Hardy Gladiolus

I am wondering if anyone here has ever tried Hardy Gladiolus? Not the species byzantinus, but the ones sold in catalogs as mixed color hardy gladiolus. I planted some in fall so I'll find out if they are hardy or not once the nice weather comes. I also planted the byzantinus species, I've read good things about them and I am not as doubtful that those will come through. However my question about the hardy glads is, does anyone know if they are listed in the plant files? I've tried searching and I've had no luck. It doesn't help that I have no idea what their species name is (actually I think it might have said nanus but I didn't find ones with a hardiness of Zone of 5). I would also love to hear of peoples experiences if they've tried them. I am in Zone 5b, so far this winter hasn't gotten below 0 degrees F., that is if you don't count the wind chills which have gotten down to -25 degrees F. I am not sure if they count wind chill when figuring out the hardiness ratings!? Here is an example of the ones advertised:

http://www.brecks.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_67367

I think there is a bit of truth stretching with the zones they give, or they omit to say they are only 'hardier' than the normal ones on the market.

This site is getting closer to being honest, but still give to zone 5. They are hinting at leaving them in the ground in 'warmer' areas, I don't think you would call zone 5 warmer. They even say they will survive in mild winters, that's leaving it open ended too!

http://www.americanmeadows.com/SpringFlowerBulbs/Gladiolus/HardyGladiolusthefamousGnanusforareturningrainbowo.aspx

I would say zone 8, perhaps 7, but a lot depends on position and drainage.

Zone 9-10 mentioned for this one

http://www.backyardgardener.com/plantname/pda_0bee-2.html

From Jim Shields in zone 5

http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/pbs/2002-September/011708.html

I planted some in the winter of 2005 and they all came up. The ones in the back garden, in the "L" or maybe the "U" of the house, grew and were gorgeous. My DDH (Darling Dumb) planted most of them along where the daylilies are by the street. Those buds were gobbled up almost instantly. I tried to mark them but... well... this year if they come up I'm putting knee-his on them or something like that. I don't know what'll happen this year. I bought them on eBay. But they sure were pretty.

xxxx, Carrie

They certainly are pretty Carrie, that one looks like Atom, it's a primulinus type. I have been very tempted with that one.

This grower here is reliable in their information, it says it's hardy for here, and I know their location is much colder than mine.

http://www.cgf.net/plants.php?genus=GLADIOLUS

I'm glad yours did well in MA, that is very promising for me because I am on the MA border. I only live about a 10 min. drive to Tyngsboro. I will be very happy if mine are as pretty as the ones in the picture!

I think it is Atom, but I got them in a mixed bunch. We'll see what comes up this spring...

xxx, Carrie

I've had hardy glads in the ground for years.Planted about 5 or 6 years ago.Zone 5 right on Lake Erie.They bloom later in the summer,August.Never done anything special and they return every year.I bought them at Brecks.

I was looking for an old post and noticed this old thread I started. I was quite surprised to have two Gladiolus byzantinus bloom last year. I had already written them off as not hardy here and then last year they surprised me! I guess they just take a real long time to establish, also I only had two and I did plant 50 originally ~ so maybe not super hardy. I also had some other Glads overwinter, not sure if they were the ones sold as hardy but apparently some of the larger flower type can overwinter here.


This message was edited Apr 11, 2010 10:11 AM

I still remember how pretty those glads were - Atom, I said? (Of course I didn't write it down anywhere.) E-bay, I said? I'd plant them every year for that show.

They sure are pretty! :)

Mine hardy glads look like those from Brecks. Have no idea about ID as well. I planted 10 of them and all survived winter last year. Today I saw a few popping up, they are quite early for me and bloom in June. They grow in front of the house, southern side but with no care, no additional water. They have bright blooms and definitely deserve better conditions. I'm thinking about moving them, maybe in the better soil they'll start to multiply?

How tall are these hardy glads?

Around 2 ft.

Wow, much shorter than the regular glads. I like that. The regular glads are too tall. They always flop and have to be staked.

Well, mine bend sometimes after the heavy rain but not all, just some of them

I am not sure if the glads I had come back were ones I got from Breck's or ones I got at the dollar store. I ended up digging this color up when planting Dafs and Tulips in this bed but I am pretty sure they would have come back if I hadn't because foliage from their bulb remnants came up. They were taller than 2' (probably 3') and they did flop some from heavy rain.

Here is one that waited until the next year to bloom, with another Coral one (like in the previous picture) behind it.

Here is another one, if I had known they were going to return, I wouldn't have dug up those coral ones and left them for dead. However after having none come up the first year when I planted 'Hardy Glads' I figured there was no chance of ones from the dollar store being hardy! lol Now that I think about it ~ the one's from Breck's were not planted in this spot, so they definitely failed to come up at all. I think this is a sheltered location due to the shed and the sun exposure it receives during winter. So that is probably part of it.

This message was edited Apr 12, 2010 9:26 AM

Last year I planted a Gladiolus oppositiflorus v. salmoneus from High Country Garden. Not sure if it will end up coming back, no signs yet. As you can see the foliage looked terrible, but I think it could have been because I had potted it up instead of planting it right away and I didn't disinfect the pot. It was a pot that originally had some sort of evergreen in it. Hopefully if it does come back it doesn't have that foliage problem again.