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How to Cut Back Gladiolus
How to Cut Back Gladiolus. Even after your gladiolus have finished blooming for the season, the handsome foliage remains attractive and can continue to complement the remaining flowering plants in your garden. While there's no hurry to remove the strap-like foliage, they will prepare for dormancy as cool weather approaches. This is your signal that...
Even after your gladiolus have finished blooming for the season, the handsome foliage remains attractive and can continue to complement the remaining flowering plants in your garden. While there's no hurry to remove the strap-like foliage, they will prepare for dormancy as cool weather approaches. This is your signal that it's time to cut your glads back for the year.
Things You'll Need
Clean, sharp knife or shears
Tall bucket
Lukewarm water
Carbaryl dust
Paper bag
Cut your gladiolus freely for your stunning indoor decorating accents throughout the blooming season. Use a clean, sharp knife or shears to cut a spike when one or two of its flowers are just beginning to break their color open. Plunge the cut stems into a bucket of lukewarm water immediately. Do this early in the morning or just after twilight so that the heat of the afternoon won't wilt your lovely flowers.
Prune out each flower spike as soon as its final bloom fades. It's fine to take some of the handsome foliage for attractive additions to indoor arrangements as you need them throughout the growing season. Always leave at least three or four leaves intact on each plant to continue providing it with adequate nutrition for the developing corms.
Cut back gladiolus foliage only after all the flowers have faded and the leaves begin turning yellow. Use shears to prune the leaves down to ground level. The plant is entering dormancy and the corms don't need the foliage to nourish them any longer.
Tips & Warnings
Dig gladiolus corms up following the first killing frost. Air dry them for three weeks in a warm, well-ventilated spot. Divide the corms at this time if you wish, and discard old spent ones. Put 2 tsps. of carbaryl dust into a paper bag and add up to 100 corms. Shake them with the dust to treat for pests. Store the bag between 35 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit in a dry, dark, well-ventilated location where they won't freeze. Your refrigerator crisper drawer is an ideal spot for over wintering gladiolus corms.
