Appu wants to grow a few Gladiolus plants.
The nursery gardeners told him that these plants have roots that need a lot of aeration. Which of the following types of soil is most suitable to grow the Gladioli?
Sandy
Sandy soils retain the most air of all the three types of soil. Sandy soils have large particle sizes. This means that very little water is retained. The spaces between particles are not only large, but are filled mostly with air rather than water. This provides a loose, dry consistency to sandy soils.
In case of clayey soils, the small spaces in between small soil particles are filled with water and little air. This gives a sticky consistency to clayey soil.
Thus, the Gladiolus plants need sandy soil, as the amount of air present is the highest among the types of soil.