Has anyone heard of a type gladiola, that the bulbs do not have to be dug up every fall ?

I don't dig mine up, and they're usually fine. (One year some of them rotted.) I do mulch them. They are in well-drained soil.

We have lots of freezing temperatures here on the northwest coast, but the ground does not freeze solid to any great depth. Maybe that's why.

You know, I've never dug any of my bulbs up, and our ground does freeze considerably during the winter.

I have to keep splitting my Glads, Iris & Tulips every year, since their beds double in size each spring. I generally split the beds in late summer when all of the flowers are done, whether the plants have died down or not.

I make sure they go directly from one spot to another in the same day, so they aren't shocked. Also, doing it well before freezing allows them to become established in that soil before they go dormant and they always bloom the next spring!

isn't all too different weatherwise from here in Mass - - I don't dig mine up and they're proliferating like ya read about.....

Thanks 'all' for your input. I'm keeping those glads in the ground this winter.

babthrower and I both live in BC where the weather is rather fair in the winter.. That's why we can leave our bulbs in the ground!

In colder winters, I'd certainly deal with them the you have been!

To be safe, if you're in a fairly mild climate, put some mulch over them - a pile of compost, maybe, held in place by mesh pegged all around.