Best time to plant glads?

GardenGeisha

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I'd like to plant more gladiolas, but I'm debating whether to plant them this fall or wait until the spring. I'm in Zone 5/6/7, Salt Lake City, Utah, and I haven't had to dig my glads for the winter; they come back okay. I did know a woman who lost all her glads one bad winter-- she'd had them come back for 17 years, but one cold snap got them. What do you think? Would there be advantages to planting them now instead of waiting until the spring? Where is a fun place to buy glads? Do some types overwinter better than others? I'd love to see pics of your favorite varieties. Thanks!
 

journey11

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With mulching, I've been able to get away (mostly) with leaving my gladiolas out all winter, but really you are supposed to dig them up and replant them each spring.
 

digitS'

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There was an unusual little field near our southern Oregon farm when I was growing up. Maybe, it was an unusual farmer. He or she decided to plant those couple of acres in gladiolas!

No cities nearby, I don't know what was done with the corms or flowers ... one year, the next, it was back in pasture. The glads came back but there was less of them for the cows and neighbors to enjoy each year. I imagine that the cows didn't do them any good.

I like annual beds. With a greenhouse, I can easily populate hundreds/thousands of square feet with annuals. Perennials too but then those perennial weeds like to move in and make my life much more difficult.

Glads store easily in boxes of pine shavings in my basement. Their summer homes don't require much more than the cultivation I'd need to give any ground in the vegetable garden.

Steve
 

canesisters

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Oh! Gonna follow this one.
I've got about 20-30' of fence line on the drive where I've planted a mix of dafodills, glads and those things that look like giant dandylion puff balls. I've never dug them up (cause I'm lazy) and as far as I can tell (almost) all of them come back every year. They are only in a little line against the fence and I've wanted to add to them to make a real display.
 

GardenGeisha

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I cover mine well with Christmas tree branches in early December, and they come back. But maybe I'll wait, to be on the safe side. Sure as I invest in expensive, fancy glads, we'll have a bizarre, record-setting winter of cold and moisture to kill them.
 

so lucky

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I've always thought we had to dig them up, here in zone 6. Maybe leave them in the ground on the south or east side of the house? That's one flower I've never tried to grow.
 
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