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Plant of the Week
Garden Gladiolus
Latin: Gladiolus x hortulanus
Gladiolus are too common and mundane to be cool in the garden.
The omission of gladiolus from the garden is understandable because its blooms
are fleeting - usually lasting for less than a week in any kind of pristine
state - and its form is somewhat wanting.
Yet, surprisingly, the gladiolus is one of the most important summer "bulb"
crops with some production in every state of the Union.
Gladiolus plants have been known since ancient times but it was not until the
introduction of the African species into European gardens in the 18th and 19th
centuries that hybridizers began to create the garden forms we know today. About
250 distinct species of gladiolus are described with about 15 species native in
the Mediterranean region. Only the African species have been used in developing
modern hybrids.
The most notable of the African collectors was James Bowie (1789-1869) who
initially collected for Kew Gardens in England, but was let go when the plant
collecting budget was halved in 1820. His dismissal may have also reflected the
riotous life style he developed while afield in remote parts of the world.
Unable to find a governmental sponsor, Bowie returned to South Africa as a
private collector where he worked on a consignment basis.
The glad’s 15 minutes of fame came early in the 20th century when hybridizers
such as Lemoine in France and Luther Burbank in California focused their
attention on the plant. In 1910, the American Gladiolus Society was founded to
promote the growing of glads and to standardize nomenclature.
But the gladiolus craze seems to have subsided by mid century, primarily because
gladiolus is just not a tidy garden plant. Another contributing factor to the
flower’s decline in popularity was psychological. Florists began using it as a
cheap and readily available funeral flower, and only the most intrepid supporter
will stay faithful to a flower associated with bereavement.
The gladiolus, a member of the iris family, does not produce a true bulb but
instead reproduces by means of a corm. If cut in half, a corm is a solid starchy
mass with no apparent internal structure such as you find in a true bulb. If the
tunic is pulled away and the surface of the corm inspected a series of
concentric rings will be found which correspond to the nodes of a typical plant.
Each year, the corm is consumed to accomplish the above ground growth of the
plant with a new corm formed atop the old one as the plant begins to flower. In
addition to the main corm a number of pea-sized cormels will be produced which
will attain flowering size in two growing seasons.
The vegetable garden is probably the best place to grow gladiolus corms. By
making multiple plantings from early to mid April until late July, cut blooms
can be enjoyed all season long.
If you wish to use the plants in the flower border, plant the corms in clumps of
a dozen or so in an area about the size of a dinner plate. A wire support, such
as a tomato cage, will be required to keep the plants from toppling, but the
spiky four foot tall inflorescence can add some nice vertical lines to the
flower border. Single colors are best for this use.
Gladiolus can be left in the garden year round in most parts of the state, but
hard winters which freeze the soil to the depth of the corm will kill them. Most
people that grow gladiolus for cut flowers dig their plants each fall and store
the corms in a dry, frost free area over winter.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
July 14, 2000
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