I am so glad Diane brought up the subject of tropical African Gladiolus. I would really like to grow some of these here in Honolulu. I have Gladiolus in Tropical Africa by Peter Goldblatt and from the colour pictures I can say I am most bewitched by: Gladiolus serapiiflorus Gladiolus dalenii subsp. dalenii Gladiolus velutinus Gladilous magnificus Gladiolus benguellensis Gladiolus melleri Gladiolus abyssinicus Gladiolus decorus If anyone is growing them or knows where to acquire them, I would love to hear their experiences. Aloha, Jacob Knecht Honolulu, Hawai`i http://www.flickr.com/photos/morabeza79/ --- Diane Whitehead <voltaire@islandnet.com> wrote: > Bailey's Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, which > was reprinted > many times, but seems to have been last changed in > 1922, says this > about Acidanthera (written by N. Taylor) (I have > not copied the > descriptions.) > > bicolor: May be grown in a tub outdoors during > summer and flowered > within during Oct. Corms should be dried as soon as > lifted, to > prevent rot. > > aequinoctialis Baker: Sierra Leone May be a > stronger-growing and > more tropical form of the above. Requires warmhouse > culture > > candida Rendle: very sweet scented [no cultural > information given] > > The Cyclopedia, first published in 1900, listed only > plants currently > in the trade in the U.S. and Canada, as "it would > manifestly be > impossible ... to include all the plants ..in > botanic gardens or in > the grounds of specialists and amateurs who collect > specimens from > original sources, or those introduced for... > experiment ..or..scientific study". > > An interesting note from the Preface to the Second > Edition: > "Many species have been disseminated in an > experimental way, as by > the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction of > the United > States Department of Agriculture ...." > > Ah, those were the days! > > > Diane Whitehead > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > ____________________________________________________________________________________ No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mail/