Is this virus ???

Hi to all Gladiolus enthusiasts... sorry to jump right in.... I have been a DG member for a while and have been trying to grow variety of flowering bulbs such as Glads...

I have bought some glad at Walmart this year -since it was more convenient and cheaper i admit.. I was so glad to see almost 99% of the corms came out and have started to bloom only to my dismay that none of them seem to openand seem to dry out on the stem without buds completely opening up.. and if it does open, they are ugly and seem to have a mottling on its petals... is this cause by virus ? here are some pictures that I took ... should I dig up all of them and throw in the garbage?

I would greatly appreciate every input - I grow them on a mix perennial bed with some lily bulbs and I dont want my lilies to get affected by the virus if ever.

thank you

Eileen

another picture of the un-opened one

almost all of the glads have this problem...

flagardener, I don't know anything about glad viruses but I found this article. At first sight, my thought is that you have thrips, which damages the blooms. Also, your leaves look green and healthy but a closeup of leaves would help confirm that. If you had a virus I think it would show in the leaves also, with severe yellowing. I had thrips once with the first flowering of some glads I planted. The following years they did fine. Sometimes, excessive rains will exacerbate the thrip problem. Haven't you had lots of rains in FL?

http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/nreninf.nsf/childdocs/-71E8091F577D52D24A2568B30004F3B2-B405282063469299CA256BC80002926F-B3AC9003ABD42B8B4A256DEA00277EE5-8C5E78F3DE317912CA256C1C00271645?open

This is an ex. of a virused lilium but I wanted to show you what "color break" is. My flower was supposed to be a solid pastel pink. See the patchy dark pink coloring? At first I thought: "oh, how pretty, a variegate flower". My friends in the lily forum promptly educated me.

I can't tell from your pic if your flowers look like my lily, but doesn't look like it to me.

yes , it has been raining like cats and dogs especialy in the beginning of spring... your thoughts are giving me so much hope.. I have probably hundreds of them on the ground and just cant bear the thought of destroying them..

I cant seem to find a bit more information on the virus though, well I cant understand most of what they are explaining.. all of the leaves look healthy to me - again not knowing what is unhealthy for a gladiolus plant. so far after 4 years of gardening, I have only known one problem that I can easily identify and that is rose black spot.

thank you for the input vossner

do you have anything else with the glads? If no, then I would let them be and hope for the best next year. And I don't want to bring you down, but with the excess rains, you may lose a few glad bulbs to rot. Kinda like caladiums. Not the end of the world, but definitely annoying, once you have a mental pic of what you want a garden to look like.

Maybe somebody will post organic and non-organic stuff with which to treat thrips. Neem Oil is my cure-all but I never treated my glads when I had the ugly blooms problem a few years ago.

Also, note that the article I included is written in Australia, there may not be much glad virus going on here. I don't know.

I don't have any great information on this topic only experience to share. I love my glads but for me it's a hit or miss thing. Some years the grasshoppers get them, some years it's too wet or too dry. This year everything came together and they've bloomed beautifully. Beautiful flowers but only rarely do I get to enjoy them.

Hi, why don't you try posting this in the Garden disease and pests area. I'm really hoping someone will know what is causing this for you.

thanks all for the input - as much as I love glads and how seemingly inexpensive they are , auntanne is right - it is a hit or miss i guess... i have them scattered all over my yard and some of them doesnt seem to be bothered by anything

i have made my decision to take them out of my perrenial bed and put elsewhere just by themselves. we'll see how it goes

thanks again for all the input

eileen

I am sorry I am so late noticing this thread. You definitely have thrip damage. They are a very small bug that feasts on the flowers & flower buds. That is why they do not open & are mis-shapen.
All you can do is spray with an insecticide. Ask at a garden center. End of the summer, dig the corms up & store them until next year. Again, ask at a garden center about dusting or drenching them before you store them. The thrips will live in the corms.
I had trouble with thrips in a batch of corms I bought from a wholesaler.
I now buy only from Nagel's. Their retail is Noweta Gardens. http://www.nowetagardens.com/

Good Luck,
Bernie

Would Avid or Neem work on glads? Or could one just wash the corms in a bleach solution? I've never had this problem with my glads (knock on wood), though I have with brugs and/or hibiscus. Avid and Neem would be expensive solutions for just a few glads.

