PUSHING THE BORDERS

G. papilio is lovely but it is too happy here and seeds everywhere and has become quite invasive!

probably why I do ok with it but none of the others!

There's a seed site in SA ( http://bulbophile.myshopify.com/) that have one or two interesting Gladiolus sp. So ....

G. aquamontanus
G. ecklonii
G. oppositiflorus ssp. salmoneus
G. pulcherrimus
G. vinosomaculatus

and an epiphytic Cyrtanthus:
C. epiphyticus

... are on their way.

Really like these. Must have a look at the site.

I've always disliked the common Glads, but do have a soft spot for Acidantera (got some huge corms from last year). The nearest that I've got to exotic Gladioli is G.comunis (which isn't very exotic at all), but are tempted by seed for G.uysiae. For interesting seed try Scampton Succulents.

Bought more seed. It's a good job that most of them reach flowering in their 2nd or 3rd year.
G. saundersii



G. cardinalis



G. priorii



G. dalenii (red form)

They are stunning!

Just in case you're tempted, I received the first batch of seed today (about 8 days from ordering), which isn't bad considering the distance they've come. Even got a few gift packets thrown in so I'm very pleased with the process so far. They're not the cheapest, but are almost certainly the freshest and most likely to come true to type.