Hi all, my Mom used to grow them inground, but I prefer container gardening. Saw some nice ones I would like to try...Any info would be appreciated!
Can Glads be grown in containers?
Hi kimmers,
I see no reason why you shouldn't grow Glads in containers, I grew G callianthus in one last year and they did well. There are dwarf varieties which would be more suitable for container growing, the new Glaminis or shorter border varieties would be easier as the tall ones may be difficult to keep upright.
These are 12-18" tall
http://www.dutchbulbs.com/bulbs/gladiolus/tiny-tot-gladiolus/index.html
Border glads a little taller
http://www.dutchbulbs.com/bulbs/gladiolus/border-gladiolus/unique-gladiolus-collection/index.html
Glamini, these are ideal for containers
http://www.brecks.com/search.asp?t=xx&ss=glamini+&x=9&y=8
Order $50 or more and you get $25 off
http://brecks.com/default.asp?bhcd2=1173966944
Kimmers-those varieties of glads are great for containers but definitely don't order from those companies. Both have really poor ratings in the GardenWatchdog!
=) Debbie
Thanks for the tips! I'll see what Parks has,have had good luck with them. Are there any good bulb companies out there? They all seem to have bad reps...
There are lots of good bulb companies--look thru the Plantfiles for varieties you are interested in; many of them have venders that offer them listed. Then check out the Watchdog. =)
what size of container do they need? do their roots go down deep? I have over 100 glad bulbs right now and was thinking of doing some in a 7.5 gallon pot I have. think they would do OK in something that size?
Tammie
Tammie I had 7 Gladiolus callianthus in a thick terracotta pot last year, it's about 11" diameter and narrows at the bottom, 10" deep. I grow them in a gritty soil and leaf compost mix, it keeps it open and free draining and they grew well in it.
I've just taken them out recently and taken all the small corms off, also the old bulb which was smaller and had shrivelled at the bottom with the old roots. One was rotting at one side, so I replanted the 6 which are bigger, one in the middle with 5 around the sides, about 3" deep. I put stones in the bottom of the pot to help with drainage.
If you leave about 2" between bulbs and they have good food that should be enough, 6 or 7" below is enough for the roots, they only make fine roots, not long tap roots. I gave mine an occasional liquid feed but not many in the season.
I'd recommend Brent & Becky's bulbs. They have some shorter Gladiolus that would be great in containers. There shipping is also more reasonable than Park Seed's.
http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/summer/
A DG member is selling wonderful glads at a great price. They are listed on the classified ad forum. The profit is to help fund a dog rescue program that she runs. Her member name is 4Paws. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/704971/ Patti
Ambush (red)
Finishing Touch (soft peach with yellow)
Frosty White (white)
Green Star (green)
Jazz Age (dark red purple with yellow)
Joyeuse Entree (soft yellow)
Purple Flora (purple)
Saturn (purple/yellow)
Tampico (Pink/white)
Veronica (lavender)
Ditto on what Patti said, get them from 4paws. Awesome bulbs, great price and for a good cause!!
Bill
Thanks for the plug, you two; I've got to rerun my ad. Ms. Organized here didn't keep a copy of it. duh!
I'd suggest looking Bloomingbulb.com. We got incredible glad corms from them for our glad/lily coop that just finished up. Great colors, decent prices and free shipping, or at least it has been. Nagels is really good, too. They supplied my corms and bloomingbulb.com's corms. Larger orders required, however.
Wallaby, your information is exactly what I was looking for today, since I bought 150 corms in that co-op (besides the 2500 cormsthat are happily waiting for summer in the garage). I'm thinking to follow countrygardens' advice to avoid staking-plant at 8", cover with 4", then with again after they pop up, and mounding again before bloom (I think I have that right). I think that can be accomplished in a wine barrel, eh? about 19" deep.
Do you think it would be possible to put some in gallon pots? I've already put the g. callianthus (acidanthera, yes? from Touch of Class, also very nice) in gallon (6") pots; is that ok? Or should I move them right away (it's been about a week)?
wow-that link went to my ad, even though it has expired. Cool. Thanks again, Patti!
4paws how many have you put int the 6" pot? I would try to use a bigger pot with several bulbs in it, a 6" one might be too difficult to keep the water levels correct, it would either get too dry easily or too wet. Several bulbs to a larger pot will be better at using up water, they won't want to sit in too wet compost. I put 7 in an 11" diameter pot.
My G. callianthus (yes Acidanthera) were small when I got them, but they grew to a good size so they will need more space. A 6" pot I don't think would be deep enough either, they need a few inches underneath for the roots, I put some large stones in the bottom of my pot, it will stop water accumulating on the bottom.
I posted a pic on another thread of a bulb this year, they overwintered in the cold greenhouse.
Thank you for the info, Wallaby.
None of the regular glads are planted yet-so it sounds like the 6" is too small, but I could put a few in the 3-gallon pots and wb. And, I guess I have to repot the G. callianthus that are in gallons (3 each), though I was thinking of just sinking them into the ground, so maybe that would solve the water issue? I added some of the watersorb crystals to each pot, too. 7 is about what I have in an 11 inch (aprox) pot.
Should have looked here first :-)
I thought I read that the G. callianthus is a rather invasive species in some places (more than likely here, as everything is! :-), so I was concerned about keeping them in their place and taking them out when I'm not able to manage them.
You could try sinking the pots in the ground, a lot depends on your weather, I don't know about the watersorb crystals either! If they hold too much water that may not be good, but again it depends on how much rain you get. Mine were in the greenhouse so I could control the watering.
G. callianthus is invasive in the hotter areas of CA I have read, but I would think they would crowd each other out as they make so many small bulbs. This one is much the same as other Glads, the new bulb grew on top of the old one which shrivelled to almost nothing. The small bulbs were clustered around the bottom, so really the best thing to do with them is to remove the old bulb and small ones in spring and repot. I kept 25 of the best small ones to grow on in a pot.