Gladiolus gracilis
Gastil (Sat, 26 Jan 2013 11:16:35 PST)

Hi Angelo,

Please look closely at those leaves; can you describe their shape? A distinct feature of Gladiolus gracilis is that "the blade apparently terete but H-shaped in cross-section".  That is from page 197 of The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs. I looked this up last weekend because I am growing G. gracilis (from corms purchased) and one of them lacked that feature so is now unidentified. It was difficult to photograph this shape of the leaves. I do not want to cut a leaf to look at its cross section. But imagine, if you cut a leaf of your Gladiolus, would the cross-section have the shape of an H?  If not, then it is not G. gracilis. Just from flower color and shape, I was going to guess G. recurvus but it also has H-shaped leaves.

Here is the set of photos:

http://flickr.com/photos/gastils_garden/…

Here is the H-shaped leaf:
http://flickr.com/photos/gastils_garden/…
(That photo is sideways; the leaves are really vertical.)

Here is another H-shaped leaf:
http://flickr.com/photos/gastils_garden/…

I am new to Gladiolus.

- Gastil