Anne

There's an Ortho product that works.

hi i am in jersey and i have the exact same problem. never tried glads and was really looking forward to them. but every one of that "opened" looks streaked and mottled or dried out and not opening. the leaves seem ok except some of the leaves have lines on them that look dried out. jersey has had the rainiest spring on record in think . these glads are planted with daylilies and they all came up fine. is it thrips? what should i do with them since in nj i would have to dig them up anyway.

Thrip! oh I just hate these little things, as they for the past 3 years have attacking the glads.
I´m not fun of insecticide, so this year I tried planting lots and lots of basil around the glads, even making
"basil water spray" and it works!!!! :o)
It is more of a repetent that a treatment, there are a few trips here and there, but not enough to damage the flowers.

tried using soap water once, but the insects thent to dig in were they can not be reached
so if plants are heavely attack the only way would be using insecticides.

Please give us more information on the Basil spray & also the Basil plantings.
Bernie

Hi Bernie.

Well all in all, I just went basil crazy :o) they were plantet with the glads, as close as posible.

For the basil spray water I use a good bunch, chup it up as fine as I can, a blender and a bit of water would be fine as well. Then boil water in a pan, ad the basil, give a boil up for 5 minutes remove and leave it for 2-3 days.
After that strain through a coffee filter and it´s ready :o) the best time to spay is in the evening. Maybe 2-3 times a week
The basil that is left in the filter can be placed around the ground as well.
It looks like the trips does not like the smell of basil, and they stay away ;o)

I always thought there is more use to Basil than for cooking ;-) I have basil plants grown in containers because i grow them organically (for cooking).. and a lot of times I can't use them up since I dont cook a lot.. so now that is a good use for my basil leaves... I will plant more next year on the beds - and see how they do with thrips .

Please let us know how it works for you ;o)

I've had this on all of my glads this year. I purchased all of them new this year from Old House Gardens and American Meadows. I first thought it was because of extremely dry conditions during June and July -- but they look exactly like those pictured above (actually those pictured here look nicer than mine). I had great success with glads when I was a teenager (many many many moons ago), but these days it's "hit or miss." I was just about ready to give up on them. At least now I know what the problem is.

I have found both, OHG and Amer. Meadows as willing to satisfy their customers. I would suggest you call them and even send them pics. I still agree w/ everybody here that has said it's likely a case of thrips, rather than a virus.

Great suggestion Vossner. I will send pics to both and see what happens. It's been my experience that OHG "bends over backwards" to please their customers. I read somewhere, either in this thread or in one of the links posted above, that thrips are attracted to onions. I find that interesting since my glads are in the veggie garden about 6 feet from a huge patch of chives.

They will move from the onions to the glads. We made that mistake a few years ago. It was devastating.
Finally gave up & waited for the next year.
We treat our corms before we store them in the fall. Thrips can't over winter here outside, so when treated for storage we know there won't be any come spring.
We got some this year in some new corms we bought.
Either buy from Nagel's, (Noweta Gardens), or treat any other new corms before you plant them. Use an insecticide that is labeled for Thrips. Made up a solution & dip them in it. Let them dry before storing or planting.
I think they come along with the dry onion sets. Not sure about the fresh onion plants. We haven't had any trouble with them.
Good Luck to all!
Bernie

Bernie, thanks so much for the advice!

Perhaps a bit of clearification is in order here. The latest issue of Gladworld, official publication of the North American Gladiolus Council, contains a short statement by a prominant commercial grower in Michigan. Paraphrasing we treat all our corms with Orthene (acephate) after digging. At the slightest sign of any thrips during the growing season, spray with the same material.

According to the author thrips do not overwinter in the Midwest; however, the eggs do. He states they check at the base of the plants frequently to detect any invasion. I have not done this so can not elaborate.

Another thing to consider. There are more than one species of thrips that attack glads therefor treating the corms will not prevent infection by other species than gladiolus thrip. Unfortunately any treatments using the so called organic chemicals requires frequent treatment whereas a systemic chemical can be effective for various periods up to several months. Remember to follow the instructions carefully on the label of any chemical use.

Check the website www.gladword.org for more hints on growing gladiolus

lowell

Lowell, thank YOU! Maybe I'll have some decent glads next year!