In Zone 4 we don’t have the luxury of leaving some plants out year-round. Since overnight frost warnings were forecasted for last weekend I made sure to dig up my gladiola plants so that they would have a chance to be replanted in the spring. I carefully removed any excess dirt around the bulb. Underneath I found the original bulb that was planted, and in some cases a new bulb on top of it that had developed. I split those bulbs that had grown into two and placed all of the bulbs in a bucket to dry out. Be sure to remove the stem of the plant, you will only want to keep the bulb. It’s important to make sure that the bulbs stay in a safe spot away from the potential of freezing or becoming too hot. In a few days I will put them in a paper bag and store in our basement over the winter. I love reusing bulbs each year as it not only saves money not having to buy new ones, but it’s fun to watch and see how many bloom again.
Recreational Gardener 