Do you love gladiolus – or hate them? They do tend to elicit that kind of reaction. I personally love them. Sure, part of that is the nostalgia factor. My mother grew them underneath her bedroom window in a small, narrow spit of dirt next to the screened in porch, where it formed a sort of L-shape with the house. My dad ripped them all out and planted a yucky leucothoe shrub instead. I’d much rather have flowers than shrubs.
The glads I have growing here at Seven Oaks came from the good old dollar store. Each spring they sell little packages of 5 tiny corms for $1 and I’m a sucker whenever they get gardening stuff in. I’m always amazed that they grow – and seem to multiple each year. I found out that the trick to growing them so that they don’t topple over is to plant them very deeply, something I’m terrible at, which uses soil to support the stem as the flower grows. That’s probably why most of mine are flopping this way and that in the garden.
I have gladiolus growing alongside the shed and under my kitchen windows. They take over after the daffodils complete their blooming cycle in the early spring. I had so many flopping this way and that I was forced to snip a bunch for cut flowers, and now I love having a vase of them in my kitchen. If you do grow gladiolus, don’t be afraid to bring a bouquet indoors. Why grow flowers if you can’t enjoy them?
And speaking of enjoying flowers, I’ve discovered something new with gladiolus too; hummingbirds love them. When I sit out on my back deck, I always catch a glimpse of a whir of iridescent green as the hummingbirds find the peach and orange colored gladiolus.
Please enjoy my latest article on Growing Gladiolus as Cut Flowers here on Hub Pages.
I’ve planted dollar store glads, too. The corms get larger in a good bed and may or may not return. Some of mine are several years old.
I blogged in 2009 about ‘Lilies of the Field’ possibly being gladioli. Right now I have yellow glads blooming. Glads were the favorite flower of Miz Rachel who used to grow peonies, daisies and glads for the floral market.
Hi Nell Jean! Neat! I didn’t know that they would get larger each year. I will stock up on those dollar store glads. Thanks for leaving a comment.
I like them but haven’t grown them in years. I left them out one fall and they didn’t return. As a rule we need to dig them up and store them here. I keep thinking I’ll get more but haven’t yet.
Look at you so lovely in your new profile photo! 🙂