Gladiolus phoenix is a showy species but is difficult in cultivation, due to its specific habitat requirements and habit of sprouting and flowering only in the year after a fire and lying dormant in the soil between fires. These conditions are difficult to reproduce in a garden situation and it is thus not recommended as an ornamental garden plant.

Most species in this genus are not difficult to grow from seed and temperatures below 20°C are required for successful germination. Seeds should be sown in a well drained, sandy mix and covered well with this mix. After sowing, the planting pots should placed in water and allowed to soak thoroughly in water. This is because overhead watering can dislodge the seeds and cause them to float on the surface. Seed viability is best within the first year. Seedlings should only be transplanted after they have completed their second year of growth. Winter-growing species should be sown in autumn, and summer-growing species sown in spring.

Most commercially available gladioli plants can be planted in perennial beds and rock gardens or amongst shrubs. They grow best from the corm, the summer-growing varieties should be planted in spring and will flower in any sunny part in the garden. Winter-growing gladioli should be planted in autumn and are often better suited to containers where growing conditions can be controlled. Gladioli grow best in areas which receive between 6 and 8 hours of sun and bright light during the day. Gladioli grow best in well-drained, sandy soils, provided they receive sufficient water and nutrients. Good amounts of compost or peat moss should be added to the planting site. Gladioli corms should be placed in a trench that is 5-7 cm deep into the ground and spaced 10-15 cm apart, in loamy soil. After the corms have been planted, the soil should be moistened well with water. Good drainage is required, and some growers lay a trench with sand and set the corms into this, topping the sand off at the top of the corm. Young plants may require staking when the stalks are first produced to prevent wind damage. Most growers will cut the old stalks once the plant has flowered to preserve the plant’s energy for corm production. Gladiolus plants require light during the growing period and a light mulch can be added to maintain soil moisture. Growers can use a 6-6-6 fertiliser or any similar fertiliser, ensuring that label instructions are followed. They typically respond well to liquid fertiliser high in potassium applied when the flower spike starts to shoot. Gladiolus may be affected by caterpillars, grasshoppers and thrips. Pests can be handpicked from the plants and plants should be treated with pest-control products. In autumn, the corms should be dug up and stored in a frost-free area for the winter months.

The commercial cultivation of Gladiolus involves the natural multiplication of corms and cormels. The multiplication rate of corms is however too slow and faster methods such as dividing the corms, removal of leaf and flower spikes, use of standard corm size and mechanical removal of sprouts can help increase the multiplication rate of corms and cormels. These methods are however still insufficient to meet the demand and a number of in vitro protocols have been developed to regenerate Gladiolus plantlets.