Growing my own Gladiolus from seed

Medbury Gardens · January 27, 2013

On the left are bulbs bought from the garden centre,on the right are my seedling Gladiolus grown by myself,we had 120km winds two weeks ago which the seedlings ones didn't get blown over at all, the stems are no different in thickness and all were planted in the ground at the same depth.
Its been about 5-7 years from when i bought the original bulbs,but i didnt plant them straight away in the flower garden,instead i planted them in some old disused baths with the idea of building up numbers,a year later there was 2X the number of good sized bulbs that were then planted in the flower garden,the 100's of baby bulbs left were given another year before i did the same again.

The only thing i can think of is its virus,anyone have any thoughts as to why the difference.

My mine gladiolus flower collection album
http://s416.photobucket.com/albums/p...view=slideshow

Doug9345 · January 27, 2013

Two things come to mine. One is that the ones on the right may had been in a wind "shadow of some kind. Something up wind that protected some of them. Air movement is a funny thing. On all scales there are pockets of air that don't behave the same way all the surrounding air does.

The other is have your seed grown ones been in the ground multiple years and the store bought one planted this year? That might make a difference.

I'm leaning toward the first one because, if you look at the grass in back, the clumps to the left look like the are flattened more than the one in the back on the right.

doublehelix · January 27, 2013

Even plants have a lifespan and can die of old age. I don't know about Glads or if this is the case here. I know a few years ago my Father had a tree he was quite fond of die. Disease or insect injury was suspected, but it turned out that variety only lives about 20 to 25 years and it had simply died of old age.

Darren Abbey · January 27, 2013

I'd vote for the vagaries of the wind. In this case, it looks like a microburst took out half your garden.

Medbury Gardens · January 28, 2013

I should have described more on the type of wind we had,it was not part of any thunderstorm system but instead it was a wind we get in spring and early summer where we get long periods of what's called 'Roaring 40's' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Forties which at times blows for days on end,the wind on our side of the island is a dry warm wind where at times the sky can be completely cloud free,the wind on this occasion blew for about 24 hours.
The photo its looking east and the wind was a westerly,directly behind me to the west is wide open,no trees or buildings to break up the wind,so its an evenly exposed garden.

So its simply that my seed grown Gladies stood up to this prolonged period of wind better than the bought ones.

Medbury Gardens · December 30, 2013

A year later and the seed grown Gladiolus really show themselves more so now,the garden centre bought bulbs (highlighted) are weaker while slowly dying out,they get blown over easily compared to my own bulbs in which they are multiplying rapidly .
To me this now proves that its not to do with any microburst or vagaries of the wind.

Darren Abbey · December 30, 2013

Awesome! I'm really glad you did the experiment!

A difficulty with plants that are propagated by bulbs/rhizomes/tubers is that they can pick up viruses over time which weaken them.

I have had a garden flattened by a microburst, so that was my initial interpretation.

Marcus1 · December 31, 2013

Your slide show is beautiful. Glads have always been my favorite flower. In Colorado I have to lift my corms and store them for the winter.
. In your climate do you leave them in the ground for more than one season ?

Medbury Gardens · January 1, 2014

Yes i dont need to lift them,winter frost will only penetrate 10mm at the most,ive got one self sown Gladiolus in my Asparagus bed thats been there for over 6 years,last summer it had 37 flower stems,this summer i dont think it has as many,i'll get a photo and post it later

Marcus1 · January 1, 2014

Richard, I would probably try lifting the corms at the end of the season remove the old corm, separate the multiples and inspect them for disease. I grow a couple k of glads every year and probably throw away 5 to 20% that show brown rot on the corms after digging. There are several diseases that affect the corms and the fungus or bacteria can live in the soil for years. You might even want to move where you plant them if you see signs of disease on the corms. Good luck with your Glads !

Medbury Gardens · January 1, 2014

Are you growing yours to sell flowers Marcus1?

