Glads. And that sure is a pretty color.

With squirrels and gladiolus it can work both ways. Sometimes the squirrels steal the bulbs and plant them in other people's yards. That's what happened when I invested in glads; my nearby neighbors ended up with 'surprise' flowers in random places.

I never thought of squirrels doing something like this. Very interesting Greene.

I had some planted right next to my house and they came back for years and years, until the area was bulldozed to build a new porch. If buried deep, and next to the house for some warmth, it's possible to stretch the hardiness zone a little further north.

Also, there are hardy gladiolus
http://www.highcountrygardens....

Karen

Cool! I didn't know about that more hardy kind.

Other, regular Glads aren't reliably hardy north of about Z7, excluding microclimate spots, but they are easy to dig up & store in a basement or attached garage. That's what I did with them when I lived in OH.

I didn't know about those either! Cool! And they're little! The regular ones, while pretty, are a bit too large for my taste. Have to try some of these.

greene said: Sometimes the squirrels steal the bulbs and plant them in other people's yards. That's what happened when I invested in glads; my nearby neighbors ended up with 'surprise' flowers in random places.

That's probably how I got a "volunteer" winter squash identical to some a nearby neighbor had sown. Some squirrel relocated a seed.

They tasted good and was the easiest plant I ever watched grow without touching it.

I think next time I will buy some more Gladiolus and since I am a bit lazy about digging up just do more each year, sure hope to get
that same color I had from the first one!, it was gorgeous. And I suppose I could put chicken wire over it to protect from the squirrels
until they begin to sprout.

Chicken wire or plastic mesh might be easier to do than sprinkling hot pepper frequently.

The chicken wire can be left in place under the mulch. Works until it rusts out, but by then usually the bed needs to be refreshed anyway.
(I wish someone had told me about chicken wire before I spent all that money on squirrel toys.)

They're usually pretty easy to find, and saving them is definitely not for everyone. Enjoy them well!

They are actually kind of weedy where hardy anyway. A patch of babies looks like grass that's being left to grow in a "flower bed."

Glads are very popular in Miami, but I don't think anyone grows them because you can buy them for 99 cents a bunch. What do I know? I was an inner city kid and we took them for granted, IE the Hibiscus, the Croten etc. Then again I am talking 50 years ago! lol

Heck, I thought that was a reason to buy them, 99 cents a bunch is my type of plant. Plus all the blooms on each plant, they are a real bargain.

Just an FYI. If you love gladiolas and hate staking them, check out the Glamini series. Full size blooms on dwarf size plants. do check around on google because the pricing is arbitrary... from $10 for 25 bulbs to as much $ 25 for 25 bulbs.

http://www.dutchbulbs.com/prod...

Funny thing is, the first year I grew half of a 3 1/2'X50' row of them to sell at market. I couldn't sell them at all! Second year I pretty much put a bunch in a vase for decorating my booth and everyone wanted to buy them! Last year too, they were the first flowers to go, but I can tell you, I didn't sell them for 99 cents! I probably wouldn't grow as many if I had to lift them every year.

I did have to lift them the first year because they got thrips later and I had to dig them all and soak them and dry and store until next spring. Since then they have been wonderful! And this year I am growing some from seed. Heck, until last year I never even knew they made seed!

Lots of varieties in our generic entry!
Gladiola (Gladiolus)

Calif_Sue said:Lots of varieties in our generic entry! Gladiola (Gladiolus)

@Calif_Sue I agree, many gorgeous Gladiolus varieties listed in the DB. I found that general entry yesterday and tried to move Linda's photo over but couldn't seem to get there when I clicked on her photo and tried to import the picture. That's happened to me a couple of times with different plants and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I can find the general entry for a plant when I go to the database main page but sometimes when I try to import a picture to the general entry, the general entry doesn't show up in the list.

Lin, copy the ID number or the URL of the generic entry and paste that into the search box when importing.

I forgot to add, when you are importing and doing a search for the plant, you usually have to type in a cultivar or species name to narrow it down as the search list can only show a certain number. If you just type in gladiolus, it's too wide of a range. That's when you have to go find the entry first and then add it into the search box.

Thanks Sue! I do believe that someone told me awhile back about copying the number of the entry which does make it easier! I wonder why I never remember that ... probably has something to do with age.