Gladiolus MM 22-143a

Seed parent: MM 18-280c (G. bonaspei x tristis)

Pollen parent: MM 18-280 (G. bonaspei x tristis)

This is a fascinating flower. It's a sibling cross between two hybrids that have prominent red and yellow markings. I was expecting some variation on that color scheme, but instead it has the flower shape of G. bonaspei with the plain cream coloring of G. tristis. It's an elegant look.

I guess this means the plain cream coloring was lurking in the background as a recessive. I had naively assumed that the cream color would blend away with further crosses, kind of like mixing paint, but of course that's not how genetics works.

MM 22-143a