I do about the same as I do for tulips--dig 12 inches deep if it's clay soil and I add a lot of organic material. They say to add peat or sand but a girl could go broke doing that. One year I got some sawdust to add to the soil (no treated wood) and boy did that do wonders for my soil.

Anyway, if clay and you dig 12" deep, then mix the organic material very well and put the glads in at 6" deep. I have some that I've done that with in the worst of clay soils and they do fine. Mine are about 6-7 inches tall at this point.

Yes, you have to worry about thrips but also slugs. I've had slugs decimate my glads--then I discovered EsCarGo!

Good luck with your glads--they are showy and fun and the colors are out of this world!

Cher