Gladiolus Hybrids

If you're like most people, when you hear the word "Gladiolus" you think of summer-growing bulbs that have a dense spike of colorful flowers, commonly sold in garden centers. Although they're pretty, I'm not a big fan of those plants because they tend to succumb to thrips in my part of California.

But there's a whole other side to the genus: the winter-growing Glads of South Africa. Those plants are generally smaller than the hybrids you're used to, but are very colorful, and have a daintiness that you don't find in the summer-growers. Best of all from my perspective, they are durable, and dead simple to grow in a mediterranean climate.

I've been growing some of the species for years, and have dabbled in hybridizing them. These are my favorite results so far.

MM 00-00a. This was my first Gladiolus hybrid, a cross between a pale blue flower and a tomato red one. I love the mottled markings in the tepals, they're a bit like a watercolor painting.

MM 11-03b.

MM 11-21f.

MM 11-22c.

MM 10-34.

For more info on these and other crosses, see:
New Gladiolus Hybrids, 2015
Gladiolus Hybrids, Pre-2015

Gladiolus Hybrids Pre-2015

This is a list of my early Gladiolus hybrids.

MM 00-00. One of my favorites, it looks a bit like an Alstroemeria painted in watercolors.

MM 10-34. Another favorite, a red flower crossed wit a speckled one. This plant blooms in late fall, at about the same time as the leaves turn in California.

Other hybrids:

MM 02-44. G. carneus X G. tristis

MM 02-46. G. carneus X G. alatus

MM 03-02. A G. tristis hybrid with maroon speckles.

MM 03-03. G. cardinalis X G. tristis

MM 10-18. G. melisculus X G. tristis

MM 11-36. G. tristis X G. carneus

MM 11-112. G. quadrangulus X G. splendens

Gladiolus MM 02-46

Seed parent: Gladiolus carneus
Pollen parent: Gladilus alatus

A very interesting hybrid. The seedlings have the colors of the seed parent, but with the general shape and markings of the pollen parent.

Gladiolus MM 03-02

Seed parent: Gladiolus tristis
Pollen parent: Gladiolus MM 00-00a

MM 03-02a. This was a very interesting result. MM 00-00a is a very nice magenta flower with subtle mottled markings on it. With this cross, I was hoping to get that magenta color on the large flowers of G. tristis. Instead, the magenta color was darkened, and reduced to a series of streaks and speckles. They're not the most spectacular flowers, but are very interesting.

Gladiolus MM 10-18

Seed parent: Gladiolus meliusculus
Pollen parent: G. tristis

MM 10-18a. The seed parent has bright salmony-pink flowers with a strong yellow area on the lower tepals. I wanted to get that color scheme on the tall, upright flower stem of G. tristis. The colors came out pastel, so I'll have to try for an F2 cross.

A few years later, one of the siblings of this cross bloomed and the colors were much richer:

Gladiolus MM 11-112

Seed parent: Gladiolus quadrangulus
Pollen parent: Gladiolus splendens

MM 11-112a

Gladiolus MM 11-97

Seed parent: Gladiolus quadrangulus
Pollen parent: Gladiolus trichomenifolius

One parent has purple lines in the center, while the other has a yellow center. I'd say the two blended pretty well in this cross.

MM 11-97a

Gladiolus MM 11-36

Seed parent: Gladiolus tristis
Pollen parent: Gladiolus carneus

This is the reciprocal cross to MM 02-44. The two crosses look pretty similar.

MM 11-36a

Gladiolus MM 03-03

Seed parent: Gladiolus cardinalis
Pollen parent: Gladiolus tristis

Gladiolus cardinalis is a beautiful red flower with white markings. Unfortunately, I lost the species years ago, but still have this hybrid. I was hoping for a flower that has the color of G. cardinalis but the size of G. tristis. I didn't get it.

MM 03-03a

Gladiolus MM 02-44

Seed parent: Gladiolus carneus
Pollen parent: Gladiolus tristis

This cross has a long history. My records tell me that I made this cross in 2002 and planted some seeds that sprouted and formed bulbs. But the bulbs died when I failed to repot them on time. About a decade later I came across the remaining seeds and planted them. One sprouted, and this is the result.

MM 02-44a