Hi all,

I donÂt seem to be very lucky growing from bulbs, except for day lilies. Some disaster always seems to strike before my plants become established. From squirrels to rot to "helpers" pulling up plants thinking theyÂre weeds, something always has happened.

But still I try!

I recently moved from the city to Bloomington, Indiana where I have room for a larger garden. I created a large raised bed in which I planted gladiolas that I bought from a huge discount box store. As the plants grew they looked very healthy. The flower heads formed perfectly but as they bloomed the flowers browned and died. The foliage has brown streaks. Thanks to the FAQ in this forum I learnt that my problem could be an infestation of thrips. Sure enough, when I went outside to examine my poor gladiolas, I discovered that the buds of the flowers were covered with them!

What should I do? I just ordered a shipment of irises from Schreiners and donÂt want them to suffer the same fate. Is there a way that make sure the thrips donÂt come back to the same bed? Except for the current infestation it would seem to be an ideal place with very good drainage and full sun. Or alternatively, should I create a new bed? The new bed wouldnÂt be as well drained (only new soil mounded up) and would be right next to a large clump of day lilies, which IÂve heard are very susceptible to thrips, but hardly suffer any damage unless it really gets severe.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Right now IÂm feeling like IÂm bulb-cursed and should just be resigned to forever gardening with perennials!