[lsp12]

After much neglect since mid September (kids, work recent bouts of illness  in the family seem to have taken over my every waking hours!!) I was delighted to get back to the allotment this morning (under London's stunning sunshine) and started clearing and cleaning up a bit!

I had been meaning to get my gladioli bulbs out of the ground for weeks (when I was told it had to be done) and now I have collected them back...I am not sure what to do with them (forgot to mention, this is my first year gardening , as the questions below will make clear!):

Am I right to assume I need to clean them, cut back the stem back to the bulb?
For those which seem to have split/duplicated... am I meant to separate them?
Some of the bulbs have lots of tiny pearly bulbs attached: can these be made to grow?
and finally: how do I store the bulbs safely till I put them back in the ground?

Any tip would be most welcome!
Laurence

[Paul Plots]

Most of mine are still in the ground - poured today so the job is delayed yet again.

Some years I have left gladioli where they are as my plot does not get water-logged. Up they have come the following year without any problems.

Normally I prefer to lift mine rather than have them grow on the plot in the same place each year. (In the garden's flower-beds they stay put).

Once lifted I trim the stem to within a couple of inches of the bulb and put them on trays in the greenhouse to dry. The small bulblets will, eventually, develop into new flowering bulbs if you have the room to plant them in a nursery bed and leave them to develop like grass. Two or three years later they should be big enough to lift and then replant for flowering. Usually, however, I plonk them on the compost heap unless they have reached a promising size in their first season.

Once the bulbs have dried I sometimes remove the remnants of the original old bulb from under the new bulb (hope that makes sense). Often I just gently pull off anything that looks as if it is damp or dead and the healthy dry bulbs stay under the bench where the frost can't get at them. A sheet or two of newspaper over the top is about all they need.

Avoid damp, humid conditions or grey mold could develop... when the weather warms up in spring I plant them, row at a time, a couple of weeks apart to extend the cut-flower season rather then have too many in flower all at once.

A mixture of colours planted in one row adds the their apeal I think. 

[Paul Plots]

And here's some I grew earlier 

[lsp12]

Many thanks for your detailed feedback! this was just what I needed. I hope that my gladiolis will look as good as yours next year! I will try and keep the little bulbs to develop them into fully grown bulbs at some point in the future...
Most gratefully,
Laurence

[Paul Plots]

You're more than welcome - I wish you luck with them! 

[gardener247]

i stored mine and now they have white fungus on them and the bottom is soft and gooey what can i do!!!!

[Paul Plots]

i stored mine and now they have white fungus on them and the bottom is soft and gooey what can i do!!!!

Throw the lot out and look out for some replacements... soft and rotten is past use by date 

[stephenprudence]

If they're hardy glodioli (hardy to zone 4/5), they can stay over ground in winter and will most likely grow back. If however they are tender Glads (zone 9/10) they will not survive in the ground.

[Paul Plots]

I agree with this..... our garden ones stay put and take a chance.

Those on the allotment (grown for cut flowers) are lifted and stored - usually replanted in a different location as I want to move crops around in Spring and winter dig to keep weeds down. 

I'm not sure ay would tolerate the cold and wet this year has brought - so happy to have lefted and stored nearly all of mine this year.