BULBLETS

[Barbara]

I have just dug up my Gladiolus Muriale, and as usual lots of little bulblets were on the main bulbs, but, lots fell off, I know they take about 3 yrs to flower, so where to keep them, in the bag with mum, or in a pot with compost. What do you do. please.

Barbara.

[Jasmine]

Found this Barbara.

'As tender, lift when foliage dies back, discard old corms and store new corms in a dry frost-free place to re-plant in the spring. In milder areas a thick dry winter mulch may be enough.'

I'm not sure about throwing this year's corms away though i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/undecided.gif Seems a waste if there is any chance they will flower again next year.
This is the first year I've grown them and I'm just going to leave them in their pot and keep them somewhere dry and frost free and see what happens next year.

Sorry, not a huge amount of help. Would be interested to see what others do.

[Dutchy]

Usually the corms are good as the old ones did themselves in already ( maybe some of it is still clinging to the healthy corm) and what you dig up are as I call it new ones. Those little bulblets can be left in the ground some will survive and come up next year, they are bigger then and make for easier harvesting.
Like mum they do need to be in the soil every year in order to live and grow.
I would bung them into their own pot as a sort of nursery if planting out is not an option. Mum will need all she can get next year to do the flowering again.

Mine were in soil and I am risking half by leaving them in, and have already dug some that were in my way up.
They live the winter in newspaper in the shed. Although right now they sit on a table at MssK just being pretty autumnal colour providing cormy pebbles. They have some runnerbean seeds for company ;D

Have fun

[Barbara]

I have planted the babys in compost in a small pot, mums are in a paper bag, in my special box, I'll give them a good feed when I replant them next year, and let you know how the do. thanks Dutchy and Jas.