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My gladiolus plant formed twin corms. The plant flowered once and then died but has created two large healthy corms. Why did this happens and will the corms produce new healthy plants?

Jeanne
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  • Many thanks for your quick reply. There were two new corms, side by side. The spent corm was in the middle, which I removed. The plant was attacked by ants or centipedes and died after flowering only once. – Jeanne Mar 05 '19 at 06:25

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Yes, you can separate the corms (preferably just before you replant them, after they have dried and they are easier to split apart without damaging them) and each will grow independently.

The plants may be a bit smaller than average in the first year, but they will "catch up" in the following years.

In the wild, this is how a group of bulbs or corms spread and increase in size - slowly!

alephzero
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  • Many thanks for the quick reply. I was a bit hasty and separated the corms immediately but they came apart very easily and without damage to either. They were side by side and mainly attached by the spent corm. I've stored them for future use. In India, we plant gladiolus in July. – Jeanne Mar 05 '19 at 06:32
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If the two corms were one above the other, you're supposed to throw away the bottom one - that's the one that produced flowers, so it's considered 'spent', because the plant directs nutrients into forming the new corm ready to flower the following year. Further information on these here https://www.almanac.com/plant/gladiolus# - you'll need to scroll down almost to the bottom, under Storing Gladioli corms, for confirmation that this old corm is usually discarded.

You can, though, certainly try growing the old corm again just to see what happens...

Bamboo
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