How to Cut Back Gladiolus

Cut your gladiolus freely for your stunning indoor decorating accents throughout the blooming season. Use a clean, sharp knife or shears to cut a spike when one or two of its flowers are just beginning to break their color open. Plunge the cut stems into a bucket of lukewarm water immediately. Do this early in the morning or just after twilight so that the heat of the afternoon won't wilt your lovely flowers.

Prune out each flower spike as soon as its final bloom fades. It's fine to take some of the handsome foliage for attractive additions to indoor arrangements as you need them throughout the growing season. Always leave at least three or four leaves intact on each plant to continue providing it with adequate nutrition for the developing corms.

Cut back gladiolus foliage only after all the flowers have faded and the leaves begin turning yellow. Use shears to prune the leaves down to ground level. The plant is entering dormancy and the corms don't need the foliage to nourish them any longer.