Gladiolus Anouk

Gladiolus ‘Anouk’ has large pinky purple flowers with a white throat.

The name Gladiolus comes from the Latin word “gladius”, meaning sword, and refers to the plant’s sword-shaped leaves. Gladiolus is a florist’s delight with a spectrum of colors. Large flowering varieties have large flowers (at least 2.5 inch) packed closely together on long 44 inch stems.

Begin planting corms after danger of frost has passed. Most varieties start blooming 100 days after planting. Warmer temperatures will make the Gladiolus bloom sooner. Because of the vertical growth, plant Gladiolus corms in groups in the back of a border. In zones 8 – 10 leave them in the ground from year to year. By staggering planting times, flowers can be brought into bloom over a longer period. Flowers last well when cut. When picking blooms for cut flowers, leave the leaves on the corms since they are necessary to produce food for the next year’s growth.