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Gladiolus

Gladiolus × hortulanus
Also known as: Sword Lily, Glads

Gladiolus is a flower in the Iridaceae family. It grows best in full sun with medium moisture, and is listed for USDA zones 7-10. Plants sit about 6 inches apart.

Varieties

1 · sorted by days to maturity
  • Gladiolus

    PROPAGATION CATEGORY: Corm (not currently in seed catalog). Bloom season: Mid to late summer. Attracts: Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds. Flower meaning: Strength, integrity.

    Gladiolus produces tall, dramatic spikes of funnel-shaped blooms in nearly every color, a classic cut flower. Plant corms after the last frost; in zones colder than 7 the corms are lifted and stored over winter.

    Growing notes: Botanical name: Gladiolus × hortulanus|Hardiness zones: 7-10|Propagation: corm|Sun needs: Full sun|Water needs: Medium|Mature height: 2-5 feet|Spacing: 6 inches|Bloom season: Mid to late summer

Family
Iridaceae
Category
Flower
Form
Bulb
Lifecycle
perennial
Zone
7-10
Height
2–5 ft
Spread
0.5–0.6666666666666666 ft
Sun
Full sun

Plant spacing

4 plants per square footSquare-foot planting diagram: a 1-foot square divided into a 2-by-2 grid holding 4 gladiolus plants spaced 6 inches apart.
4 plants per square foot

In a square-foot bed, space gladiolus about 6 in apart — that fits 4 plants in each 1-foot square (2×2). Wider rows or containers space the same.

Water
Medium

Plan your gladiolus planting

Add gladiolus to a free GardenDraft plan and get sow, transplant, and harvest dates computed for your ZIP code — with a drag-and-drop bed layout and reminders when it’s time to plant.

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Growing timeline

Propagation
Corm
Schedule anchor
Last Frost

Care & troubleshooting

No curated care & troubleshooting advice for gladiolus yet. Our extension-sourced library currently focuses on common edible crops; we're expanding it over time.