Proud beauties, high gladioli easily become the main decoration of the flower garden. But the summer season comes and along with the long-awaited peduncle brings disappointment. Neither a smaller number of corrugations of petals, nor tinting nuances will bring such concern to the gardener as a miserable appearance of a flower sword due to dried up unbroken buds. The main reasons for the loss of decorativeness of the fencing can be several.

Why gladioli wilt without blooming

Anomalies with flowering occur in gladioli if you do not follow the rules of care, especially if the flower is varietal. When planting, the age of the baby is important, it should not exceed 3 years, it is determined by the size of the bottom. The larger the “hoof” of the gladiolus tuber, the older the flower and its weaker flowering. The young onion is round and does not have a flattened shape, unlike the old one. Most often, she has only one sprout, it can be used to determine an early age.

Important! Pbesiege an old tuber with a lot of sprouts vertically (sideways) — numerous children will emerge from it. In this way, valuable varieties can be rapidly propagated.

For 4 years, the quality of the flowers, their simultaneous blooming, the saturation of the tone is guaranteed to decrease - the plant is not able to pull out the simultaneous blooming of all flowers, so some will not be able to open, they will not have enough nutrition from the old, weakened bulb. Poor tuber leads to the problem of withering of the peduncle, which can not bloom. To avoid this, just updating the planting material is enough.The structure of the gladiolus flower. The small size of the bulbs does not solve the difficulties with flowering, most often they simply will not give it. Usually new tubers bloom without difficulty only in the second year after planting. Do not plant weak corms with damage. Mechanical injuries can lead to rot, and damage that has occurred during storage is a sign of emerging diseases. Throw tubers injured by scab and bloom without regret - only a healthy bulb blooms without problems.

Pathogenic organisms penetrate into the injured mother liquor from the soil, which can lead to the complete death of the flower. It is better not to plant old copies mixed with young ones - oppression of young animals will begin. Sort corms, queen cells of the first analysis, i.e. the largest, will guarantee the quality of the flower arrow. If the sprouts emerging from them are numerous, break them out without regret, leaving the only, strongest.

It happens that the planting bulbs are young, the arrow is high, the buds are formed, but with each new blossoming flower, the first and subsequent ones immediately wither, a possible reason is a variety that does not imply powerful inflorescences and is not able to open and hold their number, its average values ​​will not exceed 4 -5 simultaneous disclosures, which is included in the specifications. Often this is characteristic of very early types of gladiolus, middle-late and later are more hardy and decorative.An exception is Arina, which can drive out a high peduncle and hold up to 9 flowers at the same time in early summer. For gladioli of the average flowering period, a disclosure of 8–9 is characteristic, and for later to sustain 10-15 inflorescences on the stem is not a problem. Keep in mind that species blooming in August have a certain heat barrier. In the northern regions, flowering characteristics will change, flowers will fade faster. A powerful spike of 25 buds in an advertising leaflet of an early variety will turn into 3 full-fledged flowers with a dozen wilted without creating special conditions for forcing.

Even if you organize an ideal climate, it will bloom in 70 days, which the plant will not have enough to form a strong above-ground part with a strong stem. Therefore, the average number of flowers will not exceed 15 buds in the middle lane. The microclimate of the infield is not suitable for all freshly acquired specimens. If, for example, you buy collection varieties imported from abroad, or from a collector from another part of the country, remember that not all will pass adaptation to conditions different from usual.

The microclimate is important and affects the same species in different ways, which in one place of the site does not bloom at all, while in the other it feels great. Experience over time will tell groups with high decorativeness that bloom with complete dissolution and preservation of characteristics in your garden. Feel free to discard those that you do not take root. Consider certain requirements when choosing a place for planting, without which there will be no flowers or they will lose their decorative effect, fading without dissolution.A sufficient amount of sun without shading, non-condensation for free access of air, a change of location every two years, aeration of the earth with mandatory loosening at the stem after irrigation - these factors will determine and increase the number of simultaneously blossoming flowers in the future. Regular application of water during the heat, summer-autumn root dressing, mulching will correct and prevent the common problem of an ugly stem with wilted flowers.

