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Gladiolas are members of the Iridaceae family,
the name of the genus
is derived from the Latin gladius which means sword
and refers to the
swordlike foliage. They are native to Europe
(primarily Mediterranean
Europe), the Tropics, but mostly to South
Africa.
More
gardeners would grow Gladiolas if they didn't have to dig
them up every year
like Dahlias and other tender bulbs.
Here’s an
interspecific cross (the
first by the way) between G. natalensis and
G.
oppositiflorus that was made by Lemoine of Nancy France
in
1837.
GLADIOLUS X GANDAVENSIS started the
trend of the modern
Hybrid Gladiolas and in my humble opinion is still one of
the best.
I’ve
grown this cross in my zone 5 garden for over 10 years and
its been perfectly
hardy without digging.
In full sun or part shade a
single corm will make
a 12” clump in less than 2 years. Late July and
early August brings
an abundance of 24” spikes of 10-12 soft, muted
yellow flowers with
a delicate red streak in the throats. In 3 years the clumps
reach a size of
24”-36”. They make a great, long lasting cut
flower as they open from
bottom to top over a period of a week or more.
Propagation is easy from
division of the corms and from the offset cormels which
take 1 - 2 years
respectively to bloom.
I'm also testing several
interesting Gladiolus species that
appear to be hardy such as G. imbricatus, G. italicus,
G. communis,
G. byzantinus and a few of my own
hybrids.
BY THE WAY: If you
are getting more than one copy of this mailing to,
perhaps more than one
EMail address, or you have a friend that you think
would like to receive
it, let me know.
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