Plant of the Week: Gladiolus

Name: Gladiolus (click to see a whole array of glads)
Latin Name: Gladiolus sp.
Origin: Sub-Saharan Africa, esp. South Africa

Gladiolus are definitely one of my all-time favorite flowers, but only when they are fresh out of the garden...or in pictures in the catalogs. I have to be honest that gladiolus from florists tend to leave me a little bit cold. Anyway, I'm sure that my love affair with "glads" is due to winning a big ribbon at the county fair when I was a tender 5 or 6 years old. I believe those were 'Priscilla' variety glads, white petals with a pale yellow throat and pink edges. They are still my favorites, although there are lots of other cool ones as well.

Gladiolus are actually a number of florets on a stalk, and what most people probably don't realize is that the florets only have 3 petals. The other 3 petal-like structures are actually sepals, even though they look virtually identical to the petals. In recent years, there have been several newer kinds of gladiolus released to the general public that are smaller and more orchid-like that the typical tall, standard-types.

In most cooler climates, gladiolus corms (you might call them bulbs) should be planted in the spring and then dug up in the fall. They can be replanted for several years before getting too small to support a nice flower stalk.

P.S. And yes, gladiolus are edible...the petals can be eaten and taste kind of like lettuce with a tinge of sugar.