Gladiolus

Iridaceae

This is the first glad I've ever grown and it was truely a spectacular flower. As I was waiting in line at Rockledge Gardens, I noticed the bin of glad bulbs. Just for the heck of it, I picked one up and thought I'd try it.

I planted the bulb where it would get afternoon sun and where I could see it from my desk. Then I forgot about it. A week later, I noticed leaves popping through. I recognized them, but didn't think much about it. The leaves kept getting taller and taller, and I was reminded of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Then a flower stalk appeared. Wow, I thought, I'm going to have a few flowers. And, then the stalk grew and grew and grew. The plant ended up taller than my 6'4" husband! That one little bulb produced 18 of the most beautiful peach/pink flowers. Three or four opened at once to start the show. After that, the bottom flower would fade away and a new one would open above. This extraordinary show lasted for almost four weeks.

My glad grew quickly once planted and it bloomed in May. The further north you go, the later the bloom time. They like to be planted to a depth of about four times the height of the bulb. The deep planting helps the stems grow straighter.

Oh, wouldn't you know it! I was at Ace Hardware a couple weeks ago and found two more boxes of glad bulbs. I now have a chocolate ripple and a royal tapestry in the ground. I wish I could remember which one I planted in which spot. One of them has shot up about 12 inches already, but I won't know which one it is until it blooms. I keep checking on the second bulb, but no sprouts yet.

8/14/01The second bulb did not produce a single leaf. The bulb that grew is the royal tapestry and at first I was disappointed in it. The plant only produced six pink and light pink flowers (see picture at right) and they were smaller than my other glad. However, the plant, probably realizing I was disappointed, then produced a second stalk with another half dozen flowers making it very worthwhile.