How To Lift and Store Gladioli Corms / Bulbs, Storing Gladioli Over Winter, Get Gardening
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- Опубликовано: 13 окт 2020
- How To Lift and Store Gladioli Corms / Bulbs, Storing Gladioli Over Winter, Overwintering Gladioli Corms, Get Gardening
Gladioli corms really don't like sitting in cold, wet soils over the winter and so it is at this time of year, October, that I look to lift the plants from the ground.
Tools required;
Border fork or hand fork
As Gladioli will readily produce small offspring cormlets, that are attached to the main new corms, you don't want to try to pull the plants out of the ground. If you try to pull the plants from the ground you will find that the stems break. Instead, use a border fork or hand fork to gently lift the whole root structure and corm from the ground. A fork is a much safer option than trying to use a spade.
Insert the fork a few inches away from the base of the plant, pushing the fork tines into the soil by about 6 inches (20cm). Gently lever the fork handle downwards to loosen the Gladioli from the ground. Watch for any of the small cormlets falling off from the main corms.
Place all dug up Gladioli onto a clean surface or into a container where you will notice if any parts of the corm, or cormlets, come free from the main plant base.
Whilst this years Gladioli plant grew from a corm it actually produces a new corm on top of that which it grew from. The older corm will become part of the waste material at a later date, with the top corm and stem being the parts to retain for growing the following year.
Cut the main plant stem down to a length of 2.5-3 inches (8-10cm) above the base corm.
Place these cut sections upside down into a container to allow any excess moisture to drain out of the stem and roots, whilst also allowing the corms to harden. Any remaining soil still on the roots will also dry out and fall off.
The container needs to be placed in a dry position, preferably somewhere that is warm but a shed or garage is normally fine.
Leave the stems to dry for 2 or 3 weeks.
Once the plants and roots have dried out;
Start by removing any of the small cormlets that have formed around the base of the main corm. These cormlets can be put to one side for growing on over the subsequent years, to produce extra plants.
Holding the main stem and new corm that the stem is growing from, use your thumb or other hand to prise off the older corm and attached roots. It is this old corm and root structure that is not required, so discard accordingly.
Give the corm and stem a gentle brush down to remove any remaining soil.
Use a suitably sized container that has a lid, and fill the inside base and around the edges with some fresh newspaper. The newspaper will aid in moisture absorption as well as providing some insulation.
Cut down the plant stem to leave it about 1cm in length, above the corm.
Place the clean corm, complete with attached stem, upside down in the container to store for the winter period until you look to plant again in March/April.
Make sure to place the lid firmly on the container but add some ventilation holes.
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Хобби
Thanks so much very easy to follow.
Just stored mine after I followed your advice
Thank you for watching and messaging, glad you found the video east to follow and that it’s helped.
At the moment it feels too warm to be doing some of these winter type jobs but I’m sure the weather will turn soon enough. Have a nice week 🌼🌺
Thank you! Brilliant video. Very clear now about what to do
Hi Mavis,
Many thanks for watching and taking the time to message, very much appreciated.
Happy gardening and all the best with your autumn preparations 🌸🪴
Thank you! I have a community garden of sorts here in Santa Fe New Mexico. We had an amazing show of gladioli. First season of growth. So I'm about to go out and get started. Your video is very helpful plus you are great. Your very mindful and your voice is easy to listen to, love your accent. thank you again.
Mark, many thanks for taking the time to watch the video and for the kind message.
Very happy that you have had good results from your plants in your first year of growing. A community garden sounds like a lot of fun.
Keep up the good work 🌼
Thank you. Very helpful. First year trying Glads. Not too successful, only had one bloom. Hoping for better this coming spring. Zone 7b, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Hi. Thanks for watching and your message. That’s a shame that the plants didn’t perform well for you.
You haven’t mentioned where or how you grow the corms but if they haven’t flowered it’s normally only due to a couple of reasons.
You will only get flowers if the corms are a decent size, generally shop bought packets will be of viable size. The packets in the U.K. say bulb size so you can compare like for like but that may not be the same where you are.
Probably more specific to where you live, the plants need to be in full sun, plenty of heat and free draining soil.
I grow mine in containers so that I can start the plants earlier than I could if planted in the garden, and so I can easily move the containers to get the most sun in the hottest part of the day.
Hopefully by lifting and storing your corms this winter you can start the corms earlier for next year, indoors, to ensure a better show of flowers.
Enjoy your gardening and glad that you are broadening your plant range 🌼🌸
Best one I've seen, thanks!
