Storing Gladioli. When To Dig Up And How To Store? Photo

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Storing Gladioli. When To Dig Up And How To Store? Photo
Storing Gladioli. When To Dig Up And How To Store? Photo

Video: Storing Gladioli. When To Dig Up And How To Store? Photo

Video: Storing Gladioli. When To Dig Up And How To Store? Photo
Video: Digging and Storing Caladium and Gladiolus Bulbs 2024, March
Anonim

When to dig up corms and where to store planting material?

The term for digging corms depends mainly on the timing of flowering and cutting. For the maturation of corms and babies, 30-40 days should pass from the day of flowering and cutting. So, if the gladiolus bloomed and was cut on August 1, then on September 1 it can already be dug up. If there are a lot of gladioli and it is impossible to remember the flowering time of each, they keep a diary and the time of excavation of each plant is checked against their records. In cases where gladiolus is not cut and the flower remains on the plant, additional nutrients are expended and the excavation time is postponed for another 15-20 days.

Dug up gladiolus bulbs
Dug up gladiolus bulbs

In the non-chernozem zone of Russia, the bulk of gladioli flourish in the second half of August. Therefore, the excavation can begin as early as September 15th. A slight underripening does not affect the quality of the corm, but it is favorable for the selection of the baby, since the immature baby has not yet separated from the corm and is easily selected with it. At the same time, the bulk of the baby is light gray or gray. A well-ripened baby has a dark brown color, difficult to distinguish from the color of the soil, in addition, it is not connected to the corms. It is very likely that such a baby will be lost when digging and it will clog the soil.

Corms of gladioli are dug up in sunny weather. First, they choose plants grown from corms, and among them, the early varieties are the first. To do this, experienced amateur flower growers are trying to arrange plantings by varieties in such a way that the early ones grow separately from the later ones. This makes digging easier. You can dig with a shovel, but it is better to take two scoops with rigid handles.

Gladiolus bulb with babies
Gladiolus bulb with babies

With a single-line transverse planting, the digging process is as follows:

  • at a distance of about 7 cm from the center of the gladiolus corms, scoops are cut into the soil on both sides, passing along the entire row;
  • starting from the edge of the row, the scoops cut in about 15 cm deeper and bend the handles away from the gladioli;
  • pressing the handles, the ends of the scoops of gladioli corms with the baby stick out to the soil surface;
  • choose corms and a baby from the soil and put them in a container; the container can be a sieve, box or basin.

When the plantings of one variety are completely dug up, pruning is done:

  • cut the stem as close to the corm as possible;
  • tear off the old corm from the new by pressing the thumb of the right hand;
  • prune the roots.

Sometimes the old corm is torn off after a week of drying. It depends on the conditions for drying and the skills developed by the grower.

After digging, the corms and the baby of gladioli are placed on a sieve for washing in water. The washed material is placed in bags, the grade is designated and etched (see the section "Preparation of planting material").

The timing of the digging is associated not only with the process of maturation of corms and babies, but also with the condition of the plants. If the gladiolus plants are green, with no visible signs of disease, then they are dug out at the usual time. If there are diseased specimens, they are dug out earlier in order to save the crop of corms.

Digging gladioli
Digging gladioli

The safety of corms and babies during storage is closely related to the mode of drying them after digging. If unfinished corms get into the storage, there is a danger of their defeat by fungal diseases under the general name "rot". Therefore, it is important to dry the dug out, washed and pickled corms and baby gladioli for two to three weeks at a temperature of 25-30 ° C, and then a month at room temperature. Novice growers need to learn the rule: it is better to dry out than not to dry.

Only healthy planting material is laid for storage. Corms and baby gladiolus must be examined and all specimens with signs of disease must be rejected. If a corm of a valuable variety is weakly affected and it is a pity to throw it away, you can cut out diseased tissues to a healthy place, disinfect the sections with green paint and put them in storage.

For storage, a basement, a refrigerator, a room with an open window, etc., are used. Rooms where the temperature is maintained within 3-9 ° C. Despite the precautions taken before laying for storage, an infection may remain in the scales of the corms and the irregularities of the shells of the baby. Therefore, in the process of storing gladioli, all material should be reviewed monthly and diseased specimens should be discarded.

