| General
Cut Flower Care: Keep the water in the vase of your Gladiolus
fresh. Replace the water every 3 days with cold water keeping
the water level near the top of the vase. Re-cut 1/2" from
the base of each Gladiolus stem under water using a sharp
knife
with each water change. Remove any foliage that may become
submerged after re-cutting to avoid bacterial growth. Variety note: There are literally
hundreds of varieties of ornamental Gladiolus grown for the cut
flower trade and outdoor gardening. Nearly all of the of the
vividly colored plants are hybrids created from original native
plants brought from Europe. With such a large variety of Glads, there is a color,
size and flower shape to suite every need. The name Gladiolus is derived from the
Latin word gladius which means "a sword", the
shape of there leaves.
Both regular Gladiolus and mini Gladiolus are available nearly
year round. One of the better performing Gladiolus on the market
is brand named Gald-A-Way Glads. Gladiolus are sold in 10 stem
bunches which usually measure 48" in length or more. Glads
open from the bottom of the stem working there way to the top. To
force Gladiolus of open quicker pinch the tips off of each stem,
make sure they have plenty of water, and place them in a warm
sunny location.
Add a commercial floral preservative such as AquaPlus or
FloraLife to the vase that contains your Gladiolus arrangement with each water change. Floral preservative helps to prevent
bacteria growth and feeds your flowers insuring a longer vase
life.
If you run out of commercial flower preservative you can
make your own fresh cut flower food mix 1/2 teaspoon of table sugar to a
quart of cold water... mixing thoroughly.
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