Gladiolus Home Coming - Sword Lily

The Gladiolus 'Home Coming' is a new variety of large-flowered gladiolus of great class: tightly packed on long spikes, its large almost white flowers display a subtle violet pattern at the throat, a sober, fresh colour perfectly highlighted by the vibrant green of the floral stem and foliage. They are tightly arranged in perfect order on tall and bright spikes. This gladiolus is a wonder in bouquets. In the garden, it will bring verticality and a lot of character to wildflower beds.

Cultivated gladioli, belonging to the Iris family, are hybrid plants. They are divided into 3 main groups: Grandiflorus (large-flowered), Primulinus (early-flowering), and Nanus (butterfly). 'Home Coming', registered in 1998 in the Netherlands, belongs to the first group. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with wide, sword-shaped leaves arranged in a fan shape, forming a clump 80-90 cm (32-35in) tall when in bloom, under good conditions. The vibrant green leaves are topped by a dense spike inflorescence, with numerous funnel-shaped flowers, 10-12 cm (4-5in) long, carried by sturdy stems. Only a small violet spot at the base of the sepals enhances the brilliance of the white flower. The storage organ is a corm, which is a swollen stem with scales. To enjoy the flowers throughout summer, plant your corms at 15-day intervals from March to May. The foliage of gladioli dries up and disappears a few weeks after flowering, marking the onset of dormancy for the plant.  

Gladioli and their long, colourful stems are reminiscent of the 70s and slightly formal floral arrangements. While they are irreplaceable in bouquets, in gardens, their silhouette appreciates the presence of plants with lush foliage to enhance their abundant yet romantically wild flowering. Plant 'Home Coming' corms alongside sage, tobacco, bee balm, and forget-me-nots, for example. They are commonly found in cottage gardens, where they accompany vegetables all the way to the kitchen table. To make bouquets, cut the flower stems when the first floret begins to open. Plant them at intervals of two weeks from early spring until the end of June to bring flowers into the house and garden all summer.

The gladiolus gets its name from the shape of its sword-like leaves, derived from the Latin word, gladius. Its wild forms were often represented in jewelry or on carpets and fabrics made by the Semitic people before the Christian era.