Preparing gladiolus bulbs for storage
Preparing gladiolus bulbs for storage

Room humidity should be within 60%. If you do not observe the temperature and humidity regime, root tubercles begin to actively grow on the bottom, sprouts appear. Preventing the development of microorganisms and thrips helps to store corms and babies interspersed with chopped garlic cloves, which are replaced with new ones as they dry.

Questions

Can gladioli be stored in a city apartment on a windowsill?

Answer. It is possible if the temperature regime does not go beyond certain limits. However, in some cases, individual corms soften during storage, while the rest are well preserved until spring. Softening is usually due to the fact that the planting material, which was located closer to the glass, froze.

Why is the shell cracked in most of the large dug out baby?

Answer. The baby's shell cracks mainly from uneven development, especially when dry and wet weather alternates at long intervals. As a result, nutrients are supplied unevenly and the shell, unable to withstand, cracks.

When digging, there were many sick-looking corms. Is it possible to plant them next year?

Answer. Sick planting material must be thrown away. Inexperienced amateur flower growers, taking pity on the corms, try to preserve and plant them. However, such material either will not germinate, or weak plants will form from it, which will then die anyway.

Checking gladiolus bulbs for signs of disease
Checking gladiolus bulbs for signs of disease

Do I need to pick a baby with a diameter of less than 5 mm from the soil when digging?

Answer. You need to choose the whole baby from the soil, because otherwise it will clog the soil, that is, the small baby will germinate next year and the purity of the collection will be violated. In addition, some varieties give in the mass only small children, which have to be used for rapid multiplication of the variety.

Is it necessary to cut the roots of the corms after digging?

Answer. In large corms, the roots are cut for ease of transportation and storage. In young corms grown from babies, for better preservation, the bottom is not exposed. Their roots are only slightly pruned and left until spring.

After digging, I was advised not to cut off the foliage of the gladioli, but to hold them like this for two weeks. Is it correct?

Answer. No, this is not true, since many pathogens of gladioli diseases can pass into the corm. Such an event can be performed without undesirable consequences, only if you are 100% sure that there are no pathogens and pests on the leaves.

How does late excavation affect the corm?

Answer. With late digging, the corm ripens better, has a large mass and size. At the same time, diseases spread rapidly during the rainy autumn season. Therefore, experts believe that it is better to lose the mass of the corms, but win in its health.

During drying, the corms and the baby were covered with a gray-green bloom, similar to mold. Why is this?

Answer. This phenomenon is observed when corms are dried in a humid room with poor ventilation. This mold is the mycelium of the penicillium.

Dried corms on a heating battery. They have become soft. Why is this?

Answer. If the drying temperature for a long time exceeds 40 ° C, the corms are, as it were, boiled and softened.

Can a baby be kept for two years?

Answer. You can, if you support a certain storage mode.

I kept the corms in the "Frost" brand refrigerator. In the middle of winter I looked through them - many turned out to be soft. What disease has affected my corms?

Answer. There is no automatic temperature control in the "Hoarfrost" refrigerator. It is very low closer to the freezer. Those corms that have softened are simply frozen. The temperature at the storage location must be constantly monitored If it drops below 3 C, you need to change the storage location.

Drying the bulbs and putting them in storage
Drying the bulbs and putting them in storage

After drying, I laid the corms for storage in the refrigerator. After about ten days, I looked at them - all were covered with light brown spots. Why could this be?

Answer. Your corms have been struck by a disease called brown rot, or botrythiasis. The disease, apparently, can be explained by the fact that they were not completely dried. The drying regime must be observed.

The dug out and dried corms that grew from the baby, I peeled off the scales and put them in storage in the cellar. They told me what I did wrong. When should you peel corms?

Answer. After digging and drying, the corms are laid for storage without peeling the scales. Sometimes only the upper ones are removed if there are signs of disease. During storage, the scales protect the corms from drying out and mechanical damage (as a result of the latter, pathogens can penetrate into the corms). Corms are cleaned from scales, usually one to two weeks before planting.

If the corms are not completely cleaned, then spores of pathogens and thrips can get into the soil along with the scales. In addition, cleaning the corms allows you to additionally make sure that there are no diseases on their surface. If diseases are detected, corms are disinfected and treated with microelements and growth stimulants before planting. Unpeeled corms emerge a week later.

Materials used: V. A. Lobaznov

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