x homoglad

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:03:40 PST
Dear Anne Marie,

I've grown from seed what was supposed to be 
Gladiolus huttonii and when it bloomed I believed 
was really a mix of hybrid seed of Gladiolus 
huttonii with Gladiolus tristis and who knows 
what generation. Since Gladiolus huttonii was 
once considered Homoglossum before that genus was 
sunk into Gladiolus I think this qualifies as a 
Homoglad. Planted in the late fall they 
germinated in about a month and bloomed the third spring (March, April).

Gladiolus tristis, G. huttonii, and Gladious 
watsonius are mostly late winter-early spring 
bloomers in the wild. In fact Gladiolus watsonius 
is in bloom now. Generally speaking you start 
seed of winter growers in the fall and summer 
growers in the spring. With winter growing Irids 
that form a corm you want them to grow as long as 
possible before it gets too hot as they generally 
go dormant then and you have a better chance of 
getting them to grow the next year if the corm is 
bigger. Since you have started them now, once 
they come up try to keep them growing as long as 
possible and then let them go dormant when the 
leaves die back and then start watering them in 
the fall. For pictures of the results,  go to this wiki page:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
and look at the examples under: Gladiolus huttonii × tristis
Mike Mace has made a wonderful wiki page with 
many helpful hints on how to grow bulbs:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

And Nhu has added specific information to the 
Gladiolus wiki page on growing from seed:
"Growing from seeds is not difficult for species 
in this genus. It is said that South African 
species require temperature under 20C to 
germinate successfully but Bill Richardson found 
that temperature fluctuation from -2C (28F) to 
nearly 20C (68F) during the day does not have a 
huge effect on germination. Since there are 
summer and winter growing species, one must 
choose the right time for planting. Winter 
growing species should be planted in the fall. 
Summer growing species should be sown in the 
spring, and require somewhat warm temperature to 
germinate well. Room temperature (25C/77F) works 
well. Sow the seeds in a well-drained mix and 
slightly cover with the mix. The papery wings 
that surround the seeds do not need to be 
removed. After sowing, place the pots in a tray 
with water and allow the medium to soak 
thoroughly. Above watering can dislodge the seeds 
and cause them to float to the surface. The seeds 
are most viable when planted within 1 year, 
although they can remain viable for longer. Allow 
a dry summer dormancy for the winter growing 
species and a dry winter dormancy for the summer 
growing species. It is probably best to not 
transplant the seedlings until they have 
completed their second season of growth. "

It would be helpful to know where you live. If 
you live in a cold climate as I suspect there may 
be others in this group who have better advice.

I hope this helps.

Mary Sue

Mary Sue Ittner
California's North Coast
Wet mild winters with occasional frost
Dry mild summers 


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