Summer gardens are usually a spectacle of colour, bursting with life. With such a wide variety of plants to choose from, the possibilities are endless – but I always aim to grow a few showstoppers to heighten interest. Among the list are gladiolus and they are one of the most eye-catching in our garden and never fail to steal the show.
Gladiolus are mostly South African natives with some exceptions to this. Their generic name comes from the Latin gladius, meaning sword, and that gives them one of their common names, Sword Lily, referring to the shape of their leaves. They grow from corms which are underground storage organs similar to bulbs and tubers but different in their makeup. For best results you should plant them in full sun.
Gladiolus like rich well drained soil. In areas where this is not the case, good soil cultivation along with digging in well-rotted compost is required and they also need good drainage around the corms.
Colour and size
Gladiolus vary in size and colour from the lower growing species type to the large blousy cultivars. The species type like gladiolus ‘Nymph’ grows to 60cm with white flowers and pink splashes on the leaf, it is a sturdy grower. Gladiolus ‘Atom’ is more striking with rich red flowers and a white edge to the petal. In milder areas you can leave these in the ground provided you have well drained soil.
Gladiolus ‘Charming Lady’ grows to 70cm and is a light pink which works well with silver and grey foliage plants creating a pastel theme. Richer in colour is Gladiolus ‘Peter Pears’ with orange coloured flowers and hints of peach. It creates a striking contrast when combined with any blue flowered perennial.
Gladiolus ‘Ivory Perfection’ is beautiful like a bride on her wedding morning, it has ivory white flowers and a ruffle to them. It grows to 100cm and has a long flowering season. In the same party vein is gladiolus ‘Riks Frizzle’ growing to 100cm, its flowers are peach pink and again with a ruffle, almost like a party frock. This works well planted alongside Achillea ‘Goldplate’ which has bright golden yellow flowers and greyish leaves.
Gladiolus ‘Traderhorn’ has rich red flowers with a white stripe. Growing to a height of 100cm and reminiscent of old-fashioned gladiolus.
In the same colour theme is gladiolus ‘Blitz’ with its chrome yellow flowers with a green tint. It is a really unusual growing to a height of 100cm. This works really well planted in the company of a cherry red Cosmos such as Cosmos ‘Versailles Tetra’, a striking companionship.
Gladiolus ‘Black Surprise’ is deep maroon red with a white stripe. In the distance it almost qualifies as being black as the intensity of the colour presents it as such. It grows to a height of 1.2m. I suggest planting this alongside bright yellow colours such as Rudbeckia ‘The Bishop’. Gladiolus ‘Arabian Night’ is very similar in colour tone and will give you the same end result.
Gladiolus ‘Indian Summer’ also grows to 1.2m in height with a flower colour that is bronze purple and shades of pink. Equal in height is gladiolus ‘Rusty Chestnut’ an unusual combination of hazy purple and bronze and is tall with ruffled flowers.
Growing gladiolus requires good soil preparation in a sunny open position. You must avoid planting where they will have competition from overhanging trees, shrubs or other perennials.
My best advice is to prepare well in advance of planting. Dig over the area to spade depth ensuring that the soil is free draining and allow it to settle before planting.
Planting
Suppliers have good information on the plant packs so don’t overlook this. Use a trowel to plant to the recommended depth. Then add some washed pebble to the bottom of the hole and lay the corm on that. This will protect the corms from the threat of waterlogging. Once flowering has finished remove the old flower spikes and feed with some tomato food and this promotes development of the corms guaranteeing you good flowering the following year.
It is advisable to lift and store your corms before the onset of winter in a cool dry environment. After a week or so when the corms dry remove any soil and check for any damaged or diseased ones, and discard these.
Greenhouse: The greenhouse should now be empty after overwintering plants. Give it a thorough cleaning after removing all debris and dead leaves. Consider planting tomato plants in growbags.
Bedding Plants: We are now safe from late frosts so half-hardy annuals can be planted, water well afterwards.
Lawns: Observe lawns for weed growth, small dandelion and dock might be trying to establish, so physically remove them. Continue cutting as moisture levels are still reasonably high.
Herbaceous Perennials: Herbaceous borders are now growing space and you need to consider staking. Only stake the higher plants to prevent flopping in high winds or rain. Always use cane caps to prevent injury.
Sycamore leaves are prone to Sycamore Leaf Gall. \ iStock
Q&A: What are red spikes on sycamore?
This year I have tiny red spikes on my sycamore leaves. It happened last year too.
Will this damage or kill the tree? John, Co Kerry.
What you are seeing on the leaves is Sycamore Leaf Gall. These are tiny upstanding galls in the shape of a spike. They are caused by tiny sucking insects and this is the leaf’s reaction to that. These tiny insects overwinter in crevices of the bark emerging in spring to feed. The good news is that they do not cause harm to the tree, however, they do disfigure some young leaves.
