I will attempt to place a link to a pic. of each of the Gladiolus species for which I have bought seed for, and for which I have placed an order.
Please take a look and be dazzled!
G alatus
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/Gladiolus/Gladiolus_alatus_msi.jpg
Gladiolus species Links to pics of the orchid-like flowers
PBS and IBS are great organizations for those of us with bulb addictions....what would we do without their great pics Wallaby?
Yep they are always popping up on a search, hey did you say 'addiction'????????
G. arcuatus
http://www.rareplants.de/shop/prodtype.asp?PT_ID=815&strPageHistory=cat
The cookie on the link failed, so I replaced it with the main gladiolus page. Hope this remains!
This message was edited Nov 15, 2006 1:39 PM
G brevifolius
http://fernkloof.com/species.mv?588
I am officially dazzled! Those are BEAUTIES!!!
plantnutga, be prepared to be even more officially dazzled!
Out of the 160 or so Sth African species I would say there isn't an ugly one, but you have to start off with the most favourite!
So far I have chosen 30 of those, there are more on offer but it will have to wait!
G. dalenii lime green form.
I'm not sure if this is the green form but it isn't the red or orange or yellow
http://members.chello.be/sf16063/pauwels/GladDale.JPG
My own G dalenii orange form which I grew from seed from vanDusen Botanical Gardens.
One of them flowered in it's second year.
Oh my, Wallaby. You really have GAS(Gladiolus Addiction Syndrome) bad. But what a way to go!
Have you every tried lifting any of the species dormant corms for storage? Are they as easily stored as the large hybrid glads? It would seem my G. atroviolaceus would do well dormant stored, although I have never tried.
G. gracilis
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/Gladiolus/Gladiolus_gracilis_BW.jpg
Can't find a pic of G ferrugineus, sounds interesting and is hardy to z7
Lefty I had lifted G.communi ssp. byzantinus when I redid the bed next to the south wall, but I couldn't find a space for them. They got left in the shed in a box on the floor, I found them this year 2 years later and they were still with a little life. I had thought I would plant them, but it never happpened. I have many self sets from seed growing in the same spot amongst the fuchsias. Two flowered this year, it works well as they flower before the fuchsias get going seriously.
To add to that, the G. papilio Purpureoauratus Group I leave in their pots dormant in the winter, they have mostly dried out by this time and they overwinter easily in a cold greenhouse here. They can be grown in the ground so I will do that next year now they are all flowering. They also make many small offsets on the end of roots, I traded some this spring and still had 2 pots with 10 small bulbs in each. I took them out 2 days ago as I needed their pots, repotted them (the small ones) and one pot had many new ones already running around the sides of the pot, it was probably the biggest of the bulbs but still small to be offsetting. There was a few in the pot also.
G. communis ssp. byzantinus which I already have...
Thank you for this FABULOUS thread! All those photos! All those links to still more photos!! I am dazzled. :-)
Wow, what a beautiful habit you have! I just love Glads and didn't have a clue they came looking so exotic! Wow, WOW, WOW!!!! Thanks for taking time to post all of these!
JanetS
critter and Janet, how could I keep these beauties all to myself? Beauty should be shared, I aim to show everyone just what they could be enjoying.
There is more to come!
G. hirsutus
http://fernkloof.com/species.mv?209
G. longicollis
http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/image?query=%27gladiolus+longicollis%27&isinit=true&x=29&y=9
This message was edited Nov 15, 2006 1:33 PM
Janet,
I can certainly see how the "peacock orchid" is related to the glads now....with a lot of those flowers having similar shapes. My orchid glads have the more delicate look with the stems being thinner and the flowers more individually placed on the stem...but the yellow one and the magenta, as well as the orange/yellow have the thicker stems...it is just amazing they are all related...kinda like a big family where few people favor at all..LOL
Janet there are some species which look very much like the garden types in form, perhaps not as big but selective breeding has been going on for a long time. Some are very tall, some are more sturdy.
G oppositiflorus has the typical shape, another is the ssp salmoneus, I haven't bought those for now as I'm trying to grow the more unusual ones but in the future I may grow them too.
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/gladoppos.htm
http://www.shieldsgardens.com/amaryllids/Gladiolus.html
Wallaby--you got me sold on trying Gladiolus hirsutus; of course, it doesn't take much arm-twisting to get me to try almost any species bulb. ;)
I ordered 100 seeds of G. arcuatus, some of them they don't charge much more than for 25 seeds, £1.80 and £2.40 but don't offer it on many. G. hirsutus was £3 for 100, still better value but unless you know you will be able to use them 25 is enough. Too late to change it! Also ordered 100 of G watermeyeri which was £3 but I thought would be more sought after.
G. watermeyeri
http://www.bulbsociety.org/GALLERY_OF_THE_WORLDS_BULBS/GRAPHICS/Gladiolus/Gladiolus_watermeyeri/Gladiolus_watermeyeri.html
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/Gladiolus/Gladiolus_watermeyeri.jpg
That one is real pretty too--the species like it super dry when dormant, right?
There are different growing seasons, winter wet, summer dormant when they like it dry. If you look at silverhill they give the flowering period. G. watermeyeri is winter-spring, these are normally sown in autumn but that is for Sth Africa, late winter to early spring could be a good time for here but November sowing can be the right time for many Sth African bulbs here also. I have grown Dierrama in a cold greenhouse with Nov. sowing, the winter cold aids germination. Many areas in Sth Africa are mountainous and they do have fairly hard frosts. Your climate might suit them.
Others are spring sowing, summer to autumn flowering. Most of these will be in a summer rainfall area with a slightly drier winter. They are probably fairly adaptable to some variation in rainfall, a lot will depend on other factors such as soil type but some will grow in any soil type. I haven't taken a lot of care with watering of G papilio, late summer flowering. In summer it gets water with other things, in winter nothing much gets it but if things look too dry I will throw some water around the pots, not being too careful to keep them dry, they are fairly tough, the bulb is it's water storage organ.
Yes--this is a great time for starting a lot of the South African species. did several last winter and had really good luck.
Now that one is the coolest one yet ! (Are you sure that dosn't have some UGO in it?)
Now that's a secret! It has to be cool if it has green in it..
How's this for cool..
G. recurvus
http://www.bulbsociety.org/GALLERY_OF_THE_WORLDS_BULBS/GRAPHICS/Gladiolus/Gladiolus_recurvus/Gladiolus_recurvus.html
That's just downright weird, and of course I love it! The petals look almost transparent.
It reminds me of the materials they used to use for dresses, a sort of crinoline with those fine stripey bits which was also semi-translucent.
That one I'd have to see in person. In the pic it looks to me like it is either senescing or has a water rot. The stigma looks quite interesting though . . .
I'm not sure about that Lefty, could the tips of the petals just be purplish in colour? I like it anyway!
G. sericeovillosus I can't find a pic but it sounds interesting and is hardy to zone7
G. serpenticola
http://dip.sun.ac.za/~herbst/IBSA/Iridaceae/Gladiolus/G.%20serpenticola%201.jpg