10 assorted corms or $3.50 for a bag of 25. ($7 for 50, $10.50 for 75, $14 for 100.. please don't make me crazy by ordering 65 LOL)

The list of varieties and availability will be in the next post.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I don't have a final invoice, and I am rounding off for easier math. I'm pretty sure costs won't be more than this. If there are either a few dollars or a few bulbs left over at the end, I'll divide them up or put them on the gift table. If you have any concerns about this, please Dmail me.

This message was edited Jan 28, 2013 7:46 PM

Unit 180 contains the following varieties. Look one post up for pricing and how-to-order. Not all are available as single varieties from ADR, so I will be adding links with descriptions/photos.

Home Coming, (40 30) description in PF says "Ruffled gleaming white with a lavender cast and center." http://www.stoygarden.com/Photos%20Flowers/Dahlia%20&%20Glad%20Photos/D&G%2004.htm
10 Critter, 5 Roses

Mary Housley, (40 30) cream with orange-red blotches, http://www.shootgardening.co.uk/plant/gladiolus-mary-housley
10 Critter, 5 Roses,

Traderhorn, (40 35) scarlet-red, white center, attention-grabber http://www.adrbulbs.com/plantname/Gladiolus-large-flowering-Traderhorn
10 Critter, 5 Roses,

Wine & Roses, (40 30) rose-pink with wine blotch, white feathering, http://allthingsplants.com/plants/view/148756/Hybrid-Gladiola-Gladiolus-x-gandavensis-Wine-and-Roses/
10 Critter, 5 Roses,

Blue Isle, (40 30) deep violet-blue, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/90240/
10 Critter, 5 Roses,

Gipsy Baron,(40 30) I'll have to ask about this one!
10 Critter, 5 Roses,

Green Woodpecker, (40 30) bright chartreuse http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/162710/
10 Critter, 5 Roses,

My Love, (40 30) light pink with magenta-feathered edges, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/285295/
10 Critter, 5 Roses,

Pastel Mix (500 450) please order 10 or multiples of 25
50 Critter, CANCELLED

OK -- We're open for orders! :-)

Please -- Do NOT pay until I finalize totals for the ADR sales.



This message was edited Feb 14, 2013 6:55 PM

I'm going to start by putting myself down for 10 each from Unit 180 and 50 from the pastel mix.

What would you like?

I would like


5 Home Coming

5 Mary Housley

5 Traderhorn

5 Wine & Roses

5 Blue Isle

5 Gipsy Baron

5 Green Woodpecker

5 My Love,

Thanks so much for doing this, Jill

This message was edited Jan 28, 2013 9:39 PM

Jill, can I help by asking if I can have 5-10 of any named varieties and will accept any left overs (within reason)? Possibly this will allow you to box mine last and cut the work. As some DGs may remember that I border my garden walk to the greenhouse with Glads. I just may have to do a double row. LOL I have a lasting attachment to Glads as they were one of my first exposures to horticulture while still very young. Ric

PS to avoid confusion!!! Pay not attention to Holly concerning Gladiolus!!!

Ric, that will work. I'll order "Unit 180" of the glads when I place the lily order today. Even if nobody else wants them and I end up with 25 of each variety, that's OK -- I'll give some away as Easter gifts. But I think people will come across this offer and want them by the time the spring swap actually rolls around.

Thanks!

So far, looks like there's no interest in the pastel mix -- or any of the other mixes? $6.75 for 50 big corms is really a deal. Then again, so is $12 for 50 named ones. :-)

Jill, I'm flexible on numbers if no one expresses interest, I just can't use part of a pastel collection also, unless I was selling cut flowers. LOL Ric

LOL I totally get that. I was floating the "collection" offer in case anybody was new to glads and just wanted a bunch of colors... regular mix or pastel, either way... that price is pretty darn good!

I've never grown glads. Do they perennialize well? Do deer like them? Are they fussy about soil?

Around here I think deer like everything, because they're usually starving. I have a few glads near the edge of my patio, and they've come back for several years now, although in decreasing numbers. Most people lift them in fall, as they are "really" only hardy to zone 8 or 9. I thought I'd let a bunch of glads "duke it out" with the amaryllises, and then I'd lift them all at the same time. For sure if you lift them they'll increase.

"Countrygardens" grows thousands and thousands each year (cut flowers at the farmers' market). Big thing I learned from him is that if you plant them deep, they won't fall over. He digs an 8 inch trench, places the corms, fills it maybe halfway up, adds a couple more inches as they start growing, then mounds the dirt up a couple of inches. That's deep!

Devon, I've had a number overwinter, especially when I don't expect it, but mostly I lift them after frost. Some are more hardy than others which allows writers to say zone 6, I have a few at my MILs in Camp Hill (our zone, but milder) that are 3-4 years old. Here's a pretty useful link: http://www.almanac.com/plant/gladiolus I use them for cut flowers a lot, I just pull the spent florets and shorten the stems. This makes them last quite a while. Hope this helps. Ric

I do use a bamboo railings to tidy them up.

This message was edited Jan 30, 2013 6:00 PM

Bernie's thread on planting 25,000 glads http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/498789/?hl=gladiolus+trench+

Ah, thanks. I'm steering away from anything that requires an annual lifting! I want plants that will live forever! I have too many ugly holes in the yard as it is!

BUMPING UP

to see if anybody else wants GLADS!

There are 15 remaining of each of the eight named varieties in the first post. The "pastel mix" has been cancelled.

You don't have to order 5 of each variety, you can pick & choose your favorites.

:-)

Jill, Don't forget to pick up Ric's order 5 to 10 of any named varieties.

Holly, I have him down for 10 of each (eight varieties). I want at least 10 each, and Roses wanted 4 of each. At that point, I decided to order, figuring I could give away any leftovers that didn't "sell" between now and the spring swap.

I wanted to be sure the folks on this thread got "dibs" on them, though. BTW, this mix is now "sold out" on the ADR site, so I'm glad I ordered them at the end of January!

They need full sun--don't they?

I have never grown Glads either. Looking at Ric's picture--they get really tall.

All this is so tempting--but i have to be realistic...I have ONE bed that gets full sun--
and there are so many things in there. Will be adding the Lilies later....and who knows what
kind of annuals. I will go heavy on Zinnias this year. I liked them. Took a lot of seeds...

Self talk----"Don't overdo it!"...G.

Hello Jill,
I would like:
10 Blue Horn
5 Homecoming

Thank You!
:)Marlene

Marlene, do you mean Blue Isle or Traderhorn? I don't have a Blue Horn on my list. (but now I want it... it sounds so pretty!)

Riddle me this (warning goofy question ahead) do any glads have fragrance?

Well, they *look* candy-sweet, but... nothing too notable to my nose

I can't ever remember having any fragrant var. Come to think about it, they don't seem to be overly busy with birds and bees. Ric

This message was edited Feb 18, 2013 9:46 AM