I have one of the orange-yellow flowered clones of G. dalenii that I purchased from the Kirstenbosch plant centre while living in South Africa. It flowered for me regularly around March in the Cape, however, upon returning to England it has so far eluded my best efforts. The first year I planted them out once the risk of frost was past but they had not flowered prior to be lifted again in October - I put this down to their acclimatising to the change in hemisphere. The second year I planted them out as early as I could but by November there were still no signs of flowers, at which point there was a sudden sharp frost of around -10oC, which caught me out badly with many of my plants. The foliage, and I presumed the bulbs, were finished, so I did not bother to dig them up but left them in the ground to see if they would return of their own accord. Sure enough the following spring they did full of vigour. This year the weather was kinder and by the first weeks of November, large flower spikes were beginning to appear. The glow of orange was on the buds, when at the beginning of December we had our first frost, not particularly hard as the foliage appeared unaffected, but it was enough to kill off all the flower spikes. Clearly although the bulbs are hardy enough, the growing season is not long enough (despite having an exceptionally hot summer last year) or more likely, as the plants were certainly big enough by the end of August, the flowering is triggered by the shortness of the day length. It is interesting to see Tony's Gladiolus dalenii 'Halloweenie', which is similar in coloration to my clone and from what he says in his catalogue is also a late flowerer (not sure I agree with the description of tacky - one needs bright and cheerful at that time of year in this country). It would be interesting to know how often the flower spikes are lost before they emerge, possibly the growing season is just long enough for him. One of the remarkable aspects of the Dutch hybrids, most of which have a good amount of G. dalenii in their parentage, is that they can grow and flower so quickly from an April planting, therefore appear to be unaffected by daylength. It is clearly not just hardiness that we need in new hybrids - see Jim's comments about making them suitable for northern hemisphere growing seasons. This year, I will try some in pots to bring into the greenhouse to protect those flowerbuds from the frosts. Christopher Whitehouse Home: Cranleigh,Surrey,England,Zone 8 Dr Christopher Whitehouse Keeper of the Herbarium RHS Garden Wisley WOKING Surrey GU23 6QB Tel: 01483 224234 Fax: 01483 211750 The contents of this email and any files transmitted with it are confidential, proprietary and may be legally privileged. They are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender. If you are not the intended recipient you may not use, disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely on this email. The sender is not responsible for any changes made to any part of this email after transmission. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Society. Although this email and any attachments are believed to be free from any virus or other defects which might affect any computer or IT system into which they are received, no responsibility is accepted by the Society or any of its associated companies for any loss or damage arising in any way from the receipt or use thereof. An interest in gardening is all you need to enjoy being a member of the RHS. For more information please visit <a href="http://www.rhs.org.uk/">http://www.rhs.org.uk/</A>