After a winter with record extremes, and a summer that is anything but normal, you now have a reason to rejoice because the flower for the month of August is the Gladiolus. In case you don’t have any in your garden, yard or haven’t planted any of these delightful corms in containers, you’re in luck. You can bring the look and feel of summer into your home with the Simply Perfect floral arrangement from Schaaf Floral & Gifts.

Origin of Gladioli and Their Place in History

Loved for their elegance for centuries, the majority of Gladioli species originally came from Sub-Sahara Southern Africa. Others are native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean basin area. Gladioli were the official flower of Roman Gladiators who competed in spectator sword fights in Rome’s famous Coliseum. These flowers get their common name – “Sword Lily” from their perceived resemblance to a sword.

According to the Language of Flowers, gladioli symbolize character strength, love at first sight, and moral integrity. The connection between gladioli and swords probably gave rise to the suggestion that the gift of a gladioli meant that someone wanted to figuratively pierce the heart of their loved one, with the sword’s love.

Growing Gladioli

Hardy gladioli are planted in the fall – before the first frost. Planting timing is important because the corms need to set roots before winter – just like spring-blooming bulbs. The gladioli that are planted in fall are smaller than the larger varieties that are planted in spring. They don’t grow as tall either.

For summer-blooming varieties, look for large, healthy corms. The larger the corm, the larger the plants, and by extension, flower size. Depending on the variety, different gladioli species and hybrids can have as few as 12 flowers or as many as 20 on a single stem.

Planting and Soil Preparation

Choose a site where your gladioli will get as much sun as possible, yet in an area where they are protected from strong wind. The larger varieties can grow as tall as six feet, so top heaviness is a problem to consider when thinking about the best place to plant them.

Use a tiller or large fork to loosen soil in the entire area where you want to plant your corms. Be sure you dig down far enough to loosen 15 inches of soil. After tilling it to loosen the soil more than a foot deep, add at least four inches of compost to the area. Then till or mix the compost into the bed with your fork or shovel.

To plant your glads, dig a 4 inch deep hole for each corm. Leave at least 4 to 6 inches of space between corms. Before you place the corms in the soil, make sure that the pointed side is facing up. This is the side that will sprout through the ground. Cover each hole and pat the surrounding ground to secure each corm in place. If they’re loose in the ground, they’ll easily topple over – or worse in bad weather. Apply a layer of mulch to stop weed growth and keep the soil most for longer.

Don’t forget that summer-blooming gladioli are not hardy enough to survive Minnesota winters in the ground. Dig them up before the first freeze. You can clean them and store in a cool dark place with a consistent temperature of 35 to 45 degrees.