Hi All, My garden is near Moscow, Russia in USDA zone 3-4 I grow for years three species of hardy glads: G. segetum http://irisgarden.net/photo/g_segetum.jpg G. imbricatus http://irisgarden.net/photo/g_imbricatus.jpg G. tenius http://irisgarden.net/photo/g_tenius.jpg Last one was collected in Armenia, not far from Georgia. It almost became a weed in my garden with its bulblets forming in abundance every year. Modern Flora of Armenia indicates 9 species of Gladiolus: G.G. dzhavakheticus, szovitsii, italicus, atroviolaceus, caucasicus, hajastanicus, kotschianus, menitzkyi, tenius By the way G. atroviolaceus has 2n=90 Yuri Pirogov in Moscow > > Boyce, I presume the Rep. of Georgia glads look more like G. imbricatus > rather than like byzantinus or italicus? > > I seem to vaguely recall having seen somewhere once that some cultivated > glads are thought to have originated from a Eurasian species X African > species cross. I believe the Eurasian glads have 2n=80, maybe? According > to Goldblatt & Manning, both G. oppositiflorus salmoneus and G. > saundersii > have 2n=30. > > I have here, perfectly hardy outdoors in the ground (bar mice!), the > Eurasian species GG. communis byzantinus, "caucasicus," imbricatus, > illyricus, and italicus. The G. "caucasicus" looks like G. imbricatus to > me, but are hardier here than Janis Ruksans' G. imbricatus. > > The G. imbricatus/caucasicus require chilling to germinate their seeds AND > the bulbs must be chilled to get them to grow in the spring after their > winter dormancy. >
