Gladiolus grandiflorus Yellowa ® - Sword Lily

Gladiolus Yellowa® is a gladiolus with large flowers in bright yellow, selected for cut flowers. Its XXL, straight and well-balanced flowering stems bear numerous tightly packed florets on spectacular spikes, both in the garden and in a vase. It allows you to obtain professional-quality stems in less than three months.

A perennial bulbous plant due to its corm, Gladiolus Yellowa® belongs to the Iridaceae family, which also includes irises and freesias. Its distant ancestors are primarily of South African origin. It is classified in the horticultural group of large-flowered gladioli (Grandiflorus/Grandiflora), characterised by large funnel-shaped flowers arranged on a spike on tall stems. This cultivar was obtained as part of the Prisma Gladiolus breeding programme at Zabo Plant in the Netherlands.
Its vigorous stems reach and exceed 1.20 m in height. They bear a well-filled spike of large, bright yellow florets, with a slightly deeper centre. The medium green, long and narrow, sword-shaped foliage forms an upright bundle at the base of the flowering stems. Flowering occurs in summer, from July to September, depending on the planting date, approximately 10 to 12 weeks after planting the corms. The vegetation is deciduous: the foliage dies back completely after flowering, the corm enters dormancy and must be protected from frost.

In the garden, plant the Yellowa® gladiolus in small clumps at the back of borders or in rows in a dedicated cut flower area. Its yellow spikes pair particularly well with the anemone-flowered dahlias ‘Totally Tangerine’ and 'Platinum Blonde'. To lighten the overall effect, you can add a flexible ornamental grass, for example Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’, and a few bulbs of Crocosmia ‘Paul’s Best Yellow’ in the same warm tones. In a vase, it makes superb cut flower arrangements with a few stems of eucalyptus or artemisia.

The Gladiolus genus takes its name from the Latin gladius, meaning sword; in the Netherlands, gladioli are even presented to walkers who complete the "Four Days of Nijmegen", extending their ancient symbolism of strength and victory.