Gladiolus are the quintessential summer flowers that every country garden needs! Gladiolus are very easy to grow and work well in perennial borders or when grown in decorative rows for cut flowers. When selecting gladiolus corms, choose large corms that are 14+ cm whenever possible. The larger the corm size, the larger the bloom stalk you will have. Gladiolus come in a wide range of colors including the very popular bicolor varieties. A few of our favorite gladiolus that we grow and sell at our farm include:

   
Laurien Gladiolus                                               Summer Love Gladiolus                              Far West Gladiolus


Planting Layout for Gladiolus:
If you are growing gladiolus, or glads as they are commonly called, primarily for cut flowers you may want to plant them in rows, as you would vegetables. It is easier to prepare the area, stake and tend the plants, and harvest flower stalks when they grow in neat rows. For a prolonged bloom period, plant gladiolus 3 crops of gladiolus every 2 weeks.

Gladiolus can also be used to provide color and texture in annual beds and borders and in the perennials garden. When planting gladiolus in the garden, plant at least 6 of each variety in a clump for the maximum impact.

Gladiolus perform best in full sun and well-drained soil. If your soil is heavy or tends to be wet, create raised beds for your glads (and most other annuals, perennials, and bulbs). Whether or not you garden in raised beds, loosen the soil to a depth of ten or 12 inches. To provide nutrients to the Gladiolus during the bloom period, fertilize with a liquid kelp fertilizer, such as Maxicrop once a week.

When to Plant Gladiolus:
Start planting your glads in mid-May, then again every two weeks through mid-June. This schedule will keep the flowers coming form July through August.

Browse our collection of gladiolus at Farm Fresh Living or to read more about How to Grow Gladiolus, read our informative gladiolus gardening article.