Just read that gladiolus do have to be dug up. I was wondering if I could plant in a pot in class with students. They could then take home and put pot and all into ground. Would that work? If it did, the parents would be more likely to plant and then dig up in fall. Any suggestions?

Some people here in NJ (Bergen County) leave them in the ground year round, and they swear they come back bigger & better every year. I had a boatload of glads when I purchased my house 14 years ago (1996). I had nothing but foliage that first summer, but that was also the winter with ALL that snow (95-96). I read up on them and decided to dig them up, which I faithfully did until 2000. My daughter was born in the fall of 2000, and I was in no mood to dig them up, so I left them. They never returned.

You could plant in a large enough pot - at least a 6 inch? Probably would benefit with a stake to tie the plant eventually.

Even in a pot, there is no guarantee that the parents will bring the bulbs in. I've given many beautiful plants to relatives and friends who said they wanted them but then ignored them to death, hardy or not.

Glads haven't come back for me, even one that was suppose to be hardy but they do come back at my father's house.