I think it will work. Actually, i intend to do that with glads next summer, more because i don't have a lot of space in the gardens anymore. And my sister-in-law does it with dahlias and she has gotten two great years out of some dark red ones that she has at the end of her driveway.

I start my glads in the basement early.....in April. I just push them into the top of the promix, don't cover them...and leave them on the cold floor...not under lights. The leaves grow to about a foot and a half by time to plant out. When I plant them out, I plant a good 6 inches deep. Depending on the variety they start blooming early Aug.

I have tried them in half barrels too. I wasn't impressed with the look though. I have also had glads survive the winter in the garden here and come back to bloom beautifully on their own.

Some people start their dahlias early, but I find that they don't get enough light and flop if I do this. So I wait till the ground is workable....and then plant them. Don't water.....by the time the ground warms up they will be poking out of the ground. Again depending on the variety, the smaller ones start blooming in July and some of the bigger ones take till late Aug. It also depends on the weather in any given year.

Sierra

I was wondering about the look too, Sierra - too tall and skinny in a container? If you planted something full and traily with them, it might look okay.

I had great success with glads in containers last year. Unfortunately the bulbs I saved didn't put on the same show this year. It could be the fault of too much rain, too little fertilizer and having them stuck in little starter pots till June because of the late spring freezes here. Next year I'll buy new bulbs for the containers and stick the saved ones in the ground.

Dahlia's have been a mixed bag for me. My huge tree sized pot 3ft tall/2ft diameter had good blooms while my other ones hardly bloomed at all. Some of the ones in the ground had tons of flowers while others didn't bloom at all. Once again it could be the too much rain and too cool aspect.

Can't believe that next summer I'm hoping for 30 temps as I usually hate them but the plants seemed to miss them.

You can buy dwarf glads now, I think it was Veseys that sells Tiny Tots.

If you go to there website there is a nice photo of some Glamini glads and ivy in a container.

Laurie gave me a good tip to start them early. Just place them in a pie pan or shallow pan and add about 1/2" water, in no time they'll sprout.

When I dug them up this fall, they were huge corms, I hoping the flowers will be grand next year.

Sharon

Here is a link that might be useful: Glamini® Gladiolus 'Naomi': Image

Thanks everyone. I think some of the one's my sister inlaw ordered were the dwarf ones from Vesey's. So I guess I will report on the results next summer. Already dreaming.

Marcia, My 1/2 barrels are always stuffed full and usually have a sweet pea trellis as the back drop. The glads just don't bloom long enough or big enough to add to the planters...in my opinion. I much prefer them in big bunches in the garden.

Sharon that photo from V is nice....but they don't look like that for very long....and chances are they won't all bloom at the same time. You would be lucky if they do.

Sierra

I used glads last year instead of spikes in my containers. They worked out pretty well for that purpose. The ones that bloomed got too tall and fell over too easily, so I had to tie them up. I think I'll use them again for spikes, but for flowers they seemed to work out better in the ground.
Connie

I have mine in either mixed containers with geraniums or other steady bloomers. One can also use multiple smaller containers so the blooming ones can be moved to the front while the others fall to the back. It is also good to plant them every few weeks so the blooms keep going for longer.