Gladiolus cultivar group help needed

christopherwhitehouse@rhs.org.uk christopherwhitehouse@rhs.org.uk
Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:42:05 PDT
Jim wrote:

>Your comments about denomination classes might have particular relevance to
>my query because as I mentioned in an earlier post I have seen the cultivar
>name ?Halley? in a catalog from the 1920s used for a glad which might or
>might not be the same one I am growing. The catalog in question does treat
>primulinus hybrids separately, and the cultivar it lists as ?Halley? is not
>placed among them. 

There is an American Gladiolus Society publication from the 1930s, which lists a 'Halley' as being a Grandiflorus type having salmon-pink flowers with "carmine on napthalene markings" (not sure I know what colour naphthalene is).  However, there is clearly another 'Halley' registered in 1986 with the KAVB by J. van Winsen, a nanus type with the description in the register is as follows "Flowers primrose-yellow 4D, on inner petals naples-yellow blotch 18D with carmine-rose vein and cardinal-red 53C blotches in throat."  Presumably, that is the one you have got?

As regards, the different denomination classes, I got this helpful response from Johan van Scheepen, registrar for KAVB, regarding the two separate classes:

" We split gladiolus in two parts:

1 The so called large flowered cultivars - Gladiolus x  hortulanus Bailey              ICRA: NAGC
These include small flowered "large flowering" cultivars
They include Butterfly, Herald,  and primulinus
In Holland they are treated and called Gladiolus.

2 The so called species and early flowering cultivars                                                      ICRA: KAVB
These include colvillei, ramosus, nanus, tubergenii etc.
They do not include primulinus
In Holland these types are treated as miscellaneous bulbs and are not regarded as the "Big" gladiolus of x hortulanus.

The two groups have a different set of pests and diseases as far as I know and are therefore treated differently by the plant health services.

The size of the flowers does not determine whether the cultivar will be placed in group 1 or 2.

Perhaps there are cultivars which could be assigned to both groups, but I have not seen them. The horticultural world seems to be able to deal  with it.

It is also very confusing that for competition and flowers shows, people are talking about large flowered cultivars versus small flowered cultivars, and create for that purpose another "classification"."


I hope that helps a bit to understand Gladiolus classification.

Chris




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