GLADIOLUS

Description

They’re not just for funerals anymore! Gladiolus’ showy, vertically-massed blossoms evoke the grandeur of a living monument, making them a traditional favorite for funeral arrangements. But today’s glads refuse to be typecast: new hybrids continually offer more irresistible palettes, markings, sizes and possibilities.

Like their cousin the Iris, Gladiolus flowers grow not from bulbs but from corms, which look like flattened onions. Each spike is tightly packed with alternating trumpet-shaped blossoms, all facing front, each with six softly-ruffled tepals, with the upper three larger than the lower three. Larger cultivars grow 24–36" (60–90 cm) tall and produce 10–16 florets per stem, each measuring about 2–3" (5–7.5 cm). Smaller “butterfly” cultivars grow 18–24" (45–60 cm) tall and typically have 10 florets per stem, each measuring 1–2" (2–5 cm). The long, stiff, pointy leaves give the Gladiolus its name: a Latin/French mashup meaning “little sword.”

Though not suitable for air drying, Gladiolus stems may be dried using a desiccant such as silica gel. Unopened buds are sensitive to ethylene gas; blossoms and leaves are highly sensitive to fluoridated water. Some cultivars are fragrant.

Colors: Red, orange, yellow, yellow/green, green, red/purple, purple, white/ivory, pink (so, almost every color except true blue). Colors may be solid, bi-color, speckled, streaked or other exotic patterns.

Special Care

Choose straight spikes with sound, evenly green leaves, color showing between two to five buds, and one or two florets barely opening. Recut stems, remove foliage below the water line and place in a fluoride-free preservative solution with a biocide and a sugar. The biocide will help to protect against botrytis and the sugar will support full bloom all along the spike. Breaking off the top inch will maximize water uptake, while slowing the spikes’ tendency to bend away from gravity. Glads are thirsty flowers that open quickly once hydrated, so check water levels daily. Buds can be forced to open more rapidly by placing spikes in a warm flower food solution (100–110°F / 38–43°C), covering with a clear plastic bag and holding in a warm location (70–80°F / 21–27°C) until the spikes reach the desired level of bloom.

Although exposure to ethylene gas does not harm mature florets, it will stunt and shrivel unopened buds. Fluoride is even more harmful than ethylene; as little as one ppm can cause tip and leaf burn, bud failure, and bleaching, water soaking and necrosis of the petals. If your municipal water supply has fluoride added, use distilled or spring water for your Gladiolus stems. Standard charcoal water filters don’t remove fluoride from tap water.

Store stems at 33–35ºF (0.5–2°C). Keep the stems straight and tall by storing them upright to take advantage of the plant’s tendency to reach upwards (negative geotropism).

Fun Facts:

• Gladiolus is among the top 10 bestselling florist flowers worldwide.

• Gladiolus is the 40th wedding anniversary flower.

• European botanists first brought Gladiolus plants back home from southern Africa in the 17th century. A hundred years later they were being exported in huge quantity to Europe, especially Belgium. Interest in growing and hybridizing them took on a fever pitch around 1840, and continues to this day.

• The Gladiolus genus currently includes 260–300 species and more than 30,000 cultivars. Not bad for a genus that started with just eight species!

• The name Gladiolus springs from the same Latin word as gladiator: "gladi" meaning sword. Add –ator and you have gladiator (or swordsman), and then add the French diminutive –ole and you have gladiole (meaning little sword). This later became the English word Gladiolus.

• Some Gladiolus cultivars evolved in the Mediterranean, and the ancient Romans prized them. Gladiolus spikes symbolized courage, and were tossed jubilantly to victorious gladiators.

• The ancient Greeks loved Gladiolus plants too, and called them "xiphium." Interestingly, the root word "xiphos" also means sword.

• Gladiolus made its way through Europe as the Romans expanded their empire, and was grown in English gardens for medicine as well as beauty. The corms used as a poultice for extracting splinters and thorns, or powdered and added to goat’s milk to ease colic.

• African natives shared the delicacy of roasted gladiolus corms with European explorers, who noted that they tasted like chestnuts (which taste similar to yams). Modern experts advise that garden-grown gladiolus petals are edible (though blander than lettuce), but that the rest of the plant can be toxic, especially to pets. So in the kitchen, gladioli are best put on the table, not in the pan.

• Handling some species may irritate skin.

• If you get tongue-tied when trying to navigate this flower’s singular and plural names, you’re not alone! Even though it has an “s” on the end, a single stem is a Gladiolus. Multiple stems are gladioli. The sound-alike words “gladiola” and “gladiolas” are often used, but they ain’t correct.

• In the Victorian “Language of Flowers,” Gladiolus symbolizes strength of character, and “piercing” a lover’s heart.

• A member of the Iridaceae (iris) family, Gladiolus is related to the Freesia, Iris and Crocus.