Gladiolus saundersii blooming in the garden. These blooms are a pleasant surprise. – last year I managed to germinate a few seeds I got from the NARGS Seed Exchange. They came up with one cute little strappy leaf each. After a month in 2.5 inch pots, I put them in the ground in late June. The foliage promptly died and I thought they hadn’t survived the transplant. They were near a Cheyenne Mock Orange that got some winter water. Late this spring I noticed gladiolus leaves poking up and realized all the corms had survived the winter. I suppose they were putting down roots or just biding their time, but now all three are blooming and one has a new little offset. I hope they will return next year.
Gladiolus saundersii is from the Drakensburg area of South Africa and is classified as hardy to U.S. Zone 5. The coldest overnight temperature we saw last winter was -14F/-25.5C Here’s the Pacific Bulb Society writeup: https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Gladiolus_saundersii #nargsrocks
A Pikes Peak Garden 