I was amazed at how some Star Lily Glads multiplied in their first year! Finally found the shriveled old bulb on the bottom of new one after they dried and twisted them off. I don't think they should be divided after only one year, correct? A few have side cormlets that are almost an inch from bottom to tip. Will those little side cormlets bloom in addition to the main new bulb? I'm assuming they need another year or two to develop internal bloom baby and then I divide them. The only reason I had the bulbs in my hot little hands because they had to be dug up since I was rearranging the bed for next Spring. I wouldn't even have known about twisting off the original corm if I hadn't read this forum. Thanks!

Another local here to second Al's opinion! While this season is a little unusual (a bit colder and wetter), we really do not receive all that much rain in the Puget Sound area - totals are MUCH lower than many other parts of the country - and our summers tend to be very dry. Glads do beautifully here and can even be left in the ground over winter without worry. They tend to be blooming here in midsummer. I'd look for them around the middle of July.

In Houston, they can stay in the ground all year. If you grow species Gladiolus from seed you can greatly extend the bloom period: X/Y=Bicolor SPECIES COLOR BLOOM G. abreviatus Red/Black Wi-Sp G. alatus Orange/Yellow Sp G. angustus White-Yellow/Purple-Red Sp G. aureys Yellow Wi-Sp G. brevifolius Pink/Yellow Sp G. caeruleus Pale Blue/Purple Sp G. cardinalis Crimson/White Su G. carinatus variable(Red Yellow Pink Blue) Sp G. carmeneus Deep Pink Su-Au G. caryophyllaceus Pink-Mauve Sp G. cunonius Red/Green Sp G. dalenii Orange/Yellow Sp-Au G. debilis White/Pink-Red Sp G. eklonii Variable Su G. floribundus Pink-Mauve Sp G. Geardii Pink Su G. gracilis Blue or Pink Au-Sp G. griseus Mauve-Gray/Yellow Au-Wi G. gueinzii Pink-Purple/Red Su G. hirsutus Pink/Brown Sp G. holandii Pale Pink/Dark pink Su-Au G. hyalinus Brown/Cream Wi-Sp G. imbracatus Purple Su G. involutus White-Pink/Yellow Sp G. liliaceus Red(day)Blue(night) Sp G. longicollis White/Yellow Su G. maculatus Brown-Purple/Red Au-Wi G. melliusculus Pink-Red/Orange/Yellow/Purple Sp G. monticola Pink Su-Au G. mortonius Pink/Red Su-Au G. oppositiflorus Pink Su-Au G. orchidiflorus Green/Brown/Purple Sp G. papilio Mauve/Purple Sp-Su G. permeabilis Pink/Yellow Sp G. quadrangularis Bright Red Sp G. recurvus Green/Yellow/Pink Wi-Sp G. rogersii Blue/Mauve/Purple Sp G. saccatus Bright Red Wi-Sp G. saundersii Red-Orange/White Su-Au G. sericeovillosus Pink-Wine Red/Yellow-Green Au G. splendens Bright Scarlet Sp G. teretifolius Red-Orange/Yellow Au-Sp G. trichonemifolius Yellow/Pink-Red Sp G. tristis Yellow/Brown/Green Sp-Su G. undulatus Pink/Green Sp-Su G. varius Pink/Purple Su-Au G. watermeieri Gray/Purple Wi-Sp Hyphenated seasons indicate extended blooming season. Most or all of the above are usually available from Silverhill Seeds in Kenilworth, South Africa Here is a link that might be useful: Silverhill Seeds

I'm going to put my Blue Moon mix in, I planted half my bag back in June and just found the other half of the bag that I was supposed to put in two weeks later! I guess I'll be doing some planting this weekend!!! Hope it works, I'm in 8b/9 Houston area, and it's been a fairly mild summer, thankfully. We'll see how it works!