The gladiolus: in the Flower Agenda from week 27 - 29
No one can ignore flowers during these weeks: the gladiolus certainly demands attention! Consumers can read and discover lots about this fabulous flower in the Flower Agenda at Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk. Help your customers discover how splendid and enrapturing the robust gladiolus is during these weeks.
Origin of the gladiolus
How delicious - a gladiolus root! This summer bloomer, which originates from Africa, was loved for its roasted root. The version we have nowadays is not edible but is a delight for the eye nevertheless.
The gladiolus’s colours and shapes
The gladiolus offers a double treat: flowers in beautiful bright colours, fantastic petals or bicoloured blends bloom on both sides of the long stem. The flowers come in white, red, yellow, pink, purple, orange, cream and innumerable combinations of colour per flower. There are both single flowered and double flowered varieties.
This floral hero rises high from late spring until deep in the autumn.
Care tips for customers
Give your customers the following tips in order to ensure they fully enjoy their gladioli.
• Select a clean vase and fill it with tap water at room temperature.
• Add cut flower food to the water for a longer vase life.
• Cut or trim the stems diagonally by 3 to 5 cm with a sharp and clean knife or secateurs.
• Make sure there are no leaves hanging in the water.
• Do not place gladioli in a draught, in full sun or near central heating.
• Regularly top the vase up with tap water.
• There is no real need to snap off the uppermost buds in order to ensure that the other buds bloom, but it can’t do any harm.
• Don’t place gladioli near a fruit bowl. Fruit emits ethylene gas which will cause the flowers to age more rapidly.
How to create something special with gladioli
These all-conquering flowers point enthusiastically in all directions. They’re tall and require some attention - which they certainly merit! - but they combine very well with other flowers such as hydrangea, Solidago and Sanguisorba officinalis, which elevate the gladiolus even higher. Show your customers this original way of arranging them. When the colours are echoed in the vase, the picture is complete! You can easily create a spectacular arrangement with this heroic flower.
Gladiolus smybolism
The gladiolus has an extremely heroic meaning. The name comes from the Latin ‘gladius’, which means sword, referring to the sword-shaped leaves. The flower symbolises strength, victory and pride and that meaning dates all the way back to Roman times, when gladiators in the arena literally fought to the death. When a gladiator won, he was showered in gladioli. Even today, cycle racing has the phrase ‘to the death or to the gladioli’ and participants in walking events are presented with gladioli at the finish line. Luckily we no longer need to take the first part of the phrase literally!
Inspiration and information
Inspiring images of every flower in the Flower Agenda have been produced in line with the Horticulture Sector Trends 2016 (Groenbranche Trends 2016). These trends are a translation of what our consumers are interested in and are specifically aimed at the horticulture sector for use both indoors and outdoors.
If you would like to find out more about the Flower Agenda click here.
Download the poster: poster-a2-gladiolus-uk-v3.0-mb.pdf.
