Gladiolus cruentus
Taxonomy and growth
Uses
Edible uses
Flowers - raw or cooked. Added to salads or used as a boiled vegetable[2].
- Plant part
- Flowers
Environment
- Range
- S. Africa - Drakensburg Mountains.
- Habitat
- Not known
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 8+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse at 15°c[3]. It usually germinates freely[1]. The seed can also be sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a warm greenhouse[3]. Sow the seed thinly so that the seedlings can be grown on in the pot without disturbance for their first year, giving them an occasional liquid feed to ensure they do not become nutrient deficient. Pot up the small bulbs when they are dormant in the autumn, placing about 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on for another year or two in the greenhouse and then plant them out in late spring. Division. Dig up the corms in October, dry them in well ventilated conditions at about 20°c and then store them in a cool but frost-free place over the winter, planting them out about 10cm deep in April[1][3]. Cormlets harvested when digging up the corms in the autumn can be stored in a similar manner to the corms[3]. Larger cormlets can be planted out in spring, smaller ones may be best grown on for a year in the greenhouse.
Cultivation
Prefers a sunny sheltered position in a light sandy neutral to slightly acid soil with a pH between 6.5 and 7[1][3]. Requires a stony gritty loam. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[3]. This species is one of the parents of the cultivated garden gladiolas[3].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5