Many thanks for your message, very much appreciated.
Hope you have great success with all your autumn / winter preparations and gardening 🌸
Excellent demo - thanks very much. Just what I needed. Down here in Australia, now is the hour for doing the initial dig !
Well enjoy doing the dig. Thanks for watching and I hope you have plenty planned for your garden.
Thank you for this video it’s been helpful.. 🌼 I’ve only just started to get interested in flowering .. this is such a great learning platform for me .. cheers
Glad it’s helped you. Hopefully you will have some great plants next year.
Thank you so much for such an informative and in depth video! This was my first year planting gladioli. I loved them so much and now thanks to you, I will get to enjoy them again next year.
That’s a lot for your message and so pleased that the video has helped. Also, great that you have grown Gladioli and had good results.
cheers mate - waiting now for the last gladioli to flower properly then ill be following your video.
Thanks for watching and the message.
I’m a bit like you almost wishing for the last flower to go so I can get the garden tidied up.
Enjoy your autumn and last few flowers 🌸
Wonderful video. Need to dig up the corms this weekend and have 20 to dig out, wasn't sure how to take them out, how to trim them, to wash them, to store them, how long to leave them to dry out etc and this video answers it all in clear steps. Really useful. Look fw to digging up my corms this weekend!
Thanks for your message so pleased it helped you.
Thank you for posting such a detailed video, very informative.
Many thanks for your message, so glad you liked it and found it helpful.
Thanks for a great video. I love the fact that you go through every process, most people assume everybody knows what to do but as a new gardener I’m learning things every day. If you’ve got any information on cutting back perennials such as Penstemon, Salvia etc that would be good to see. Thanks again.
Thanks for the feedback, I’m glad you have learnt something. I’ll see what I can do for you for a perennial video, I hadn’t considered doing one but will have a think. Keep enjoying the gardening.
Thank you for going over the steps on what to do. You explained it very well. I bought over 60 corms of gladiolus and needed to know how to overwinter them. Even though right now is spring and I wanted to know how so I can prepare myself. Thank you so much 💞
Wow, you are going to have a great show of flowers this summer.
Glad the video has given you an insight for winter 😂
Thanks for watching. Now go and enjoy the sunshine ☀️
@@diyhomeandgardening yes and wish I can picture and show you my garden when they are blooming. I have tons of different colors and I can't wait. Thanks once again and happy gardening
@@terrihummingbird1565. If you are on it, look me up on Instagram and you can send me pictures via there.
My Instagram name is the same as RUclips.
That was such a helpful video! Thanks so much.
Thanks for your message I’m so pleased it’s been of use to you.
Thanks, so helpful, this is exactly what I'm doing today of course which is how I came upon your site.
Warm regards Jennie
Jennie, Thanks for your message. Keep up the preparation work for a great display next year. Happy gardening.
I use the shovel for digging!
Thanks for your message. Whatever tool is easiest to use is fine by me. I used my plastering trowel once as I couldn’t find a fork😃
So long as the bulbs or plants go in at the correct depth that’s all that counts.
Happy growing 🌼
@@diyhomeandgardening Happy growing too.😊🌸
Thanks very much for the video I have been leaving my gladioli in year after year and they tend not to flower as good as they used to. After watching your video I'm taking mine out today and will go through your procedure, mine have never been lifted so the old corms have never been removed so hopefully it will give them new life for next year. Mine are grown very close to quite a large hedge and may be they are deprived of moisture so will put them in a different position next season. Thanks again for your great video.
Dave, many thanks for watching. For best results all bulbs, and perennials, need to be lifted from time to time so as to rejuvenate them. I hope you get some good success next year.
@@diyhomeandgardening Many thanks and look forward to your next video.
Thanks for the informative vid.I noticed you didn’t plant them very deep when you dug them up.4 inches is recommended.Do you find they bloom just as good at 2 inches?
Hi. Thanks for the question.
I don’t grow Gladioli in the ground as we are on heavy clay soil which the plants don’t enjoy.
I’m the ground then planting is at about 4”, mainly to give stem stability.
Mine get planted at about 3” depth due to the trough height but then supported through use of canes and string. All the plants will still flower at more shallow depth as the flowering is due to bulb/corm size being large enough. At more shallow depth you just need to ensure stem support is provided.
Hope that helps. Enjoy your gardening 🌼
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I see you put them in a sealed plastic container. Does the container have any air holes in it? Also what storage temp should they NOT go below? Am I better off storing in my basement or can they go in the garage? Located in Michigan USA. Thank You.
