Gladiolus belong to the iris family and are bulbous plants. This makes the propagation of the magnificent flowering plants very easy and uncomplicated.
How to propagate gladioli?
Gladiolus can be propagated by bulbs or seeds. Brood onions emerge from the mother bulb and can be planted in spring. Seeds are obtained by ripening seed pods and sown in planters. Both methods require a few years of patience for flower formation.
Propagation by breeding onions
Since very few species of gladiolus are hardy, you have to dig up the bulbous plants in the fall to overwinter them indoors. Take this opportunity to carefully remove the tiny daughter onions from the mother onion and store them separately from the large onions in the winter quarters.
Plant all onions in the garden in spring so that the seed onions can continue to grow. The small tubers are not planted as deep as the mother bulbs. Only dig them about four centimeters deep. Since it is not always easy to find the small onions again in autumn, you can place them in boxes or grid trays that are buried in the ground.
However, the small gladioli only bloom this way after two to three years. So some patience is required.
Propagation by seeds
Gladiolus, like many onion plants, can also be propagated by seeds. However, breeding takes longer and is somewhat more difficult. Since some gladiolus varieties are hardly available in stores anymore, this propagation is still worthwhile.
Extraction of seeds
You can easily collect the seeds yourself by not removing any dead flowers immediately. Allow the seed capsule to fully mature and then cut it off.
When sowing, proceed as follows:
- Since gladioli are sensitive to frost, be sure to sow them in a planter.
- Sow seeds over a wide area and cover with a thin layer of soil.
- Moisten well with a sprayer (€27.00 on Amazon) and make sure that the small seeds are not washed away.
- Put a transparent plastic bag over the container to create a warm, humid climate.
- Air daily to avoid the formation of mold and rot.
Gladiolus do not always germinate well and in some cases the efforts are even in vain. However, if the seeds germinate, you can expect magnificent and he althy plants after two to three years.
Tip
You can alternatively continue to care for the gladiolus bulbs in the pot. This means you can grow several generations of gladioli and always know what age the offspring are and when you can expect the first flowers.
