Brent: The common form of Gladiolus papilio is not the most attractive species glad, but must be one of the most hardy. A corm from our clone hitchhiked on a plant that I shared with a friend in Minnesota. The glad has rapidly spread and survived below -20F with no problems and no protection. This certainly should be a good breeding candidate. Tony Avent Plant Delights Nursery @ Juniper Level Botanic Garden 9241 Sauls Road Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 USA Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F USDA Hardiness Zone 7b email tony@plantdelights.com website http://www.plantdelights.com/ phone 919 772-4794 fax 919 772-4752 "I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least three times" - Avent Brent A. Hine wrote: > Hi James, > > As to hardiness of S. African glad species, I would guess that about > 25-40% could be hardy long term around Vancouver; > that is, at least 5 years. We get so darn much rain from November > through March that it makes correct siting crucial. > Until recently, we'd grown G. psittacinus for 15 years before it > disappeared, as well as G. papilio - still > growing strong, of course. I am looking forward to trying many more. > This zone 7 with copious moisture is tricky! > > Brent > Vancouver, BC > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > >