Dear All, I've been enjoying a Gladiolus tristis that has been blooming recently. I grew it from IBSA seed collected near Paarl of a late blooming variety once known as Gladiolus tristis var. aestivalis. Even though it is late blooming and has more flowers Goldblatt and Manning didn't think it deserved varietal status. I am glad however that the donor of the seed kept the variety because that was a clue to me that it could be different than the ones I already grow that bloom in March and April. This one is more fragrant than the other one I grow (evening, night, and early morning that is.) The flowers also close slightly in the middle of the day. This species is often found in really wet habitats and I'd love to know more about the Paarl location as this is definitely a winter rainfall area and you'd expect it would be dry at this time of the year (Dec-Jan there). I had two batches of seed bloom for the first time this year from sowings a year apart. I suspect I didn't water them enough in the past, but this year since the plants were still green I kept watering them. The oldest one had more flowers. Gladiolus tristis has a reputation for potentially being weedy, but it has never been that for me. I suspect its because my soil is so dry in summer that those little tiny cormlets in great numbers around the base of the bigger corm don't survive. I've added my pictures to the wiki. http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… Gladiolus monticola is spiking (blooms before the leaves) so I have the last winter rainfall species finishing and the new season starting of another species very soon. Mary Sue Mary Sue Ittner California's North Coast Wet mild winters with occasional frost Dry mild summers