How to grow and take care of Gladiolus

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Its tall ,colorful and elegant spike makes it irresistible and beautiful cut flowers are used for bouquets.Gladiolus corms  have a brown fiber wrapper with a small flat bottom. Sometimes they already have pointy shoots showing at the top.

How to plant gladiolus 

1. Gladiolus prefer well-drained and even sandy soil with sunny site.
2. Plant the gladiolus deeper than usual because they have a tall sheaf of leaves.
3. This will help them to face strong winds that might blow them over to the ground.
4. You should start your planting of your gladiolus in mid-spring. From that point, make some new plantings every two weeks. on hills, But on plains it should be planted in last of august.
5. They take 70-100 days to grow and flower so planting every couple of weeks gives you flowers right on through summer.You to take special care for very hot climate ,you have to keep in shade if its too hot and sunny for blooming in summer.
6.  If these flowers will be exposed to wind, you will definitely want to stake them.
7.  Stop planting your gladiolus in summer, around mid-July in hills and in plains stop planting in December.. Keep your gladiolus watered well during their growing period and mulch the soil to keep the soil moist.

Plant propagation can be done by root division.see it in detail.


When the blooming cycle is over remove the corm from the soil and store it. The same method is used as dahlia  tubers are saved corns are also saved. Save .

How to grow Dahlia and Gladiolus

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Today we will talk in detail how to grow and take care of dahlia and gladiolus.

DAHLIA 

More Pics of Dahlia's of different variety

Plantation

• Dahlia can be planted through various  ways like seeds,stem cutting and tubers.
• cutting should be planted during July August  after roots are grown very careful for over watering
• Tubers and seeds should be planted after monsoon,because excessive water will rot seeds and tubers.
• On hills it should be planted in sprint season i.e.March April May.
• Soil should be well drained.and soil should not be heavy if is add sand and peat moss.
•  Pot should be kept in open sunny location. 
• Please wait to water in well until after the sprouts have appeared above the ground.Water little before sprouts.
• Do NOT use the pre-fertilized potting mix  as it will burn them. The difference in growing in containers rather than the ground is they will need water to get started growing for you. Please make sure to keep your soil slightly damp - or cool to the touch after planting, not soaking wet.

Taking Care of  Dahlia Plant

• After plants are grown, potted dahlias will require extra watering and fertilizing to promote proper growth and blooming. We recommend fertilizing dahlias in containers much more often than those planted directly in the ground. Fertilizing should be done at least 2 times per month with a low Nitrogen fertilizer. Watering dahlias in containers should be done often and on a daily basis. You do not want them completely dry out.


• Staking is required for any dahlias that will reach 3 feet or taller.

• Hand weeding is the only type of weed control you should ever use, there are no exceptions. Do not use any type of Herbicides, your dahlias will not survive.

• To promote shorter, bushier plants with better stems for cutting, pinch or cut the center shoot just above the third set of leaves, of plant height of about 18-20” tall.

Plant Propagation  can be done by seeds leave the flower to dry in plant ,When it is totally dried save the seeds.When the cycle of the plant is complete it rest for sometime at that time  you can dig out tubers to save them for next time.Use a storage medium such as slightly dampened Peat Moss, Sand, or Pet bedding material (sawdust/shavings). Tubers should be stored in crates or cardboard boxes. We recommend lining the containers with 10-12 sheets of newspaper. Start with your packing medium in the bottom and layer tubers and medium until the container is full. Never store in sealed plastic bags or plastic containers. Store in a cool, dry area (temp. of 40-50 degrees). Too warm they will wrinkle/shrivel and too cold they will freeze/rot. Please check your tubers once a month throughout the winter months.

See it in detail the propagation method

Sprous from seeds of dahlia

Sprouts from tuber of dahlia







Pest

The most common pest to dahlias are spider mite,snails and slugs. Typically looks like your plant needs more water. Most plant will begin with yellow spots on the leaves and then the leaves will begin browning completely, working its way up the entire plant. Spider mites thrive in hot weather and can attack certain varieties, while not bothering others. We recommend preventatively spraying through September. Recommended sprays: Neem Oil, Vegol Oil, Bayer, Ortho, Malathion (good for prevention, but does not work as well on infested plants).

I Hope all your querries are answered regarding flower Dahlia .If you want to ask me anything you can write to me

Next time we will talk about Gladiolus 

Taking Care of Bulbous Plant

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Today we will talk about taking care of bulbous plants and how to preserve the bulbs.Some of the bulbous foliage plants are  Alocasia , Anthurium, caladium ,colocasia etc. .

In general taking care of bulbous plants include

• Generally all bulbs corn,tubers are planted  in depth according to their size.It should not be more than twice the height of bulb size.

• Remove spent flowers promptly, but always allow the foliage to continue to grow until it dies back naturally.

• The foliage produces the nutrients needed to provide the next years flowers

•  Most bulbs should only be divided in early spring or the fall while they are dormant.
•  colder your climate, the earlier you plant your spring flowering bulbs. In colder northern climates, plant in September or October.

• In warmer planting zones you may need to wait to plant bulbs until December or later.

