From my roots to my blooms, I feel the damage of the Gladiolus thrips (*Thrips simplex*). It begins subtly. You might notice a silvery-white streaking or stippling on my lush green leaves as they rasp and pierce my surface cells to feed on the sap. This scarring is my first cry for help. As the infestation worsens, my leaves may turn brown, wither, and die back prematurely, crippling my ability to photosynthesize and gather energy. The most devastating damage is to my prized flower spikes. Buds may become brown, brittle, and fail to open. Those that do open often display discolored, blotchy petals and appear water-soaked or deformed. My entire display of vibrant color is stolen from me, leaving me disfigured and weak.
My life as a gladiolus is one of beautiful but vulnerable cycles. I spend the winter as a dormant corm, my life stored safely underground. This is precisely when the thrips seek refuge on my stored form. They overwinter on my corms, in the storage area, or on plant debris in the soil, waiting for the warmth of spring. When you plant my infested corm, you unknowingly introduce the pest population directly into the garden. As I push forth new growth, the thrips become active, feeding and reproducing rapidly in the warm weather, with a new generation developing every few weeks. Their population explodes just as I am trying to produce my magnificent flower spike, causing the most damage at my most critical time.
The strongest defense begins before a pest is even seen. My first request is for good sanitation. After my blooming period is over and my foliage has yellowed, please carefully lift my corms from the ground. Discard any corms that show signs of severe damage or rot, as they are likely harboring high populations of the pest. Before storage, a crucial step is to give me a therapeutic bath. Please immerse my corms in water heated to precisely 130°F (54.4°C) for ten to fifteen minutes. This heat treatment is lethal to the thrips but safe for me if done correctly, ensuring I enter storage clean. Always store me in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area in paper bags or mesh containers, never in plastic where moisture and pests can thrive.
If you see the tell-tale stippling on my leaves during the growing season, immediate action is needed to save my flowers. I respond well to a consistent regimen of insecticidal soap or neem oil sprays. These products work by suffocating the soft-bodied thrips. Please ensure you thoroughly coat all surfaces of my leaves, especially the leaf axils and the developing flower spike, where they love to hide. Applications must be repeated every 5-7 days to break their life cycle, as these treatments do not affect the eggs inside my plant tissue. For severe, recurring infestations, a systemic insecticide applied to the soil may be considered as a last resort. It is absorbed by my roots, making my entire system toxic to feeding thrips. Please always follow label instructions carefully to protect yourself, me, and the beneficial insects in the garden.
