If many consider the rose to be the queen of flowers, then the gladiolus undoubtedly claims to be the king of the world of decorative flora. Few flowers can compare with fenders in beauty, but they are short-lived - the flowering period of gladioli lasts no more than two weeks, after which they begin to fade. But is it possible to enjoy the sight of a beautiful bouquet of gladioli standing in a vase in the same two weeks, we will try to figure it out.

How to cut gladioli properly

Among experts, there are two opposing opinions on how to properly separate the peduncle of the gladiolus from its root. One point of view on this issue is that the flower should be broken. Proponents of the method argue their position by the fact that this method prevents the transfer of pathogenic microorganisms through a knife or secateurs.

Opponents of the supporters of the method believe that breaking off the stem from the root neck can damage the entire root system, which can lead to the death of the gladiolus. Adherents of this approach have every reason for this position - the flower stalk is quite difficult to separate from the root neck, it has to be twisted literally, which may not affect the condition of the flower and its roots in the best way.

Important! You can not use scissors for cutting gladioli: the tool destroys the stem cells, which negatively affects the life of the cut flower.

How to act, you decide. But, in any case, when cutting or picking flowers, you need to remember some simple recommendations:

• When cutting gladiolus, try to leave as many leaves as possible on the vine. The fact is that the bulb grows stronger and larger where there is more green mass. It is desirable that a part of the stem with at least five leaves remain in the ground;
• cut the flower early in the morning or after sunset;
• do not cut gladioli in hot sunny weather or at a time when it rains;
• for longer storage, cut the skewers that have just begun to bloom;
• punch the stem with the tip of the knife, making the blade rotational movements left and right, increase the hole between the stalk fibers. When the gap is large enough, break the flower out of the rosette of leaves.

How to keep cut gladioli for a long time

There are many ways to extend the life of gladioli in a vase.

Important! There are vampire flowers and donors: the former include, for example, a rose - it takes vitality from neighbors of other species. But geraniums, sweet woodruff, thuja branches are wonderful neighbors for any other flowers.

Below are some tips and tricks to increase the time during which the flowers will delight you with their beautiful appearance:

• fenders will stand in water longer if, using a sharp object (pin), several longitudinal scratches are made on the stem. Such a life hack promotes better absorption of moisture by flowers;
• water should be poured into the vase to the very edge - the more part of the stem in contact with moisture, the longer the cut flower will live;
• usually the flowers below are wilted first, followed by those that grow taller and so on. In order for the entire peduncle to stay fresh long enough, remove the lower flowers when the first signs of wilting appear;
• try to keep as few leaves as possible on the flowers in the vase, of course, without prejudice to the appearance. It is leaves, not flowers, that take water and most of the substances dissolved in it;
• it is desirable that the sections of the stems do not touch the bottom of the vase;
• gently, using tweezers, remove the stamens from the buds. Such a measure signals the plant that pollination is complete, a kind of conservation mechanism is activated;
• like any other flowers in a vase with water, gladioli can not be placed in a place where direct sunlight falls;
• some time the skewer can be stored in the refrigerator - this way the flowers can stay fresh for a long time. The only problem is that the volume of the refrigerator needed for plants of this size must be very spacious;
• remove from the peduncle the bud growing below all the others, and punch the stem 4-6 times through the awl in the place where it comes into contact with water;
• skewers should be removed from the flowerbed in clear summer weather, from 7 to 10 in the morning, or in the evening, after 19 hours. Cut those flowers whose lower buds barely had time to blossom. In this case, the buds will bloom gradually, and the flower can stand in a vase with water for quite some time.

Will gladioluses bloom in a vase

If you cut the skewers with barely opened lower buds and used the recommendations for extending the freshness of the flowers above, you can be sure that the gladioli will soon begin to bloom.

In addition, there is one very effective method for cut flowers to bloom in a vase of water. Immediately after you cut them on the flower bed, you must remove the upper buds from the peduncle.

How many gladioli are in a vase with water

Depending on the quality of the flowers, on how correctly you collected them, as well as on some other details, the bouquet can stand in the vase for one to two weeks. The details include the quality of the water and the substances that you will add to it. Skewers are very dependent on the properties of the water in which they are located. In addition, they like a slightly acidic environment. What to add to water to create conditions comfortable for flowers will be described in detail below.

Did you know? The birthplace of gladiolus is land currently owned by the state of South Africa. It was there that initially 7 species of skewer were grown, from which more than 10,000 varieties known today were later bred.

How to care

It is not difficult to take care of a skewer standing in a vase with water - he does not require much attention and special troubles.

To ensure proper care, it is enough to just perform some procedures:

• flowers are very sensitive to water quality, so you need to change it every day. It is better to take filtered, settled, or boiled water, you can mix them;
• with a daily change of water, you need to slightly cut the stem, about 2-3 mm, and only then put the flowers in a vase;
• these flowers take spray irrigation perfectly - spray the buds regularly with it, and they will be able to maintain their aroma for a long time and look great.

What to add to water so that gladioli stand longer

There are a fairly large number of recipes for adding various substances to water that can prolong the life of a flower for some time. You do not need to combine them all - there will be no better effect, but the flower will wither from such a cocktail, most likely, very soon.

Choose any of the methods described below, at your discretion:

• crush one tablet of acetylsalicylic acid and add to a vase with water;
• throw a tablet of activated carbon into a vase;
• 2 tsp granulated sugar in a medium-sized vase;
• Crush and pour 1 tablet of succinic acid into water;
• 1 teaspoon salt in a medium-sized vase;
• 1 tbsp. table vinegar (9%) per 1 liter of water;
• 3-4 drops of ammonia per vase;
• 1 tsp. Boric acid in a medium-sized vase;
• add citric acid (at the tip of a knife) to 1 liter of water;
• put the bouquet in a pink solution of potassium permanganate.

What to add to the water so that the gladioli bloom

Plants are known to be multicellular organisms: their reaction to many substances is similar to the reaction to the same stimuli of more complex organisms, such as animals and people.

Did you know? Europe became acquainted with gladiolus in the 17th century thanks to sailors and a flower boom, which later grew into the Dutch “tulip fever”. And at the beginning of the 20th century, a breeder from the USA A. Kunder first raised gladioli with corrugated petals.

Now you know how to act so that the bouquet of gladioli in your vase will please you with beauty and freshness for as long as possible. To keep gladiolus blooming and fresh for a long time will not work in any case, but delaying wilting is quite possible.