Doesn't everyone like a spring-blooming bulb that comes back year after year and is so showy, that it just makes your garden pop with color? If so, you'll love Byzantine gladiolus.
Byzantine gladiolus (Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus) is a great Southern heirloom bulb that originally was native to the area around the Mediterranean Sea. They were introduced to Europe in 1576 and to the United States in 1820. They are hardy from Zones 7 to 10. The bulbs produce narrow sword-shaped leaves and erect flowering spikes about 2 to 3 feet tall. Each flower spike blooms with up to 15 flowers each of funnel-shaped, purple-magenta lowers that are each 1 to 3 inches long. They bloom in April here in East Texas.
Plant the bulbs in fertile, organically rich, well-drained soils in full sun. Provide consistent moisture throughout the growing season and do not allow soils to dry out. They are best planted in fall, 4 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart in groups of at least five to seven. Mulch them well in winter. Plants will naturalize in the garden over time by bulblets and self-seeding.
True Byzantine gladioli are hard to find in the retail trade. Many catalogs claim to sell them (and often at unbelievably low prices), but in my experience, the resulting plants are a huge disappointment. You get a much smaller plant that blooms with anemic-looking flowers in a light lilac color instead of the outstanding gaudy magenta of the real heirloom plants. Old House Gardens is the only catalog I have seen that sells authentic Byzantine gladiolus, and they are very expensive. Luckily for all of you here in the Tyler area, the Smith County Master Gardeners will be selling Byzantine gladiolus at our From Bulbs to Blooms sale at Harvey Convention Center, 2000 W Front St., Tyler, on Oct. 13. You will want to pick up a sack (or two or three) of these bulbs for your own spring garden.
For more information, visit our Facebook page or the Smith County Master Gardener website https://txmg.org/smith/coming-events.