The Year of the Gladiolus

Every year a plant gets awarded plant of the year. For 2022, gladiolus is that plant. According to the National Gardening Bureau, gladiolus originates from Africa and in arid countries in the Mediterranean. This makes them perfect as an annual for our area. Too bad they are not perennials. They were often referred to as the Sword Lily, according to Mississippi State University Extension.

There are several varieties of gladiolus, but our fascination among all the types is their petals, which can be frilled, ruffled, semi-ruffled or plain. There are five class sizes as follows:

1. Giant at 5.5 feet.

2. Large at 4.5 to 5.5 feet.

3. Medium at 3.5 to 4.5 feet.

4. Small at 2.5 to 3.5 feet.

5. Miniature at under 2.5 feet.

One of the largest sizes and oldest of all are the grandiflora hybrids, which range in all colors including bicolors. They stand about 4 feet tall. Their flowers are about 5 to 6 inches wide, according to the National Gardening Bureau. As the bureau also states, there is also a dwarf variety called dwarf grandiflora hybrid, which gets about 2 to 3 feet tall with flowers about 2 to 3 inches in width. Both “Glamini” and “Butterfly Glads” fall into this category.

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