Marcus1 · January 1, 2014

Yes, but also because I love to have lots of flowers in my produce stand as it really cheers people up. My first garden 50 years ago consisted of 12 glads I talked my mom into buying for me. My biggest problem with the glads is always flower thrips. Do you have them there ? Do you grow them to sell or just for your enjoyment ?
Marcus

Medbury Gardens · January 1, 2014

No i dont have much in the way pest problems,and i grow them just for enjoyment.

Here's a photo of the 6 year old clump in the Asparagus bed which grew from one wind blown seed,19 flower stems this summer.

January 27, 2013	#1
Medbury Gardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Medbury, New Zealand Posts: 1,881	Growing my own Gladiolus from seed On the left are bulbs bought from the garden centre,on the right are my seedling Gladiolus grown by myself,we had 120km winds two weeks ago which the seedlings ones didn't get blown over at all, the stems are no different in thickness and all were planted in the ground at the same depth. Its been about 5-7 years from when i bought the original bulbs,but i didnt plant them straight away in the flower garden,instead i planted them in some old disused baths with the idea of building up numbers,a year later there was 2X the number of good sized bulbs that were then planted in the flower garden,the 100's of baby bulbs left were given another year before i did the same again. The only thing i can think of is its virus,anyone have any thoughts as to why the difference. My mine gladiolus flower collection album http://s416.photobucket.com/albums/p...view=slideshow __________________ Richard

January 28, 2013	#5
Medbury Gardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Medbury, New Zealand Posts: 1,881	I should have described more on the type of wind we had,it was not part of any thunderstorm system but instead it was a wind we get in spring and early summer where we get long periods of what's called 'Roaring 40's' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Forties which at times blows for days on end,the wind on our side of the island is a dry warm wind where at times the sky can be completely cloud free,the wind on this occasion blew for about 24 hours. The photo its looking east and the wind was a westerly,directly behind me to the west is wide open,no trees or buildings to break up the wind,so its an evenly exposed garden. So its simply that my seed grown Gladies stood up to this prolonged period of wind better than the bought ones. __________________ Richard Last edited by Medbury Gardens; January 28, 2013 at 01:15 PM.

December 30, 2013	#6
Medbury Gardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Medbury, New Zealand Posts: 1,881	A year later and the seed grown Gladiolus really show themselves more so now,the garden centre bought bulbs (highlighted) are weaker while slowly dying out,they get blown over easily compared to my own bulbs in which they are multiplying rapidly . To me this now proves that its not to do with any microburst or vagaries of the wind. __________________ Richard

December 31, 2013	#8
Marcus1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 124	Your slide show is beautiful. Glads have always been my favorite flower. In Colorado I have to lift my corms and store them for the winter. . In your climate do you leave them in the ground for more than one season ? Last edited by Marcus1; December 31, 2013 at 08:02 PM.

January 1, 2014	#9
Medbury Gardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Medbury, New Zealand Posts: 1,881	Yes i dont need to lift them,winter frost will only penetrate 10mm at the most,ive got one self sown Gladiolus in my Asparagus bed thats been there for over 6 years,last summer it had 37 flower stems,this summer i dont think it has as many,i'll get a photo and post it later __________________ Richard

January 27, 2013	#2
Doug9345 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Durhamville,NY Posts: 2,706	Two things come to mine. One is that the ones on the right may had been in a wind "shadow of some kind. Something up wind that protected some of them. Air movement is a funny thing. On all scales there are pockets of air that don't behave the same way all the surrounding air does. The other is have your seed grown ones been in the ground multiple years and the store bought one planted this year? That might make a difference. I'm leaning toward the first one because, if you look at the grass in back, the clumps to the left look like the are flattened more than the one in the back on the right.

January 27, 2013	#3
doublehelix Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Central Arkansas Posts: 190	Even plants have a lifespan and can die of old age. I don't know about Glads or if this is the case here. I know a few years ago my Father had a tree he was quite fond of die. Disease or insect injury was suspected, but it turned out that variety only lives about 20 to 25 years and it had simply died of old age.

January 27, 2013	#4
Darren Abbey Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 586	I'd vote for the vagaries of the wind. In this case, it looks like a microburst took out half your garden.