Summer gardens are usually a spectacle of colour, bursting with life. With such a wide variety of plants to choose from, the possibilities are endless – but I always aim to grow a few showstoppers to heighten interest. Among the list are gladiolus and they are one of the most eye-catching in our garden and never fail to steal the show.
Gladiolus are mostly South African natives with some exceptions to this. Their generic name comes from the Latin gladius, meaning sword, and that gives them one of their common names, Sword Lily, referring to the shape of their leaves. They grow from corms which are underground storage organs similar to bulbs and tubers but different in their makeup. For best results you should plant them in full sun.
Gladiolus like rich well drained soil. In areas where this is not the case, good soil cultivation along with digging in well-rotted compost is required and they also need good drainage around the corms.
Colour and size
Gladiolus vary in size and colour from the lower growing species type to the large blousy cultivars. The species type like gladiolus ‘Nymph’ grows to 60cm with white flowers and pink splashes on the leaf, it is a sturdy grower. Gladiolus ‘Atom’ is more striking with rich red flowers and a white edge to the petal. In milder areas you can leave these in the ground provided you have well drained soil.
Gladiolus ‘Charming Lady’ grows to 70cm and is a light pink which works well with silver and grey foliage plants creating a pastel theme. Richer in colour is Gladiolus ‘Peter Pears’ with orange coloured flowers and hints of peach. It creates a striking contrast when combined with any blue flowered perennial.
Gladiolus ‘Ivory Perfection’ is beautiful like a bride on her wedding morning, it has ivory white flowers and a ruffle to them. It grows to 100cm and has a long flowering season. In the same party vein is gladiolus ‘Riks Frizzle’ growing to 100cm, its flowers are peach pink and again with a ruffle, almost like a party frock. This works well planted alongside Achillea ‘Goldplate’ which has bright golden yellow flowers and greyish leaves.
Gladiolus ‘Traderhorn’ has rich red flowers with a white stripe. Growing to a height of 100cm and reminiscent of old-fashioned gladiolus.
In the same colour theme is gladiolus ‘Blitz’ with its chrome yellow flowers with a green tint. It is a really unusual growing to a height of 100cm. This works really well planted in the company of a cherry red Cosmos such as Cosmos ‘Versailles Tetra’, a striking companionship.
Gladiolus ‘Black Surprise’ is deep maroon red with a white stripe. In the distance it almost qualifies as being black as the intensity of the colour presents it as such. It grows to a height of 1.2m. I suggest planting this alongside bright yellow colours such as Rudbeckia ‘The Bishop’. Gladiolus ‘Arabian Night’ is very similar in colour tone and will give you the same end result.
Gladiolus ‘Indian Summer’ also grows to 1.2m in height with a flower colour that is bronze purple and shades of pink. Equal in height is gladiolus ‘Rusty Chestnut’ an unusual combination of hazy purple and bronze and is tall with ruffled flowers.
Growing gladiolus requires good soil preparation in a sunny open position. You must avoid planting where they will have competition from overhanging trees, shrubs or other perennials.
My best advice is to prepare well in advance of planting. Dig over the area to spade depth ensuring that the soil is free draining and allow it to settle before planting.
Planting
Suppliers have good information on the plant packs so don’t overlook this. Use a trowel to plant to the recommended depth. Then add some washed pebble to the bottom of the hole and lay the corm on that. This will protect the corms from the threat of waterlogging. Once flowering has finished remove the old flower spikes and feed with some tomato food and this promotes development of the corms guaranteeing you good flowering the following year.
It is advisable to lift and store your corms before the onset of winter in a cool dry environment. After a week or so when the corms dry remove any soil and check for any damaged or diseased ones, and discard these.
Greenhouse: The greenhouse should now be empty after overwintering plants. Give it a thorough cleaning after removing all debris and dead leaves. Consider planting tomato plants in growbags.
Bedding Plants: We are now safe from late frosts so half-hardy annuals can be planted, water well afterwards.
Lawns: Observe lawns for weed growth, small dandelion and dock might be trying to establish, so physically remove them. Continue cutting as moisture levels are still reasonably high.
Herbaceous Perennials: Herbaceous borders are now growing space and you need to consider staking. Only stake the higher plants to prevent flopping in high winds or rain. Always use cane caps to prevent injury.
Sycamore leaves are prone to Sycamore Leaf Gall. \ iStock
Q&A: What are red spikes on sycamore?
This year I have tiny red spikes on my sycamore leaves. It happened last year too.
Will this damage or kill the tree? John, Co Kerry.
What you are seeing on the leaves is Sycamore Leaf Gall. These are tiny upstanding galls in the shape of a spike. They are caused by tiny sucking insects and this is the leaf’s reaction to that. These tiny insects overwinter in crevices of the bark emerging in spring to feed. The good news is that they do not cause harm to the tree, however, they do disfigure some young leaves.
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