Why do gladioli dry buds

External factors matter from the moment of landing. Pay attention to weather conditions: in wet, rainy and windy weather, bulb planting is contraindicated. Drying of the flowers can be triggered by improper storage conditions of the bulbs. Bulbs can freeze both during storage at temperatures below 0 ° C, and during early planting, when night frosts tend to return. Keep the uterine material and their babies safe at room temperature, and the gladioli will thank you with flowering two weeks earlier.

Important! If during excavation the underground part of the plant is damaged by a shovel, but a significant surface of the bottom is preserved, such bulbs can be saved by treating sections with cinnamon powder or brilliant green, if there is no Fundazole or Maxim drug on hand.

It is not recommended to leave these flowers in the ground, even during gentle winter. Frosts that somehow happen will destroy even strong and hardy bulbs. Early planting for them does not mean that they will bloom faster. The thermophilicity of gladioli leads to the fact that, if you are ready to dissolve the bud ahead of schedule, the cold and dampness of it will be killed before dissolution, and the next season will not bloom at all, since all the phases necessary for laying the peduncle have not passed.Late planting for a moisture-loving flower is also unfavorable. While the flowering arrows dry out, not having time to fully develop, the tubers when digging are healthy. A similar situation is observed at high air temperature and lack of moisture. The root system under these conditions is poorly developed, disrupting the nutrition of the stem, it begins to lag behind in growth, then the peduncle dries out. With excessive drought or heavy rainfall, gladioli may not have time to dissolve the bud.

Excessive moisture of the earth after rain and additional irrigation will turn the soil into a swamp and lead to rotting of the roots. You can also do harm by watering the flowers in the heat not with warm, but with cold water. In this case, the leaves will remain green, but the flowers will begin to fade and dry out without opening. Insufficient moisture in the root layer of the soil leads to the drying out of the earth, which will cause only 1–4 flowers to appear, the rest will dry in such conditions even in buds.

Did you know? Dutch varieties can bloom every 2-3 years. This is due to pre-sale overfeeding with fertilizers and ideal conditions for distillation, which is provided in greenhouses that are difficult to reproduce at home.

If the flower stalks are weak, cutting the stem with unopened inflorescences will help strengthen them for the next season. Leave at least 4 flowers with petals, this will help you mature the bulb without disturbing the natural cycle. A lack, like an overabundance of nutrition, also leads to the rapid death of inflorescences. Regular fertilizing or changing your seat will help fix this.But remember that top dressing on a hot summer day and before watering will lead to the death of tender petals in the bud. Fertilize only after irrigation. Consider the phases of flower development when fertilizing the earth. Flower buds appear before planting, but develop while in the ground. The better you feed the plant, the more flowers will open and hold out at the same time. Fertilizer should be applied every two weeks.

August and September are the times for mass gain at the tuber buds and bulbs. When cooling, it is not necessary to fertilize, it is better to transfer top dressing to the period of warming. If the soil is cultivated, nitrogen should not be added. Solutions of phosphorus, potassium, chelated iron and trace elements will strengthen the bulbs and tubers in this period. Ammonia or potassium nitrate (per 10 l of water 12 g of fertilizer) is introduced last. Before digging for 12 days, top dressing should be stopped. To stimulate growth and flowering, it is necessary to let the bulb ripen.

At the same time, it is important to remove gladioli in storage on time. Depending on the climate, a massive excavation should be carried out from September to the end of October, it is necessary to focus on the temperature. The first to dig up are not those varieties that were planted before, but those that bloomed first. After flowering, at least 35 days must pass before the tuber substitute is fully formed. To avoid damage, use a pitchfork, not a shovel.

Gladiolus diseases

If the factors of the favorable development of the peduncle are taken into account, but the number of flowers on the sword has not increased, moreover, there is a gradual withering with the dropping of the stem, gladioli are ill. Signs of the disease may not appear immediately after planting and development, but during flowering or after, already during excavation.

Did you know? There are about 70 thousand varieties of this flower, but only a third has become popular.

Fungal lesions

Fungal diseases are the scourge of gladioli, they are most often found, spread rapidly, are practically incurable. It is worth paying attention to the color changes of the buds from green to white, yellowish or unexpectedly dark uncharacteristic variety. Blooming too late, sticking out in different directions, fading or unblown inflorescences, drooping and curved arrows, drooping leaves indicate defeat of the gladiolus by fusarium.Fusarium.This fungus multiplies in the basal zone and deforms the stem and unopened petals. Leaves can rot, dry out and fall off, and flowers can never bloom. A plant affected by fusariosis easily pulls out of the ground. On a dug bulb, a light, watery, then brown, increasing in size spot is observed. It dries and shrinks, drying the tuber before mummification. During storage at high humidity, the fungus will manifest itself as brown spots and white growths in the basal zone.

