🗡️ Gladiola
Gladiolus × hortulanus
Sword-leaved showboats that turn a cutting garden into a fireworks display.
Sun
Full sun, 6+ hrs
Days to harvest
70-90 days from corm planting
Spacing
4-6 inches apart
Soil pH
6.0-7.0
How to grow
Plant corms 4 inches deep in spring after frost danger, staggering plantings every two weeks for a long season of cuts. Glads are top-heavy — plant in clumps or along a fence for mutual support, or stake individual spikes. In Florida, plant in fall for winter-spring blooms; dig and store corms where winters are wet and cold.
Water & feeding
Water deeply once a week; consistent moisture during spike formation gives the tallest, straightest flowers.
Common problems
- Thrips rasping the buds — the #1 glad pest; reflective mulch helps.
- Corm rot in poorly drained soil.
- Floppy spikes — plant deep and in groups.
Harvest
Cut spikes when the bottom 2-3 florets show color; the rest open in the vase over a week — the gift that keeps on giving.
Nerdy fact: Gladiolus means 'little sword' in Latin, and Roman gladiators were supposedly showered with them after victories. The flower is literally named after sword fighters.