Flower lovers tend to either loathe or adore tall hybrid gladiolas. Dame Edna Everage, actor Barry Humphries’ diva-esque, lavender-haired alter ego, loves them so much that she dubbed them her “signature flower.” It’s a perfect fit—both are commanding and flamboyant. Available in an array of colors, from pastels to some truly screaming shades, gladiolas are impossible to miss. Florists have long used them in arrangements, especially for funeral sprays. This has created a negative association for some people.
But not for all. As with other flashy flowers, from dahlias to hyacinths, gladiolas were much more popular in the late nineteenth and early to mid twentieth centuries than they are now. My trusty copy of the 1947 Wayside Gardens catalog lists nearly fifty separate varieties, with evocative names including ‘Greta Garbo,’ ‘Marie Antoinette’ and ‘Shirley Temple’. As my friend Scott Kunst, proprietor of Old House Gardens, an heirloom bulb retailer, reports in his Newsletter Archives, the flowers have also been favored by many creative luminaries, from painter Claude Monet to the contemporary American garden designer/showman, Ryan Gainey. Gordon Frey, a professor at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, who moonlights as a flower arranger at St. Luke’s Church in Montclair, New Jersey, shares that enthusiasm, using the elongated flower stalks as spokes in wheel-shaped designs or allowing red-orange varieties to symbolize tongues of fire on liturgical occasions like Pentecost.
The name “gladiola” comes from the same Latin root as the word “gladiator.” AS any aficionado of “sword and sandals” movies knows, a gladiator is a swordsman. The gladiola’s long, sword-shaped leaves inspired Linnaeus to link ancient fighters and colorful flowering plants when he christened the genus Gladiolus in the eighteenth century.
The most popular, large-flowered hybrids have a complicated family history involving summer-blooming species like the yellow and red Gladiolus dalenii, G. oppositiflorus and red-flowered G. saundersii; all native to South Africa. The first hybridizing efforts, involving the G. dalenii, began in 1837. They have continued ever since.
Those of us who live in cold-winter climates have long lifted and stored gladiola corms in the winter or treated the plants as annuals and bought new ones every year. Both options are less popular in today’s lower maintenance gardens. Fortunately, many gladiola lovers have pushed zone hardiness limits and found that under some circumstances, glads will survive cold, snowy winters. In my Zone 6 garden, several anonymous salmon-colored specimens are now on their fourth or fifth annual return engagement. Last winter was mild, but the one before it was exceptionally cold and snowy. Despite all that, the salmon glads have looked better each year.
The best way to ensure in-ground survival is to plant the corms in a sunny, protected, well-drained space and apply a heavy layer of winter mulch. They should not be planted too deeply—no more than six inches down—and should be spaced four to six inches apart. The tallest varieties, with the big ruffly flowers, may have to be staked, especially if they are subjected to strong winds or rain.
I have also had great success with the survival of an older variety, ‘Boone,’ which may date back to the 1920’s. Its stalks are somewhat shorter and its blossoms are smaller than many popular varieties, meaning that it blends very well into a cottage garden or a mixed planting scheme that emphasizes pastels.
I was not a born gladiola lover, but I have become a convert. Besides, I can’t ignore beauty, not to mention fashion. After all, Dame Edna Everage likes glads—they must be the height of style.
Find out more about gladiola lore by going to the Old House Gardens archive, http://www.oldhousegardens.com/GladiolusArchives.asp. Gladiolus corms can be obtained in late winter or early spring from garden centers and other retail outlets. For an interesting selection try Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, 7900 Daffodil Lane, Gloucester, VA 23061; (877) 661-2852; www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com. Free catalog. Scott Kunst supplies historical varieties at Old House Gardens, 536 Third St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103; (734) 995-1486; www.oldhousegardens.com. Catalog $2.00.