Thursday, December 31, 2009

Gladiolus "Atom"











Gladiolus "Atom" is one of the smaller Glad cultivars, with a distinctive bright red flower with a white picotee edge. I got my original corms from Ellen Hornig when I visited her some years ago, and got some more from Home Depot (not generally one of my favorite plant sources) which I put here in the school garden. I love the bright color, they seem to scream for attention! They have survived a couple of winters in the ground and this past summer just looked splendid. They set some seed which I sent in to the NARGS seed exchange, and I flowered some crosses I've made with Atom for the first time this year, and found out that the white petal edge can be passed down to hybrid offspring. Like most glads, staking is needed since stems can flop when we get heavy rains, as was the case throughout this past summer.

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