In the spring, I planted gladioli differently. I always planted them in rows, but this time I planted tubers of the same or similar colors in separate holes. I ended up with five holes in total.
I planted the gladioli in mid-May; the weather was warm, truly summer-like. Some of the corms had small sprouts, and they sprouted faster.
They're growing well, loving their new location. I picked the sunniest spot in one of the flower beds for them. I prepared the soil well, adding dolomite flour when digging. I know from experience that gladioli hardly grow in acidic soil. Instead of large, sword-like leaves, such soil produces puny plants; even if they try to bloom, the blossoms are small and pale.
I added well-rotted compost, a few granules of superphosphate, and ash to the holes themselves. I mixed the soil thoroughly. I topped the hole with sand for drainage, placed the gladiolus bulbs in place, covered them with soil, and watered.
At the end of May, seedlings began to emerge from the soil. By early June, the gladioli had already grown well. I mulched them with a thin layer of humus.
The compost turned out to be very weedy, containing thousands of all kinds of grass seeds. I've never seen so much grass in my flower beds! I spent the entire month of June fighting weeds; you'd remove some, and new ones would immediately grow. In short, we brought extra work into our garden along with the compost—goosefoot, foxtail, amaranth, and a bunch of unfamiliar plants. American grass, morning glory, nightshade, shepherd's purse, the neighbors' dandelions, and celandine weren't enough. Now the whole family is fighting weeds. We have to carry out the pulled-out grass from the garden by the bucketful.
When growing gladioli, for good growth in June, it is recommended to feed the sprouts with urea, but I once read that nitrogen fertilizers are for gladioli, if they are growing normally not required, as too much nitrogen can cause the bulbs to rot. I didn't apply any fertilizer in June.
In July, for better growth and the formation of more buds, you can fertilize with boric acid.
Boric acid promotes long and beautiful flowering.
Gladioli also require fertilizing with superphosphate and potassium sulfate. Superphosphate and potassium sulfate normalize photosynthesis, promote healthy leaves and tall inflorescences, and impart a more vibrant, saturated color to the leaves and flowers.
You can also use folk methods — simply sprinkle wood ash under the gladioli and water thoroughly, or prepare a solution: dissolve 100 g of ash in 10 liters of water, let it sit for 1-2 hours and water the flowers.
And wait for the appearance of colorful and beautiful inflorescences.
Oh, I completely forgot about the baby bulbs—they're the smallest bulbs. I planted them in a pot back in the apartment.
They sprouted quickly, and at the end of May I took them to the dacha. I placed the pot near a fern bush, where it's not too hot. I watered it periodically, and even fed it with an ash solution to nourish the bulbs and help them grow larger. After all, there's not much soil in the pot.
This is what the kids look like.