4 Reasons to Fall in Love with Gladiolus

Our  new flower fix at The Dahlia House this season? Gladiolus baby. As is the case with most obsessions, we just keep finding more reasons to love them. Please be patient while we gush a little on why they’ve quickly become some of our favorites…or skip to the end for our how-to planting guide, so you too can have success with these beauties in your own yard and see what we’re talking about.

#1: Outstanding Vase Life

First off, can we talk about vase life? We’ll take beautiful flowers any ol’ day but when they only last a few days it’s a bummer. That’s certainly not the case with these guys as they last up to 2 weeks! Glads can be harvested when their very first lower buds start to bloom. As days go by and the lower blooms begin to wilt, you simply snip them off. This not only encourages the higher ones to continue opening up but it allows your arrangement to organically morph and change throughout its long life, creating fresh interest by hardly doing anything at all. 

#2: Statement Piece in Minutes

These guys range from 3-5 feet tall, so they were made to draw attention. Snip a few stems and place them in a vase and voila! You’ve got a killer arrangement. Pair them with other cut flowers and they’re perfection - they’re gorgeous in wedding arrangements, large scale installations and statement making, larger-than-life bouquets. 

#3: Wide Range of Jaw-dropping Colors

Gladiolus can fit into literally any color palette - the range of colors for these guys is just incredible. Ranging from dreamy creams to blushy pinks, warm wine-colored burgundy to cool lavender and literally every color of the sunset. Dude. Yes, please.

#4: They Thrive on Neglect (this one’s our favorite)

Thinking these might be too good to be true? We haven’t even mentioned our favorite thing about these guys… gladiolus thrive on neglect. Give them full sun and well-draining soil and they take off.  You’ll have blooms just 60-90 days after getting them in the ground. 

Ready to Grow Them? Here's How

If you’re in zones 8-11, you can keep gladiolus in the ground and they’ll come back every year. If you’re in zones 7 and below, it’s best to plant them in the spring after the last frost as the bulbs can’t freeze. You can dig them up once it starts getting cold and store them for the winter. Plant each corm with its pointy side up in four inches of well-draining soil. You can put them six to eight inches apart in a sunny spot, and make sure their soil is kept moist as they’re getting established. If they’re not surrounded by other flowers or foliage, staking and twining is recommended since these guys get so tall. And that’s it! Once you get going with these guys, you’ll see why we can’t get enough of them:) 

PRO TIP: Glads can be Succession Planted

One last pro-tip: Glads can be succession planted every two weeks until mid July to extend their blooming season. The more you plant, the more blooms you get - we definitely recommend it if you have time! 

Let us know if you have any questions on how to grow these guys and feel free to head to our shop to see our current collection.

Happy growing lovelies!

xo, Anne