Hi. Thanks for watching the video and your message.
The plastic containers I use don’t have air holes in.
I like to let the bulbs or corms dry naturally so they don’t have much excess moisture to them. By laying the bulbs/corms in or on newspaper any moisture or condensation will get absorbed by the paper to prevent the bulbs rotting. In a sealed container the environment around the bulbs is preserved better, without additional moisture or heat getting in to degrade the bulbs during their dormant period.
I keep my bulbs in the shed but our outside temperatures during winter only really get down to minus 5-10 degrees. We do have prolonged periods of cold wet though.
Thank for your video u really help me. I have a question how many years i can do this?
You can lift and store tubers for as many years as they are still viable for. Hopefully with each passing year they should gain size and produce more cormlets too.
Thank you 😊
Hi and thanks for your informative video. I'm just wondering how long you keep the ?cormlets stored in newspaper before you plant them. Will each cormlet produce a large corm? How long do they take to reach the large size to grow flowers? (sorry for all the questions, but I really want to know) thanks
Thanks for your message and questions.
I keep all the corms stored until about March, before opening them to the light, and that’s the same for the cormlets.
The cormlets will take about 3 years to develop and grow to reach flowering size so you will need to store them each winter until that point.
My cormlets just get planted into small pots, something like a 13cm wide pot, so the corms have good space between them. Some people just set them out in compost in seed trays. Personal choice.
Hope this helps.
@@diyhomeandgardening thanks for the info. I will try to grow more gladioli from the cormlets. Would it be the same from the seeds?
This year has been the first time I planted anything (gladioli). I still have one plant where the flower buds are there but have not yet opened.
I’ve read that it’s best to take cut flower stems when the first couple of flowers have opened, but in practice is it okay to take the cutting before any have opened? Also if the foliage is still looking green is it okay to lift the plant to overwinter, or do I need to wait for it to start yellowing? Does deadheading, and cutting the flower stems after flowering help the plant go into dormancy.
north-east of England
Hi. Firstly thanks for watching.
It seems very late to still have flowers forming, especially for up north. Did you plant the corms late?
You tend to cut flower stems once they are showing colour to the lower buds as at that point you know the buds have formed sufficiently to produce flowers all the way up.
At this stage of the season I would cut back and lift all the corms that have done their thing, just leaving the one that is still to flower. You can then put them into a dry area such as a shed so they can dry off before preparing for storage.
At least then you know the majority of your corms will be safe from any frosts that turn up, possibly unexpectedly.
Hope this helps you and glad that you are growing some new plants to you.
Any other questions then just message me. Alternatively, I’m on Instagram, under the same name, so you can always reach me on that too.
All the best 🌸🌼
@@diyhomeandgardening thanks very much for replying. I guess it was probably a bit too late when I planted (end of May). I think they didn’t flower until the last week of September
@@1obsessionafteranother794
What I do, and would suggest for you seeing as though you’re in a colder part of the country, is to start the corms off earlier.
Literally just sitting the corms in some compost to break dormancy and start root formation. You can then pot up the corms once shoots start to form so you have established plants ready to plant out in May, rather than wait until May to start your process.
I have also done a how to start Gladioli video so that may be of use to you for next year.
@@diyhomeandgardening 😀 I watched that video too. I think I’m mentally prepared for what to do now (planting them had been a spur of the moment thing)
@@1obsessionafteranother794
We all have to learn, and different parts of the country have different challenges.
My inlaws are in Northumberland where summer bedding season doesn’t start until end of May and finished September 😂
When ppl say frost free place for storing that's where I go- can I just keep it in my shed( it's all brick and a poorly fitted wooden door that lets air in.🤷🏽♀️
Hi. There is nothing wrong with a shed. Just make sure to put plenty of newspaper in the storage container, to act as insulation and as an absorbent for residual moisture.
Will the new corn grow and flower if I don't pull out the old one after it dries. ?
Great question.
From experience the new corms will still grow but they do struggle to get going and definitely produce smaller flower spikes. With the old corn still attached there is less space for the new corm to produce root from. Also there is an increased risk that the old corm will rot in the ground and effect the new corm too.
Even if you haven’t removed the old corm at storage stage it is worth removing it at planting stage. All the best.
@@diyhomeandgardening Tq so much for your xplanation. May God bless you. Take care, stay safe.
@@hassanmusa6375. Enjoy your Christmas break and fingers crossed for a good year in 2022. All the best