John Bryan mentioned Gladiolus watsonioides, which is one of my favourites. It is found on the mountains of Kenya and northern Tanzania, growing from 2600 m to 3900 m (see Goldblatt, Gladiolus in Tropical Africa, for more info). This is the upper forest through the ericaceous scrub zone: it is not quite a true alpine, but not far off. Above the treeline (c. 2700-3000 m) there is a frost almost every night and the plant copes with this well at all stages of its growth. With the almost constant daylength and general conditions through the year the plant can remain active without going dormant: I have a picture from Mt Kenya of a clonal tuft with one stem bearing dry old capsules, another with ripening pods, a late-flowering stem, a fresh flowering stem and a new shoot pushing up. I have seen flowers throughout the year on Kilimanjaro. This evergreen habit is maintained in cultivation & the plants remain green throughout the year if kept moist, but they can go dormant if they dry out. There are noticeable differences between plants from different mountains. Those on Kilimanjaro are taller and more slender as plants and in the flower than those from Mt Kenya (formerly known as G. mackinderi). I do not believe in the var. minor John Bryan mentions: it was based on an abnormal specimen. The Mt Kenya plants are also a darker red in the wild, but in cultivation I cannot see a difference. I have stocks from both mountains and they grow equally well in a gritty, humus-rich compost in deep pots in a frost-free greenhouse, but there is no doubt that the Mt Kenya version is the one to grow. I've posted a picture of one that flowered here last year at http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… John Grimshaw Dr John M. Grimshaw Garden Manager, Colesbourne Gardens Sycamore Cottage Colesbourne Nr Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 9NP SNOWDROP OPEN DAYS AT COLESBOURNE PARK 2006 Every weekend in February, Saturday and Sunday only, from 1 pm 4/5, 11/12,18/19, 25/26 Group tours by arrangement Website: http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Bryan" <johnbryan@worldnet.att.net> To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Thursday, February 22, 1990 6:41 PM Subject: [pbs] Gladiolus > > Dear All: > > The confusion perhaps comes from two quite similar names, Gladiolus > watsonioides, from Kenya and N. Tanzania 24-36 inches, sometimes with 2 > stem leaves, normally 4 stiff and erect leaves, flowers bright scarlet > with a yellow throat with a tube 1 1/2 inches long. Flowers in early > spring, August to October in the wild. Var. minor is less than half this > size.
