The Gladiolus Home Page

	Gladiolus grow best in sandy, well-drained soil rich in organic matter in full sun. After last frost, dig a trench 8" deep. Add compost and ’s Plant Food to the trench. Cover with 2" of soil. Firmly place bulbs on soil, pointed ends up, 6" apart. In a flower border, plant a group of at least 10 bulbs for best effect. Cover with remaining soil. Water well and add 2" of mulch to conserve moisture and keep the roots cool. Begin planting in mid-spring and continue to plant every two weeks until mid-July for flowers throughout the summer.
Bulbs will bloom from 70-100 days from planting, depending on the lateness in the season. Tall-growing varieties may need staking. Water well throughout the growing season. Fertilize when the flower spikes first appear and after the flowers are picked. Dig up the corms 4-6 weeks after the flowers fade. Remove as much soil as possible and cut off flower stalk 1" above corm. Dry and store the bulbs indoors for the winter. Hardy in Zones 8-11

Some of our Favorite Gladiolus: or see all here

Hardy Gladiolus Mix
	The beauty of fine gladioli without the effect of lifting. Hardy enough to be left in the ground from year to year in all but the coldest areas. Delightful patterns and colours will grace your garden every summer. Gladiolus nanus Zones 4-9. 8-10 cm bulbs. (buy)

Gladiolus Byzantinus
	Each slender spike is covered with 10-20 florets of electrifying pinkish red. Specially cultivated stock withstands winters in zones 4-9. Grows 20-22". Blooms in early summer. Naturalizes well. Gladiolus communis byzantinus 6+ cm bulbs. (buy)

Christoffer Glamini Gladiolus

We are proud to introduce a new type of glad that blooms earlier, more profusely, and over a longer period than ordinary glads...yet needs no staking! Discovered and developed very recently in Holland, Glaminis are a new form of gladiolus that grows just 20" tall. Each top quality bulb will produce up to 20 richly coloured, full-size blooms, with flowering lasting up to 19 days! Plant them in borders, pots and even window boxes. Glaminis are also (buy)

Quick Gladiolus Fact:

Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius, a sword), sometimes called the sword lily, is a genus of flowering plants, iris family (Iridaceae).

The genus Gladiolus contains about 260 species, of which 250 are growing in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly South Africa. About 10 species are growing in Eurasia. There are 160 species of Gladiolus endemic in southern Africa and 76 in tropical Africa. The species vary from very small to the spectacular giant flower spikes in commerce.

These very attractive, perennial herbs are semihardy in temperate climates. They are commonly grown from rounded, symmetrical corms, that are enveloped in several layers of brownish, fibrous tunics.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Ixioideae
Tribe: Ixieae
Genus: Gladiolus

Gladiolus Cultivation:

In temperate zones, the corms should be lifted in autumn and stored over winter in a frost-free place, and replanted in spring. Plants are propagated either from small cormlets produced as offsets by the parent corms, or from seed; in either case, they take several years to get to flowering size.

Gladioli (the plural form of the word) have been extensively hybridized and a wide range of ornamental flower colours are available from the many varieties. The main hybrid groups are obtained by crossing between four or five species, followed by selection: Grandiflorus, Primulines and Nanus.