Fusariosis is dangerous for 90% of gladiolus plantations and is not amenable to removal. The reason for its appearance is high temperature and an excess of moisture in the soil, heavy, acidified soil, and excess nitrogen. Fusarium treatment is not provided, infected bulbs must be destroyed, it is advisable to dig and dispose of along with a lump of land in which they were located.

However, preventive measures can be taken to avoid the onset and spread of the disease in the future:

1. Fold the affected material and earth in one place outside the site and burn.
2. Exclude the bed with diseased specimens for 8 years from use for planting bulbous plants.
3. Treat the place where the affected gladioli grew with a mixture of Tiazon and sand.
4. Peroxide sanitize garden tools and hands.
5. Use only ripened corms when planting.
6. Before planting, treat the material with a 0.15% solution of potassium permanganate, soaking it for 2 hours. After that, dry the bulbs for 10 days at a temperature not lower than + 25 ° C.
7. Land in a ground warmed up to + 10 ° С.
8. If fusariosis is noticed, treat gladioli at the end of June and again after a week with 5% (5 g of the drug per 10 liters of water) with the “Fundazole” solution. During the third treatment in mid-July, increase the concentration of the solution to 17 g per 10 liters of water, using the entire amount on 1.5 m² of area with gladioli.
9. Before and during the dormant period, carefully monitor each bulb, destroying the suspect.

Sclerotiniosis, gray, black or dry rot is a time-resistant fungus that affects gladioli. It develops under conditions of high humidity and acidified soil fertilized with humus, lives in the ground for 10 to 25 years, carries the risk of mass destruction, feeds on fiber, falling into the bulb when damaged by a garden tool, most often when weeding.

Black rot dries leaves and stems, in which the appearance of pale stripes and yellowness is observed, the stem breaks itself, rotting at the base, the bulb is covered with sclerotia - brown sunken spots, similar to charred ones, and, blackening, rots. A flower dies without entering a flowering period. Do not try to keep the bulb, it will dry. In advanced form, a mycelium forms on it. It will not work to save her; such instances must be thrown away. Losses in sclerotiniosis make up half of all gladioli.

Did you know? In the old days, the gladiolus tuber was used as an amulet: warriors took it with them to battle, the household hung a flower in front of the entrance as a guard against evil spirits.

For prevention is:

• constantly sorting tubers, destroying the affected;
• observe the temperature of +25 ... + 30 ° С during drying of planting material, provide ventilation in the room where it is stored;
• treat corms with Maxim or 2% Fundazole solution;
• during storage, apply spraying of dry bulbs with copper-containing preparations, for example, a Bordeaux mixture of 1% (10 l of water, 100 g of copper sulfate, 100 g of lime);
• add 150 g of quicklime to acidic soil per 1 m² of land before planting and do not make humus this season;
• dig the soil in the fall with the overturn of the earth layer;
• during the growing season, re-spray gladioli with preparations containing copper;
• before planting, etch for 1-2 hours the corms freed from the scales of the corm with a solution of potassium permanganate (15-30 g of potassium permanganate per 10 l of water);
• be careful with a garden tool, avoiding damage to the underground part of the flower during earthing up during the growing season.

Botritiosis or heart rot is caused by the fungus botritis, whose spores are carried by the wind. To identify this fungal infection, pay attention to the characteristic small round brown spots on the green part of the leaves, which eventually spread to the entire surface, merging, in places, into a single whole, while the leaf plate dies. Watery formations appear on the petals. The disease is noticeable not only during the growing season, but also during storage - the bulb rots from the inside.Botritiosis. If you feed the gladioli with nitrogen during the growth period, store the tubers in damp, do not ventilate the room, poorly dry the corms before planting, it can be easily picked up. In this case, the treatment consists in removing diseased units, examination to identify the affected ones, disinfection during planting. It will not be superfluous to cultivate the land with fungicides in late July.

