I'm pretty sure I got this from Brent and Becky's last summer during their sale--but I've lost the name and I don't see any on their site that look like it. I like it--I just need to move it, getting too much shade in its current spot.
Another lost named glad
Friendship? It's a paler pink on B&B's site but here looks more hot/deep pink:
http://www.oldhousegardens.com/bulb.asp?Cat=SGL&page=2#friend
maybe so..but its definitely more magenta. Could be because its growing in mostly all shade?
Hmm. Maybe someone more knowlegable than I can answer that one. OldHouseGardens is great about answering questions like that, too.
It's very pretty whatever it is! It doesn't look at all familiar to me, but certainly looks like a newer variety although I may be wrong.
I'm thinking of the colour combination such as G. flevo Laguna which has similar colouring. That is a smaller type, but colours seems to be selected for periods of whatever is fashionable at the time.
Thanks Janet--its definitely a hybrid. B & B just doesn't carry it anymore, so I guess it shall just remain nameless. =)
This question got me wondering, so I emailed Old House Gardens. Here's the response (I love this company!)
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"Thanks for being our customer! I'm glad your glads are up and thriving. : )
Your question is a good one, and I'm not sure about the answer. Most of the time, I'd say, flower colors do get faded by strong sunshine. I know Bill Finch of the Mobile Press-Register, for examp[le, has told me that some of our pastel cannas which are so beautiful up here look washed out down there. Daffodils in the Netherlands tend to be more richly colored, and to protect the jewel-like colors in the eyes of pheasant-eyes, experts recommend cutting them when they're just opening and letting them open fully indoors. "Sun-prooof" colors are a goal in modern daffodil breeding.
But sometimes it seems that flower colors are stronger where the sun is stronger. The name of our Winsome dahlia always puzzled me -- because the colors are very vibrant, which to me is the opposite of "winsome" -- but then I read a British description of it and I could tell it colored less strongly in that climate. And flowers grown in too much shade tend to be kind of wan in appearance.
I'm guessing that gladiolus colors will be richer with a little protection from the brightest sun. If you experiment with this, please let me know your results. We're always eager to learn here.
Or was there another reason you were asking?
Have a great summer!
Yours, Scott"
Scott Kunst, Owner & Head Gardener
Old House Gardens
Heirloom Bulbs for Every Garden - Unique, Endangered, Amazing
www.oldhousegardens.com
536 Third St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103-4957, USA
That is very interesting--some of their southern growers are located very near here.
Whatever it is, shall continue to remain a mystery.
=)
Deb, I think it could be 'My Guy'.
I went back to the thread with links to glad sites, this guy grows and sells them so could be selling wholesale to the big guys.
http://www.gladiola.com/photom-o.htm
His pic is not the best but you can see all the same colours in the right places, even the small pale streaks going towards the tips of the petals. The form looks the same too.
http://www.gladiola.com/Gladiola/myguy.jpg
I think you are right Janet--sure looks like it to me. This is a bad shot--4" of rain in a thunderstorm last night--making it completely lean over, but it looks the same to me.
I don't have many hybrids--but I like this one. Anything with magenta or dark pink.
I like it too! it is listed under the miniatures, but anything up to 3' would be and yours doesn't look very tall. Whatever, it looks right even if it grows taller in TX!
Funny description though, they must have that wrong, it gives the throat as light lavender! It was hybridised in 1997, so in terms of coming to the market that isn't very long ago and fits with 'current' trends.
http://www.gladiola.com/miniglad.htm
They do send overseas too, as they are certificated and state inspected, I wonder if they are cheap with their phyto. They take orders only until mid May
http://www.gladiola.com/
Next year I will enquire as they do have some gems, 'Delectable', it's almost like falling in love
http://www.gladiola.com/Gladiola/delectable.jpg
I would say its not a miniature (what exactly the parameters of a miniature are--I do not know) but averages about 26-30" with the foliage--definitely not a meter tall. While it gets a lot of winter sun (nearby a deciduous tree), not nearly enough summer sun which I suspect is why blooming is sparse. What it will apparently take is a lot of water--it's definitely in one of the wetter winter areas of the property.
So if it blooms in almost full summer shade and will tolerate a lot of rainfall here--it would probably do really well for you.
I guess I was one of the few that bought it from B&B so they no longer carry it. That in itself does not surprise me (or probably you either) knowing my eccentric taste in bulbs.
=)
As far as my Glad species seedlings go--all are happily asleep, with the exception of G carneus which is tenaciously holding its own in the shade. I've decided just to stack the pots up on a shelf in the shade for the time being--after all, it's only 32C here at this time of year......the only thing I've actually brought in are some Oxalis and some Triteleia's which require absolute dry conditions--they are stored in almost pure sand. I figured that would work
I think the 'miniature' page includes anything with flowers which are not huge, his other page is 'Large gladiolas'. Meaning flower size as opposed to height. They go from the dwarf primulinas, and flower sizes from '100' to '500'. I think even a '300' is still in the smaller category, or medium.
I really should separate my dormant glad species from the seed sown which hasn't germinated, but I don't know when they may want to grow again with this climate so I just keep the surface moist with a dribble of water every now and then. It's all experimental and knowing your climate at this point!
I should have added that G gueinzii is still going strong!
I guess I should move them out to get some rainfall every now and then--they are bone dry right now (despite 10cm rainfall last night). That should be easy to predict--when it starts getting cloudy in the afternoon, move them out. Yesterday afternoon I moved all the rain lily seedlings out for fresh rainfall--today will be glad day.
I'm not sure about yours getting too much wet for winter growing species, they are from the winter rainfall areas where it is usually dry in summers, but there may be night dew which can provide some moisture in hot climates. The SA climate isn't extreme but does have fairly hot summers in places, others not so hot. Any of the bulbs I'm growing which go dormant in summer stay where they are and get a little water with the rest, I'm just lazy when it comes to moving things, but they always regrow. The compost is free draining, they just have to live with my ways!
Our summer is not a lot different to the temps in the SA autumn as a rule, excepting days like yesterday where it struggle to reach 13C! We had half your rain in the space of 3 days, it didn't stop from midday Wednesday until sometime this morning. Had some thunderstorms this afternoon, expecting more. The negative ions energise so can't complain!
They do that--I'm expecting a flurry of blooms here in a couple of days.
I took a pic of Glad gueinzii, I'm really impressed with it's continued growth!
Very impressive indeed--second year with that one? SilverHill seeds?
An off topic question here--not warm enough for tomatoes straight in soil there? A climate that cold is hard for me to even wrap my mind around! I guess peppers are a greenhouse only venture? Probably only Ian Anderson can afford greenhouses that large in Wiltshire. =)
They were one of the first lot I sowed on 23rd November last year, this was on Dec 20th,
http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=3014540
The only one to continue to grow! Yes Silverhill, they are all theirs but a few.
I have grown tomatoes in the soil, there are varieties that will do OK but not so well as in a greenhouse. The trouble is they get blight. Peppers would be near impossible outside, but I do get a reasonable crop in the greenhouse, the neighbours that is, mine get too much shade for either. Peppers are slower to get going and later to mature than tomatoes, this year they seem very slow even though we've had some good weather. I stand them in large pots on the right, haven't potted them up yet, the other pots will have to be moved.
That greenhouse is 12' x 8', I need one 4 times that size at least! Cold climates suck for sure, for one who grew up in a mediterranean climate. We have had a few days in the low 20'sC! Once it gets over 25C I don't like it though, unless the humidity is lower.
25C to me is perfection--too bad it only occurs some days in March and mid-Oct to Christmas--lol