Gladiolus Wine and Roses - Sword Lily

The Gladiolus 'Wine and Roses' offers large, slightly fringed flowers coloured in a delicate pink and enhanced by a wine-red throat surrounded by white. They cluster together on generous spikes seen from afar in flower beds, starting from June. This gladiolus is perfect for composing beautiful bouquets or adding verticality to wildflower meadows.

Cultivated gladioli, belonging to the iris family, are hybrid plants. They are divided into three main groups: Grandiflorus (large flowers), Primulinus (early blooming), and Nanus (butterflies). 'Wine and Roses' belongs to the first group. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with broad, sword-shaped leaves arranged in a fan shape, forming a clump that can reach 100 cm (39in) in height. The leaves are topped by a spike inflorescence, with funnel-shaped flowers measuring 10-12 cm (4-5in) in length, carried by sturdy stems. They are tricolored, mostly delicate pink, with the center of the petals marked by a beautiful dark red throat surrounded by a white circle. The storage organ is a corm, a swollen stem with scales.

Gladioli and their long, colorful stems are symbols of the 70s and somewhat formal floral arrangements. While they are irreplaceable in bouquets and gardens, their silhouette needs the company of plants with lush foliage that will enhance their abundant yet romantically wild flowering. Plant the 'Wine and Roses' corms among clumps of sage, tobacco, bee balm, and forget-me-nots. They are regulars in cottage gardens, accompanying vegetables to the kitchen garden. For bouquet making, cut the flower spikes when the first floret starts to open. Plant them at two-week intervals from early spring until the end of June to bring flowers to the house and garden all summer.

The gladiolus gets its name from the shape of its sword-shaped leaves, derived from the Latin word gladius. Its wild forms were often depicted in jewelry or on carpets and fabrics made by the Semitic people before the Christian era.