Gladiolus papilio Seeds - Sow Autumn or Spring

Gladiolus papilio Seeds

Gladiolus papilio or "Butterfly gladiolus" grows to 1m tall in colonies. this is another summer growing bulbous flowering plant with a fan of leaves and light mauve flowers with purple blotches on nodding stems.

Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius, a sword) is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae). Sometimes called the sword lily, the most widely-used English common name for these plants is simply gladiolus (plural gladioli or gladioluses).

The genus Gladiolus contains about 260 species, of which 250 are native to sub-Saharan Africa, mostly South Africa. About 10 species are native to Eurasia. There are 160 species of Gladiolus endemic in southern Africa and 76 in tropical Africa.

The fragrant flower spikes are large and one-sided. They make very good cut flowers.