Septoria or solid rot of gladioli prefers acidified soil and is carried by wind, rain, insects, most often in autumn. It spreads with prolonged lowering of temperature, excessive watering and increased moisture in weakened soil. The bulb hardens, as a result of which the leaves are affected by pycnids - brown spots with a bright red border. The flower dries without opening. Rounded formations increase and merge, the central part blackens and acquires an angular shape. The plant dies, and the corm is mummified during storage.Septoria

Recommendations for prevention:

• inspect bulbs, eliminate infected ones, disinfect healthy ones;
• provide a good supply of fresh air in the storage room;
• in diseased specimens, cut out rotten sections with a sharp knife, treat with antifungal drugs;
• Do not plant gladioli on the site of those infected for 7–8 years.

Bacterial lesions

Less numerous (they are only two species) and bacterial diseases affecting gladioli are not so common. Like fungal infections, such infections deform the growth of the flower, causing such anomalies as mottling, strokes on the petals and leaves, dwarfism of the plant, and filamentity.

The root bacterial cancer of gladioli forms growths that disfigure and drive away the root neck and system. The disease blocks the nutrition of the plant, so it soon dies. The disease is not treatable, in addition to gladioli, it threatens roses, carnations, peonies, dahlias. Cancer is discovered when digging bulbs. At the place of development of the children, shapeless roughness appears. Experts suggest that the cause of cancer lies in damage to tubers and the root system. Such bulbs are subject to destruction, and the soil must be dug up with the introduction of dry bleach.For the bacterial scab of gladioli, red watery ulcers are characteristic, sometimes there is a black rim around them. Such stains, similar to varnishes, cause bacteria. The plant withers, the leaves turn yellow, the stem rots, the buds do not bloom. At the initial stage, when there are few ulcers, you can try to cut off the damaged area and sprinkle with crushed charcoal or treat the cut with a diamond solution.

But most often the gladiolus can no longer be saved:

• lesions are irreversible, destroy the plant;
• pour intact bulbs with an acidified solution of 9% vinegar (120 ml per 10 l);
• before planting, soak tubers for half an hour in warm boiled water + 55 ° С.

Viral diseases

Signs of viral lesions are similar to each other, as are treatment methods. Most often, these flowers are susceptible to diseases by mosaic and yellowness, less often - ring blotch. If bacteria and fungi attack the plant before the formation of arrows, then viruses are insidious - they are detected at the flowering stage, when it is too late to do anything, it remains only to dig up the flowering gladiolus.

Did you know? People in the Middle Ages used gladiolus corm flour for baking bread, and a decoction of petals with the goal of reduce toothache and as a stimulant of lactation.

Mosaic is caused by a microorganism that is spread by insects - aphids, thrips and other pests. Light yellow or pale green spots on leaves and buds appear due to disturbances in the process of photosynthesis and are its characteristic sign. The aboveground part quickly turns yellow, the flowers fade, the peduncle stretches excessively, not blooming, the bulb dries.If a baby is miraculously preserved, a plant grown from it will never bloom. At the same time, gladioli can be bushy. There is no way to save them. In order not to infect neighboring bushes with mosaic, it is necessary to destroy the diseased instance. If the spots look like closed rings, then this is a ring spot virus.. Gladioli planted in the place where rye grew, get less sick.

Prevention of mosaic and spotting can serve:

• insecticide attack on insects on time;
• thinning a row to prevent thickening of the landing;
• weed removal;
• avoidance of planting in the focus of cancer for 2-3 years;
• do not plant gladioli after potatoes and tomatoes (they have similar diseases).

Drying or yellowness (jaundice) is another unpleasant viral attack that affects corms with roots and causes a flower fuse, i.e. the petals do not develop, are deformed and disappear at the stage of the unblown bud. The bulb rots directly in the soil, covered by depressed spots of brown color, the roots die off, until the greens turn yellow, starting from the apical part, the stem twists and withers.

Important! Digging the soil into 2 bayonet shovels with the overturn of the earth layers heals the soil.

The disease is ubiquitous and spreads quickly in places where gladioli accumulate. When digging on a sick specimen, the brown vascular system is visible, such bulbs will quickly disappear. You should not expect them to germinate during planting, even a temperature below 0 ° C will be powerless against the virus.

