How to Grow Gladiolus in India | Taking Care of Gladiolus

Want a glorious colorful flowering plant for your garden? Here’s everything you need to know about How to Grow Gladiolus in India!

Gladiolus are cherished for their long spikes of colorful blooms that also look great as cut flowers. If you want to include this beautiful plant in your garden, then here’s all you need to know about How to Grow Gladiolus in India!

Learn how to grow Indian Chrysanthemum here

How to Grow Gladiolus in India

There are two ways to propagate this plant – through seeds and from divided corms. If you need faster results, you can go for corms.

From Seeds

• Buy quality seeds from the local vendor, or you can collect the seeds from the spent blooms.
• Sow them in a well draining growing medium, water well and keep the pot in the shade, and cover the setup with plastic.
• The seeds will sprout in 2-4 weeks.

From Corms

• You can dig up the soil to get the corms.
• Snip away the corm and let it cure for a couple of days.
• Plant them in the loose, fertile soil of pot or garden.

Growing Requirements for Gladiolus

Sunlight

Gladiolus grows best when planted in the full sun but can tolerate some partial shade as well. The color of the flower intensifies in full sunlight. A spot where it gets 4-6 hours of sunlight will be the best.

Watering

Water the plant deeply when the topsoil feels dry to touch. Make sure to let the soil dry out before watering again. Pay more attention to watering during summers.

Soil

Gladiolus appreciates well-draining, moderately fertile, and porous soil, preferably sandy to loamy with a pH ranging from 5.5-6.5. Amend the soil quality by mixing some organic matter like compost or well-rotted manure.

Climate

Gladiolus appreciates a warm climate to thrive and the subtropical climate of India acts perfect. The plant does best in the temperature range of of 27 – 30°C.

Taking Care of Gladiolus

Fertilizer

It’s advisable to add some compost or manure before planting. When the flowers start to grow, feed the plant with an organic, liquid fertilizer. Refer to the instruction label for details.

Pruning and Deadheading

Deadhead the stalks of the flowers once they fade. It prevents the flowers from setting seed and self-sowing. Use a pruner or shear to snip the stalk.

Mulching

To preserve the soil moisture and maintain an even temperature for the roots, mulch the plant base with a layer of straw, bark, shredded leaves.

Support

Some gladiolus flowers varieties need the support of a stake. As soon as the stalks of the flowers form, gently tie them to a stake or a wooden stick.

Pests and Diseases

Gladiolus is susceptible to thrips and aphids. You can spray neem oil solution or soap solution to get rid of them.

Corms rot is another problem – do not let the plant stay in overtly wet soil.