I have been growing gladioli for many years - these are my favorite flowers. However, not so long ago I learned that there is a variant of their multi-tiered landing. I decided to try it and I liked it. And I decided to share with you the intricacies of this procedure.
What is the meaning of such a landing
A multi-tiered planting of bulbous flowers is used so that as a result the plants either bloom alternately or varieties with different growing seasons bloom synchronously. As a result, you can achieve interesting effects:
- a flower bed with gladioli changes colors over time;
- at the same time, different varieties of flowers “flash”;
- visually, the flower bed is organized so that some flowers do not obscure others.
How it's done
There are several ways to organize a multi-tiered landing:
- The simplest is the installation of boxes with earth on the bed. Knocked down from boards and filled with fertile soil, they form a pyramid (or wall, or some other figure at the request of the owner), and gladiolus corms are planted in them, sometimes interspersed with tubers of other colors. The main subtlety here is to choose the right varieties depending on the desired effect.
- Sandwich landing. It consists in the fact that a hole or even a trench with sloping walls is dug in a flower bed - and in layers corms are laid (or even bulbs of other varieties, if they are grown next to gladioli, e.g. tulips). The principle of bookmarking is simple: the largest ones are down, then, having fallen asleep by 2-3 cm with humus, medium ones, then they are covered up and the smallest thing is planted in the surface layer. As a result, the flower bed blooms for a long time, because as the top layers of the "sandwich" fade from the ground, new plants break through.
The latter method is especially good because it almost eliminates props. Gladiolus are large plants, and if you plant large bulbs close to the surface, either the stems will grow crooked or you will need a backup. The "sandwich" method solves this problem. In any case, personally, I now rarely use pegs and a garter: usually gladioli grow straight and neat.
In addition, the layered planting method allows different varieties of corms not to conflict with each other. If you plant them at the same depth, the large ones will start growing earlier and clog the small things, and with layered planting, when the large ones hatch and grow, the small ones will already develop.
What to remember
Choosing a variety of gladioli is extremely important. Each has its own color and timing of flowering. Here are just a few varieties that can be successfully arranged in a multi-tiered flower bed:
- Focus - blooms with bright yellow flowers, ripening for 52-55 days;
- Velvet - maroon flowers that open on 72-74 days;
- Paul Rubens - purple-violet flowers, open at 90-95 days;
- America - light pink or light purple color, bloom for 95-100 days.
Since there are a lot of varieties now, I will not give further recommendations on the choice - everything here depends only on your imagination, as well as on the availability of planting material.
When to plant gladioli
The best landing time in my experience is from mid-April to the end of May. In principle, you can plant later, but here you need to take into account the climate in your area. For example, I tried to plant in July and even August, but they rarely lived up to flowering: cold snaps in September and October left the plants alive, but stopped their development.
If you have a good heated greenhouse, you can plant before winter. However, I have not done this, so I have no experience here.
Conclusion
Tiered planting is a good way to achieve simultaneous or, conversely, sequential flowering of gladioli on the same bed. It saves space and allows you to achieve interesting effects in the design of the garden.
Have you tried planting bulbous flowers in tiers?
Read also: If the geranium withers and does not want to bloom, it's time to think about the fight against diseases and pests and establish proper care.
Another related article: Do you want to grow hyacinths from seeds? Be patient and follow all the steps in order
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