Universalis

Thursday 23 September 2010

Inverness Flower Show - 4

Here we see the award winning gladioli.



Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius, a sword) is a genus of perennial bulbous flowering plants in the iris family. Sometimes called the sword lily, the most widely used English common name for these plants is simply gladiolus (plural gladioli, gladioluses).

Gladioli are very susceptible to being blown over and will probably need support unless they are growing through other plants – another way to help them stay upright is to draw soil around the base of the plant to support the stem.

Cut flowers for indoor displays as soon as the first flower bud on the stem has just started to open so that you get the maximum benefit from your cut flowers. When cutting a flower stem length is important; but try to leave as many leaves as possible on the plant so that the corm can benefit from the maximum nourishment provided by the leaves for the rest of the season.

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