Common name: Gladiolus, Gladiola (plural Gladioli)
Family: Iridaceae, Iris
Height x width: 1-5' x 6"
Growth rate: moderate to fast
Foliage: basal and cauline (attached to and arising from the stem), lanceolate (sword shaped), 1-2" wide, erect with many veins
Flowers: 2-4" across, arranged in one-sided spikes; many shades and colors in summer; successive plantings ensure continuous bloom
Hardiness: tender corm, zone 9
Soil: moist, well-drained
Light: sun
Pests and problems: bulb rots, botrytis leaf spots, rust, mosaic virus, aphids, spider mites, thrips, borers-- most problems rare
Landscape habit, uses: cutting, vertical effect in borders
Other interest: derived from Latin gladius for sword, refering to leaf shape; cultivars are of hybrid origin
Other culture: increase water and fertility when flowers begin to develop, avoid heavy clay or sandy soils; plant 4" deep in clay soils, 6" deep in others; the deeper the planting the less need for staking and increased chance for survival in zones 7-8. Dig corms when foliage yellows-- about 6 weeks after flowering; leave in flats to mature; remove foliage once dead and store ideally at 45ºF and 80% relative humidity.
Propagation: division of cormels from mother corm, after foliage dies; corms graded by size with 1 being largest, 4 smallest and not flowering the first year.
Species:
Of the almost 200 species, few are grown outside their native regions
which include much of the world. Most cultivars seen in commerce derive
from 7 species from So. Africa.
Cultivars:
Because of the complex and intense breeding over many years, and resulting
confusion as to parentage, cultivars can't be grouped by species. Instead
the accepted classification in much of the world is the one by the North
American Gladiolus Council, which groups cultivars by flower size, color
and form. These three traits are assigned numbers-- the first is flower
width of largest floret when fully expanded in inches, the second coded
to color, and the third to intensity of color if even or marking if odd
(the higher the number the more intense)-- resulting in a trinomial designation
such as 454 refering to a large sized (4" wide), medium red flower. Codes
for colors are: 0 white, 1 yellow, 2 orange, 3 salmon, 4 pink, 5 red, 6
rose, 7 lavender, 8 violet, 9 brown or other. Trinomials are applied whether
a flower is unclassified, a primulinus hybrid, or a summer-flowering grandiflora--
the latter containing most cultivars.
The grandifloras are further broken down by size of plant, from tall
(4-6') to short, small or miniature (3' or less).
| Cultivars (grandiflora) | height | color | other |
| 'Amanda Mahy' | short | red | |
| 'America' | tall | white to cream | |
| 'Blue Bird' | tall | lavender | |
| 'Canary Bird' | tall | yellow | |
| 'Canterbury' | tall | lavender | |
| 'Daybreak' | tall | pink to salmon | |
| 'Daydream' | tall | white to cream | |
| 'Dreaming Spires Orange' | tall | orange | |
| 'Dreaming Spires Pink' | tall | pink to salmon | |
| 'Easter Time' | tall | white to cream | |
| 'Esta Bonita' | tall | yellow to orange | |
| 'First Kiss' | tall | pink to salmon | |
| 'Fond Memory' | tall | pink to salmon | |
| 'Glacier' | tall | white | |
| 'Glorianda' | tall | pink to salmon | |
| 'Gold Coin' | tall | yellow | |
| 'Green Bay' | tall | green | |
| 'Green Woodpecker' | tall | green | |
| 'Harvest King' | tall | yellow to orange | |
| 'Her Majesty' | tall | lavender | |
| 'Impressive' | short | white | |
| 'Intrepid' | tall | red | |
| 'Jacksonville Gold' | tall | yellow | |
| 'My Love' | tall | white | |
| 'Nova Lux' | tall | yellow to orange | |
| 'Oscar' | tall | red | |
| 'Peter Pears' | tall | red | |
| 'Pink Attraction' | tall | white to cream | |
| 'Plum Tart' | tall | violet | |
| 'Prince Carnaval' | tall | white to cream | |
| 'Princes Margaret Rose' | tall | yellow to orange | |
| 'Priscilla' | tall | multicolored | |
| 'Purple Gem' | tall | violet | |
| 'Red Beauty' | tall | red | |
| 'Red Sky' | tall | red | |
| 'Royal Dutch' | tall | lavender | |
| 'Rubinette' | short | pink | |
| 'Sacred Heart' | tall | white to cream | |
| 'Spic and Span' | tall | pink to salmon | |
| 'St. Georges' | tall | red | |
| 'St. Mary's' | tall | white to cream | |
| 'St. Patrick's' | tall | green | |
| 'St. Peters' | tall | red | |
| 'Sans Souci' | tall | red | |
| 'Storm Clouds' | tall | lavender | |
| 'Summer Sunrise' | tall | red | |
| 'Sundown' | tall | yellow to orange | |
| 'Suntan' | tall | yellow to orange | |
| 'The Bride' | short | white | |
| 'Tradehorn' | tall | red | |
| 'True Love' | tall | pink to salmon | |
| 'Veerle' | tall | pink to salmon | |
| 'White Friendship' | tall | white | |
| 'White Prosperity' | tall | white | |
| 'Windsong' | tall | pink to salmon | |
| 'Wine and Roses' | tall | pink to salmon | |
| 'Yester' | tall | yellow to orange | |
| 'Zigeunerbaron' | tall | violet | |
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