A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 525,600 gladiolus

Anyone see Rent?

Anywho, I finally got around to starting digging up my glad corms...and when they say glads have babies - man, do they have babies. There are zillions of little pea sized corms that have come off the mamma corms in the soil. I'm clearing a patch of soil that's about 3'x20'. I've already filled 4 lunch bags full, and I haven't even scratched the surface really. I could be digging until kingdom come, so my question is, will the pea sized glad corms sprout in spring? I was always under the impression baby corms would be a little bigger. May be these are underdeveloped? I'm digging because the glads are in a bed I don't want them in next spring...I suppose I could always turn them under and let them rot out if I can't keep up with the digging - or, can I dig them and replant in the spring if/when they sprout as a last resort? Okay, that was more than one question

i don't know the answer to all the questions but, i do know you won't kill them if you relocate them in the spring. you may forfiet blooms (i don't, i live far enough south), but they'll be fine overall. now, about the babies? can't help ya there!

Where I live we have to dig up the glads every year, I cut the stalk off and store them in onion bags in a dark, cool closet (I don't have a basement)

Yes , they have a lot of babies, some I store in the bags with the bigger corms, some I get tired of digging them up and saving each and every one and of these some will actually make it through the winter and sprout the next year but it will take 2-3 years and even longer before they will mature enough to flower.

If I were you and short on time or patience I would get the biggest ones first and then if you want you can store the smaller ones separate and grow in a "nursery" bed next year.

Oh Mary I don't envy you...I had to do the same thing with an overcrowded tulip bed...And there were ALOT of baby bulbs. My bed was just alittle shorter then yours, but it was alot of hard work!!! I agree with getting the bigger ones and if you have the time and energy then get the smaller ones. Good Luck and Happy digging!

GASP You don't?! But..but..but...

Thanks for the great replies!

I'm on board with digging the big ones up first and going back later for the babies...depending on how much time/energy I have and how much longer until the ground freezes I'll pull up what I can and relocate the baby sprouts in the spring. It's great to know they'll still come up - this time around I won't mistake them for johnson grass and I'll relocate them to a nursery bed - I like that idea!

Hi Mary,

I love glads too.They are so pretty.

You don't have to dig those bulbs up though.If you have the winter-hardy kind.

I was sent free bulbs from Henry Fields about 5 years ago.They are growing great! Every year they have come up just fine,and have multiplied threefold.

I don't mean to promote any certain seed company.But my own experience with this company has been very positive.

http://henryfields.com/product.asp?pn=09432