One of the most beautiful flowers in the flowerbed is gladiolus (fennel) - a proud handsome man who pleases the eye with a noble appearance and a variety of colors. However, in some cases, gardeners can observe a change in the color of the gladiolus, in which all the flowers become the same shade. What is the reason for this phenomenon, and how to protect the plant from pollination - find out from the article.

Can gladioluses become dusty and change color

Quite often, gardeners are faced with the problem of changing the initial color of the gladiolus - in the process of development, flowers of the wrong color or shade that were expected to grow. As known, the bulb of the plant is able to maintain valuable varietal traits for 4-6 years. Then it gradually begins to lose the individual characteristics of the variety, to change the color of the flower to close to the "wild" varieties. Biologists were able to identify a number of main causes of this phenomenon, in particular, bacterial and fungal diseases, improper care and storage of bulbs.

How to pollinate

Quite often, inexperienced gardeners write off the "degeneration" of gladioli and the change in their bright color to pollination. In fact, the plant cannot be pollinated provided that bulbs or children were used in the planting process. With the growing method of cultivating the culture, the children completely retain and repeat the main varietal characteristics of the mother material. In this case, the main cause of the “degeneration” of the fencer and loss of color in this case is considered to be the aging of the bulb.

Important! Pollination is possible with the seed method of reproduction, but it is extremely time-consuming and is used only by professional breeders to breed new varieties.

Over 4-6 years, one corm is able to actively grow, produce buds, delight with rich and lush flowering. Further, it begins to rapidly grow old, which leads to the fading of flowers, a change in their color. If after the indicated time the bulb is not replaced by a young one, then the flowers on the gladiolus will be few in number, grow small, faded.

How and why pollinate gladioli

In themselves, the skewers are not able to pollinate, since their pollen ripens a little later than the pestle blooms. Pollination can occur by means of bees or by gusts of wind, but in this case it is difficult to guess which of the flowers “fell” under crossing. That is why those gardeners who have decided to plant a crop with seeds need to learn to pollinate the plant with their own hands.

A similar process consists of the following steps:

1. Anthers separate from male blossoming flowers.
2. Cut pieces are lined on a sheet of clean paper and leave them to ripen.
3. When pollen begins to spill out of the dust particles (which indicates maturation), it is collected.
4. Anthers are separated from female flowers. Maternal flowers are covered with a piece of breathable material, for example, a piece of gauze, and await the disclosure of the pestle.
5. After opening the pestle with a brush, pollen obtained from paternal forms is applied on its stigma, then the flower is again covered with gauze. The tissue is removed when the boxes with seed material form in the plant.

After the procedure, a small tag is hung on the skewer with information regarding the parental forms. Of course, the pollination process is quite complex and may not be successful the first time. However, experts advise not to despair and periodically carry out the procedure until the desired result is obtained.

Important! Pollination over 2 is not recommended.–3 flowers located on one peduncle. Extra flowers should be removed altogether.

The grains obtained from the seed bolls are thin, small plates with a length of not more than 0.2 cm, which have a germ in the center. As a rule, one box contains from 180 to 200 seeds. Store the material in a dry, ventilated, warm room. At too high or low temperature indicators, as well as high humidity, seeds quickly lose their germination.

Are gladioluses of different varieties growing nearby, pollinating

When planting gladioli of different varieties close to each other, their cross-pollination can occur. However, in order to subsequently see the result of such pollination, you should:

• gather seed material from a flower;
• to grow from the collected seed a young new corm;
• wait until the bulb sprouts and will please with unusual flowering, characterized by a riot of flowers and shades.

As practice shows, summer residents do not engage in the above-described agro-technical measures because of the length and complexity of the process. Most flower growers prefer to breed skewers by separating bulbous children from the mother material. This method allows you to avoid cross-pollination, even if there are nearby growing gladioli of different varieties.

Why gladioluses change color

As noted above, there are several reasons why gladioli change color during development, with bulb aging being considered the main one. Experienced gardeners update planting material every 2-3 years. It should be noted that the most saturated and bright flowering is able to “give” three-year corms.

Every year, the corm is losing its original qualities, it is weakening, it is worse at resisting diseases and pests, there are fewer flowers on the gladiolus, they are losing their bright color and fading. That's why periodically the plant needs to be rejuvenated, using children for breeding.

Did you know? In England, gladiolus is the most popular and common plant that is cultivated by almost every resident of the state. It is in this country that the rarest varieties of culture are concentrated, and it is here that the largest number of collectors live.

There are frequent cases when on a single bed the skewers of different colors after a few years become all the same. This phenomenon is explained by the "degeneration" of varieties and their return to the mother base. To fix the grade on the site, it will take several years of painstaking work. There are plants that lend themselves well to reproduction, are highly resistant to diseases, and form quite a few large children. At the same time, flowers with a low reproduction rate and weak immunity can grow on a flower bed. If you do not take measures to preserve the "weak" varieties, then after a few years they will be replaced by stronger and more stable ones.

In most cases, those varieties that form a small number of small children “disappear”. Such plants, for the safety of maternal qualities, should be planted separately from others and every 4–5 years to carry out measures to degenerate planting material.

Gladiolus diseases

One of the most common causes of color loss in gladioli are considered bacterial and fungal ailments:

1. Fusarium. One of the most dangerous diseases affecting the described culture. It is characterized by the appearance of brown spots on the bulb. When planting infected material, it is highly likely that gladioli will not sprout, and if this happens, the flowers will be small, pale and will quickly dry out.
2. Sclerotinia. Black rot (another name for the disease) progresses with high soil acidity and heavy rainfall. Signs of infection of the plant are: foliage drilling, rotting of the stem, the appearance of black spots in some areas of the culture - agglomerations of the fungus. As a result of the harmful effects, the root system rots and the flower dies. This disease is not treatable, therefore, infected flowers and bulbs are destroyed.
3. Septoria. The disease is very similar to other fungal ailments and manifests itself in the form of characteristic spots on the leaves and stem. It is impossible to save infected skewers from septoria, so they are destroyed together with infected corms.
4. Scab. A bacterial disease spreads on planting material, on the surface of which erosion is formed. The aerial part of the plant practically does not suffer. The only sign is that on the leaves located at the base of the stem, you can see small spots of brown color, which subsequently increase and grow.
5. Mosaic. You can recognize the disease by the appearance of alternating spots of light and dark color on the leaves, which, as the disease progresses, spread throughout the plant. As a result of such exposure, the gladiolus gives fewer buds, the flowers become smaller and change their color.

Certain preventive measures allow to prevent the appearance and further development of ailments of the skewer, in particular, competent care, soil moisture control, as well as preventive treatment of plants with fungicidal preparations.

Did you know? Today, officially registered about 70,000 varieties of gladioli, which were bred in different countries of the world. However, only a third of the plants are grown on a large scale, the rest can be found only in private collections.

The "degeneration" of gladioli is a serious problem that not only beginners, but also experienced flower growers may encounter. When cultivating the described plant, it should be remembered that the aging of its corm occurs quite quickly - 4-6 years after planting. That is why, in order to maintain the declared varietal characteristics, the culture should provide competent care, carefully separate the varieties and regularly rejuvenate planting material through children.