Propagation of bulbs are done through root division for more details view Plant Propagation

Bulbs which do not die  we can kept in ground round the year,just remove extra bulbs to avoid overcrowding like lilies,tuberose etc..
 Bulbs which are not hardy need to be lifted every year and to be saved and planted next year like dahlia,gladioli,tulips etc.

For preserving the bulbs 

1. Remove the bulb and remove the dirt.
2. Dry the bulbs indoor not in sunshine.
3. Inspect the bulb if ts rotten or infected if it is  remove it. 
4. It should be kept in dry place wrapped in newspaper

Be sure that air can circulate around your stored bulbs. Never store bulbs more than two or three layers deep. Deep piles of bulbs generate heat and decay.Most flowering bulbs are best stored over a long period at temperatures between 60°F and 68°F. Try to keep the humidity in the storage area as low as possible. Never store bulbs in an area where ethylene gas produced by fruit is present. Bulbs can be stored in a container with peat moss, sand, perlite or vermiculite. Another common storage method is to place the bulbs in a very loose knit sack and hang in a sheltered, cool area. Do not divide or separate bulbs before storing them.

I hope all queries about bulbous plant are answered if you have more queries or you want me to talk on some other topics of your choice Write to me..

Bulbous Plants

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Today we will talk about all kinds of bulbous plants and how to take care of them.Bulb is common usage name may it be tubers ,rhizomes, corms or true bulbs.

 Tubers
Are are an underground and fully buried in the ground. some of the plants having tuberous roots are

Dahlia

Asparagus 

TubeRose(Rajnigandha)

Corms
Is a solid underground bud

Crocosmia

Crocus

Gladiolus

• Freesia
• 
  

Bulbs
Lilies

daffodil

Tulips 

Rhizomes

Is also underground stem but it creeps
Ginger and turmeric are good examples of rhizomes

 Ginger

Turmeric







Next time we will talk about planting and caring and preserving bulbs.
I have give few common plants name but there are many more

Flowering Bulbs
Vegetables

Taking care of plants

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Previously we talked about taking care of plants in which we talked about watering and feeding now we will talk about other ways to take care of plants.

Hoeing

Is the second most important for taking care of plants.Hoeing is basically turning soil inside out .Which helps roots to breathe properly.We should be very carefully while doing hoeing so that stem roots are not damaged. Hoeing should be done when soil is moist or dry not when it is wet or soggy.In summer hoe it in evening and water in morning while in winter hoe it and water next day.Manuring and Mulching of the plant should be done after hoeing.

Weeding :  Removing weeds is weeding.Unwanted plants or grass in the garden is weed. They are the host of pest ,so your garden should be without weeds.

Staking: Giving support to a plant for holding itself is called staking.

Pruning :  means cutting a certain portion of plant,which helps in growing and blooming .It helps in giving proper shape which make plant look beautiful.

Removing Dead items: Removing yellow or dead leaves,brown stem which is dead ,bloomed flower is good for plant it helps in growing plant faster.

Stopping: Means pinching growing shoot of the plant.The side shoot from leaf joint so that whole nutrition is given to the stem which is flowering.

Plant Care(How to take care of plants)

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Your plant is like your child,seeing plant growing gives you happiness and any problem makes you unhappy. After planting a plant after care is required as your child requires.After care of plant includes:

1. Watering and feeding
2. Staking
3. Weeding
4. Removal of dead item
5. Hoeing
6. Stopping
7. Pruning

Some of the Tips for  planting plants are as below

• Planting must be done preferably late in afternoon(in evening).This will help  plant to adjust without  direct sunshine  effect. 
• Provide light shade
• Pot should be prepared in advance before uprooting the plant.(Pot Preparation)
• Do not pot a plant when soil is wet or soggy.

Watering and  Feeding:

The basics of watering is that the plant roots must remain moist.So that roots are to draw food from the soil, and reach to every part of the plant.Lack of water will wither the plant.

Excessive watering is also damaging it drains out all micro nutrients and creates condition to water- clogging. plants requires less water during rest period and more during actively growing period or blooming period,and at the time of bud formation.

Tips while watering plants

•  Water should not be given with force that makes hollow at the base of the plant.
• Watering should be done in morning or evening when soil is not hot.
• Clean plants look happy

For the growth of  plants soil should have nutrients .After a period of time the soil  natural nutrients are exhausted so we have to  add nutrients to the soil. we can add nutrients 

organic or inorganic i.e. Fertilizer

Organic nutrient include compost,animal manure, Bone meal,Poultry Manure, egg shells etc.

Fertilizers are concentrated sources of plant nutrients through chemicals .There are many different types of fertiliszrs available, all with different nutrient values. they are very strong so they should given in prescribed quantity and the procedure should be adhered. Nutrient values differ with the ratio of NPK i.e. Nitrogen,phosphorus,potassium.If you’ve been visiting your garden center and you’ve been seeing sacks of fertilizers stamped with three numbers like 5-10-8, 5-5-5 or something similar, that’s the shorthand for the percentage content of these major nutrients in the fertilizer. So a 5-10-8 formulation on a sack of fertilizer means it contains 5% nitrogen, 10% phosphorous and 8% potassium.

Other ways of taking care of plants we will talk next time