Gladioli 'Barcelona'

Brilliant red, ruffled blooms on strong stems. They are ready to sizzle this summer.

Gladiolus are economical, laid back bulbs that love the Australian sun. They are hardy and reliable flowers and can be easily timed for a succession of vibrant, towering summer colour. A trick of the trade is to plant your Gladioli bulbs in batches over a few weeks. This will extend the flowering show. When planting in warm weather allow 90 days to flower and cooler weather 120 days.

Gladioli are ideal in clumps or woven through beds, where their impressive colour range makes them a cinch to combine with other perennial plants such as Lilies, Salvias, Roses or Dahlias. They are also excellent in the picking garden. This year I had mine amongst the perennial grasses and they mingled well.

Gladioli bring a welcome dimension of height to your garden and come in a huge array of colours so there is something to suit everyone and every garden colour scheme. The bulbs are easy to plant and don't require a lot of fuss, humbly requiring sun and well drained soil.

It is best to wait until after frosts for planting.

It is a good idea to ensure you plant your Gladioli bulbs deeply enough, this will reduce the need for staking. Gladioli like a sunny position and you need to ensure you keep them moist when they are in flower for best results. From planting they will take 90-120cm days to flower – quicker in warmer weather. Our Tip: If you’d rather not stake/tie Gladdies, as they start to flower mound some soil at their base to help hold them up.