Infected plants are incurable, but you can fight for healthy material:

• regularly sort corms during the autumn, winter and spring seasons;
• Soaking of bulbs in copper preparations immediately after digging and before storage will protect against bacterial and fungal diseases;
• etch the planting material again immediately before planting in the ground;
• ensure proper ventilation in the room where the tubers are stored;
• when planting, inspect the appearance of each bulb (specimens with brown spots must be destroyed);
• Do not plant bulbs in places even of a single lesion with yellowness for the next 3-4 years;
• for 8-10 hours, fill the planting material with an infusion of marigolds, which must be prepared in advance (dry stalks are crushed, folded, half-filled in a bucket, filled with warm water and allowed to infuse for 2 days), also water the plantings with this infusion twice - after the gladioli were thrown out flower stalk and at the beginning of their flowering;
• destroy infected plants during the growing season and when digging up;
• feed gladioli with magnesium during the growth of greens.

Pests

If diseases and external factors of negative influence are excluded, and the color in the buds continues to dry, before it opens, tear off the unblown one, cut it along and open: flower buds can be damaged by pests. When invaded by insects, the entire gladiolus is damaged. Slugs, scoops, cabbage and mustard can be addicted to its aerial parts. The root system and corm will attract winter scoop, gall nematodes, nutcrackers and gherkins. With a large amount of wheatgrass around the planting, a wireworm will penetrate into the tuber. Gnawing through the bulb through, this larva makes it vulnerable to infection.

Important! Due to the high thrips defeat, gladioli were repeatedly banned from importing from the Netherlands to Russia! In addition, such bulbs are unstable to scab and are often infected with bacterial diseases.

If he takes up the stem, the plant will die. Eroded roots and the bottom of the bulb cause the arrows to dry out in the worst case, and reduce decorativeness if the problem is detected on time. The general appearance of such a plant is not attractive. Growth lag, yellowing of leaves and stems, wilting of flowers will lead to death, if a severe pest defeat is allowed. It is necessary to provide protection against insects, because in addition to injuring leaves, bulbs and flowers, parasites carry bacteria, fungi and viruses, the effects of which are incurable.The greatest danger for gladioli, other bulbous and cruciferous, especially asters, is thrips. Despite the size of only 1.5 mm, an adult does irreparable damage: quickly multiplying, it lays 3-5 colonies per season. Hot dry weather will increase each of them to 9 generations. Black-brown color makes the insect invisible. An elongated torso with a black head and fringe on the wings allows you to merge with the plant. Larvae with a tubular process at the end of the body are transparent at first, then light yellow. To winter, thrips hide under the scales of the bulb, and at + 10 ° C and above it begins to multiply.

If you lower the room temperature below + 10 ° C, it will lose activity, and it is easy to detect. At -3 ° C, the activity of this pest ceases. The female pierces the plant tissue in order to lay eggs on leaves or buds, the mass character of infection can be observed after planting, especially during flowering. The larvae feed on the juice of green parts and petals, 3 weeks is enough for the full cycle of maturation of a new generation. Foliage with silver-white point lesions, yellow dashed spots - the result of tissue breaks in thrips during egg laying.

Black dots on inflorescences and greenery are traces of pest secretions. As soon as an arrow appears, insects immediately occupy it. The appearance of withering buds that lose color and dry out is the result of thrips entering the flower. Through the edges of the petals, through holes of their strokes are noticeable. A further cooling will drive the thrips into the lower part of the stem. During harvesting, you can notice large accumulations of pests on the remains of the skewers, and during storage they will go under the scales of corms, from where the juice will be sucked. Small punctures will appear on the bulb through which it will lose moisture.

Damage to the tissue of red color after drying will turn into crusty brown and gray spots. Due to thrips injury, the bulbs lighten and stick, darken at the end of storage, wrinkle and dry out. A large number of parasites leads to the formation of yellow, then purple dust on the tuber, the strongest allergen to the mucosa. Places of damage are susceptible to rot due to the spread of fungal spores by insects. Gladioli will not bloom, and sometimes they will not sprout if the lesion is massive.

