The most common Gladiolus flowers found in most gardens are hybrids. On this page we will add pictures of plants that we may or may not know the origins of. The history of Gladiolus hybrids was summarized in a message to the pbs list from John Grimshaw.
Gladiolus index - Southern African Gladiolus A-B - Southern African Gladiolus Ca - Southern African Gladiolus Ce-E -- Southern African Gladiolus F-H - Southern African Gladiolus I-Me - Southern African Gladiolus Mi-Pa - Southern African Gladiolus Pe-R - Southern African Gladiolus S-T - Southern African Gladiolus U-Z - Miscellaneous Gladiolus
The Gladiolus hybrids you can typically buy in a garden center are impressive, but only scratch the surface of the diversity in the genus. In Japan, Mr. Hiroyuki Tanaka has created some spectacular hybrids derived from winter-growing Gladiolus species. The hybrids are displayed on his website, Unisery. You can read about his Gladiolus in Japanese here, and in machine-translated English here. He gave PBS permission to reproduce the photos below:
Gladiolus alatus x rogersii, Gladiolus alatus x watermeyeri, Gladiolus bonaspei x hirsutus, Gladiolus brevifolius x guthriei, Gladiolus citrinus (trichomenifolius) x rogersii
Gladiolus exilis x meridionalis, Gladiolus exilis x priorii, Gladiolus hirsutus x carinatus, Gladiolus rogersii x carneus, Gladiolus rogersii x debilis
Gladiolus tristis x rogersii , Gladiolus tristis x salteri, Gladiolus violaceolineatus 'Albus' x recurvus, Gladiolus watermeyeri x violaceolineatus 'Albus', Gladiolus watsonius x recurvus
Gladiolus cardinalis hybrids The species is quite challenging to grow as a garden plant since it is found in waterfalls and it is hard to duplicate those conditions. This hybrid is however a very nice plant acquired from Telos Rare Bulbs, shown in the first photo by Mary Sue Ittner. The second photo by Sheila Burrow was identified as a hybrid by Angelo Porcelli.
Gladiolus cardinalis x tristis. In this plant, Gladiolus cardinalis (probably a sibling of the hybrid form shown above) was crossed with Gladiolus tristis. The result was a surprisingly pale flower, marked in light red and yellow. Photo by Michael Mace.
Gladiolus carinatus x tristis. This combination produces nice-looking white flowers lightly stippled and streaked in purple. Photos by Michael Mace.
Gladiolus × colvillei is a name attributed to crosses between Gladiolus cardinalis and Gladiolus tristis. The flowers picture below have been dependable garden plants in Northern California for a number of years and have been identified as the cultivar known as 'The Bride'. Notice the spider that blends right into the flower. Photo by Mary Sue Ittner.
Gladiolus gracilis x priorii This cross was made in 2000 by Michael Mace. Gladiolus gracilis is a pale ice-blue flower stenciled with darker markings in the throat, while Gladiolus priorii is a flaring tomato-red trumpet. The combination is an attractive magenta flower that looks a bit like an Alstroemeria. The first three photos show a selection of this cross that has attractively mottled colors, as if they were painted on with watercolor. The third photo shows a sibling that has a slightly lighter color, without the mottling.
Gladiolus huttonii × tristis These plants were grown from seed from a couple of different sources and were labeled Gladiolus huttonii but are hybrids between this species and Gladiolus tristis. They are good performers in Northern California and bloom in winter. Sometimes you see seed offered for something called a Homoglad. Variations like the ones below are probably what you'll get if you grow these seeds. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
More variations
Gladiolus hybrid with red flower. This plant was shared by a friend who thought it might have been created in Israel. I have planted it in my California garden and it is growing on a winter cycle, dry in summer and seems to be returning, but does not always bloom at the same time every year. Photo by Mary Sue Ittner
Gladiolus meliusculus x tristis. A pastel version of the G. meliusculus color scheme, on moderately long stems. Photo by Michael Mace.
Gladiolus nanus is a term often used for hybrids with small flowers. There is probably a cultivar name for these plants growing in my garden in Northern California, but I don't know what it is. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
Gladiolus papilio hybrid? This photo taken September 2006 in southern Brazil by Tarcísio Eduardo Raduenz was sent in by the photographer as Gladiolus papilio, but that species had nodding flowers best seen lying flat on the ground and looking up. This flower is no doubt a hybrid and perhaps it has that species in its parentage.
Gladiolus 'Traderhorn' photo of corms on a 10 mm grid by David Pilling. 'Trader Horn' is a 1931 adventure movie set in Africa. Photo 2 demonstrates why Gladiolus is sometimes called 'sword lily'.
Gladiolus tristis x (gracilis x priorii). Gladiolus gracilis x priorii was crossed onto Gladiolus tristis, which is a robust plant with cream-colored flowers. The result has the size and basic color of G. tristis, but is marked with dark magenta lines, dots, and veins. Photo by Michael Mace.
Gladiolus index - Southern African Gladiolus A-B - Southern African Gladiolus Ca - Southern African Gladiolus Ce-E -- Southern African Gladiolus F-H - Southern African Gladiolus I-Me - Southern African Gladiolus Mi-Pa - Southern African Gladiolus Pe-R - Southern African Gladiolus S-T - Southern African Gladiolus U-Z - Miscellaneous Gladiolus