Peacock Orchid: Gladiolus acidanthera

The name says it all. Like a peacock, these exquisite flowers will rise above the foliage and open like spectacular rare orchids. If you cut them, your arrangement will be absolutely spectacular. Many a gardener has tried this one and become totally addicted to growing it. Your neighbors have never seen it, and they'll never know that all you had to do was stick a few bulbs into the dirt, to have this incredible beauty in your garden. Enjoy!

From a gardener who’s grown it: "I planted ten corms in semi-frozen ground in early March of 2002. The soil and sun conditions varied from poor sandy soil with almost full sun to semi-rich soil in almost full shade. Regularly treated the soil with fertilizer every 2 weeks. None of the corms had sprouted by late spring, so I continued planting around them, figuring that the planting was mis-timed and the corms had died. In early summer, over a 3-week period, all of the corms sprouted. In mid-August, when the plants had reached anywhere from 18"-24", they began to flower. BEAUTIFUL, and with a nice (almost cologne-like) aroma. Blooms kept appearing until late October. Although this plant cannot survive the winters here in Zone 6b, they are SO easy to grow that I plant them every year (basically treating them as an annual). It seems that EVERY corm that I plant sprouts, so there's no guesswork involved.".....from a subscriber to DavesGarden.com, gardening in Stratford, CT