In view of the prevalence of this pest and the threat it poses at the vegetative stage and during storage, carry out comprehensive measures by all available means:

• periodic inspection of corms, with a strict rejection of damaged specimens, will eliminate thrips at an early stage;
• sticky traps for flies placed in the room where the tubers are stored and a temperature not exceeding + 10 ° C will help reduce the number of pests;
• spray material and its storage location twice (if severely damaged three times) with insecticides. “Fitoverm”, “Actellik”, “Decis”, “Karate”, “Commander”, “Inta-vir”, “Karbofos” will cope with insects in warm weather without precipitation;
• instead of spraying, immediately after digging, you can soak for 10-30 minutes. bulbs in a solution of insecticides according to the instructions, then dry well;
• corms can be disinfected by immersion for 5 minutes. in water heated to + 50 ° С, allow them to dry and keep under normal conditions;
• pour gladiolus with lime or chalk at the rate of 20-30 g per 1 kg of tubers;
• Place the infected bulbs before the shoots appear in a paper bag, add 5 g of naphthalene there for every 15 pcs., remove them after a month, let them air and store under normal conditions;
• ideally plant gladioli in a sterile substrate or calcined sand, while 3-4 years do not use the place where thrips appeared;
• in the aisles among the flowers plant garlic, it scares away pests;
• spray the planted plants with insecticides after the appearance of 4 leaves, repeat every 20 days, in the presence of the first peduncle, then during the staining of the buds, the last treatment is carried out a week before digging the bulbs;
• alternate the above drugs to avoid the development of insect resistance to them;
• cut plants early to avoid thrips migrating to the bottom;
• Destroy the tops and plant debris, and be sure to dig the soil after harvesting on a bayonet shovel.

The root onion tick, eating tubers and roots, harms not only gladioli, but also lilies, tulips, daffodils, dahlias. Light yellow shiny adult individuals, similar to a shortened oval, grow to only 1.1 mm. They settle on putrefactive plant debris, penetrating from them through the bottom and injuries into bulbs and tubers, where they settle between the scales. Females in such places make masonry, and larvae that emerge from less than a week from eggs grow for about a month, sucking juice from a scaly cover.Root onion tick. This period is enough to destroy the plant - growth will slow down sharply, then the leaves will turn yellow and fade. Tubers are susceptible to attack by the tick during storage, especially if the aged plant films and dry roots are not removed, then the presence of the tick will give out brown dust on the surface of the scales, the presence of rot, rottenness. Such bulbs will quickly infect others during planting, invasions will move to the soil and other plants. The tick likes temperature from + 18 ° С and humidity more than 60%.

Tick ​​control methods are similar to the destruction of thrips, but insecticides, except for Keltan, Karbofos, Aktara, and Aktellika, will not work on them:

• do not plant contaminated material in the soil, dig and destroy bushes with yellowed leaves;
• in the vegetative period, spray gladioli with a karbofos solution of 10% (75 g of the drug and 10 l of water), you can add a solution of Keltan 20% (20 g of chemical and 10 l of water) under the root;
• carefully collect from the flower bed and eliminate any residues of stems and roots;
• do not plant bulbs on infected soil for 3 years;
• disinfect for 50 minutes. in a solution of "Celtan" 0.3% (3 g of the drug and 1 l of water) planting material after digging by immersion, this solution can be replaced with a solution of "Karbofos" 30% (3 g of poison and 1 l of water);
• remove old scales from the bulbs;
• during storage, examine them, constantly sorting out and rejecting suspicious ones;
• sprinkle every kilogram of bulbs with chalk or sulfur (20 g);
• immerse for 5-10 minutes. specimens with insects in hot (+ 50 ° С) water; weekly storage of planting material at +35 ... + 40 ° С will replace such bathing;
• the temperature in the room should be within +2 ... + 5 ° С, the humidity threshold is maximum 60%.

Despite the numerous methods of preventing diseases and insect damage, for gladioli there is no working way to save the bulbs. Do not resort to folk methods of treating a flower, this will lead to the death of the fennel. Increase the plant's immunity with good illumination and the absence of drafts in the area.At the beginning of growth, organic matter can be added. For this, an infusion of bird droppings or horse manure is suitable.Pay enough attention to disease prevention, treat with fungicides on time, carry out foliar top dressing to strengthen the immune barrier, mulch the soil with needles. This will contribute to the emergence of an early peduncle with full ripening and flowering buds without lodging the stem. Compliance with the terms and rules of agricultural technology will allow you to admire the magnificent, elegant, full of flowers, powerful arrows for several years in a row.