Hardy Gladiolus
I’ve always loved gladiolus but hated how much work they are, so I set out to breed gladiolus that are easy-to-care-for garden perennials. All the forms listed here are proved fully winter hardy in Zone 5 in Michigan and have sturdy stems that don’t flop over in the mud after a thunderstorm. I currently am offering four different varieties:
‘Dewdropper’ – Bright red flowers, and the best vigor. Flowering stems are short, which helps them stand up to rainstorms without staking.‘
‘Frog’s Eyebrows’ – Red flowers with a white picotee edge, very abundant bloomer
‘Soup Job’ -- Pink petals, fading to cream at the center and marked with a darker pink pattern. My favorite cut flower of the bunch.
‘The 19th’ – White blooms, shading to cream at the center.
Bulbs will ship in Mid April.
I’ve always loved gladiolus but hated how much work they are, so I set out to breed gladiolus that are easy-to-care-for garden perennials. All the forms listed here are proved fully winter hardy in Zone 5 in Michigan and have sturdy stems that don’t flop over in the mud after a thunderstorm. I currently am offering four different varieties:
‘Dewdropper’ – Bright red flowers, and the best vigor. Flowering stems are short, which helps them stand up to rainstorms without staking.‘
‘Frog’s Eyebrows’ – Red flowers with a white picotee edge, very abundant bloomer
‘Soup Job’ -- Pink petals, fading to cream at the center and marked with a darker pink pattern. My favorite cut flower of the bunch.
‘The 19th’ – White blooms, shading to cream at the center.
Bulbs will ship in Mid April.
I’ve always loved gladiolus but hated how much work they are, so I set out to breed gladiolus that are easy-to-care-for garden perennials. All the forms listed here are proved fully winter hardy in Zone 5 in Michigan and have sturdy stems that don’t flop over in the mud after a thunderstorm. I currently am offering four different varieties:
‘Dewdropper’ – Bright red flowers, and the best vigor. Flowering stems are short, which helps them stand up to rainstorms without staking.‘
‘Frog’s Eyebrows’ – Red flowers with a white picotee edge, very abundant bloomer
‘Soup Job’ -- Pink petals, fading to cream at the center and marked with a darker pink pattern. My favorite cut flower of the bunch.
‘The 19th’ – White blooms, shading to cream at the center.
Bulbs will ship in Mid April.
Hardiness: Zone 5 - 9 Though I’m currently gardening in Zone 6 in Indiana, I started selecting these gladiolus varieties in Michigan, and they have all survived multiple winters there, including a polar vortex from hell when temperatures dropped to -30°F (-34°C). However, they were grown in well-drained, sandy soil and had thick snow cover during the coldest parts of the winter. To ensure maximal winter hardiness, plant the bulbs deep and provide good drainage in the winter.
Sun/Shade: Gladiolus need full sun to thrive. They will survive in light shade, but flowering will be reduced and they will be much more likely to flop over.Soil: Well-drained soil is key to maximal winter hardiness. If you have heavy clay in a cold climate, building up a raised bed with loose soil is the best way to ensure good drainage.
Planting: Plant the corms spring around your average last frost date. The foliage can withstand light frosts, but will be damaged by hard freezes. Plant corms between 2 and 6 inches deep. Deeper planting gives more winter hardiness.Staking: My breeding goal is plants that stand strong in flower without staking. To ensure they stand tall, plant in full sun and plant the bulbs deep. You can also hill up soil or mulch around the base of the plants once they are about 6 inches high to add extra support to the stems. ‘Dewdropper’ has the strongest stems, and always stands up for me. ‘Frog’s Eyebrows’ and ‘Soup Job’ benefit from mounding supporting mulch around the base of the plants if you have lots of strong winds and rain.
Pests: Deer will eat gladiolus, though in my experience they usually ignore the foliage and like to eat the flowers. I have no had problems with voles or other rodents eating the corms, though your mileage may vary. Gladiolus thrips are a tiny insect that feed on gladiolus flowers, causing distinctive white patches and distorted petals. Luckily, gladiolus thrips can’t survive cold temperatures, so leaving hardy gladiolus bulbs in the ground to overwinter very effectively kills off the population. They’ve not been a problem for me with my hardy glads.
Height: The leaves grow about three feet tall, with the flower spikes reaching up to four feet.
Bloom time: Flowering time will depend on your local climate. In my current garden in in Michigan, peak bloom is the end of July to August. When I gardened in coastal Virginia garden, peak bloom is from the middle of June into July.