The Blue Isle gladiolus is a majestic plant that produces purple-blue flowers with a white perianth. Their unique colour makes them stand out from the traditional colours of summer. This attractive bulbous perennial is a wonderful decoration of flower bed background and plantings of taller plants. The large clusters of flowers that take on a shape of one-sided ears look terrific in perennial plantings, arrangements on lawns and as cut flower. Slender gladiolus stems wonderfully fit into both rural gardens and more formal arrangements. The 90 to 120 centimetres tall gladioli offer a great company for all annual plants. A colourful composition consisting of sage, cosmos, coreopsis will rejuvenate a garden and add a charming diversity to it. Flowering of gladioli takes place in the middle of summer, in July and August.

Plan gladioli planting for late spring when the soil has warmed up and dried a bit. Plants planted from April to June bring the most spectacular visual results. Plant the flat tubers eight to twelve centimetres deep and ten to fifteen centimetres apart. Gladioli will pay you back with exuberant flowers for a well drained soil, e.g. with sand, that is additionally enriched with organic fertilizer. They like sunny situations but partial shade does them no harm. While growing sword lilies, as they are sometimes called, do not forget that they are not resistant to frost and must be dug out before the first cold wave in autumn. Store the bulbs with a short stem stub in boxes in a dry room where temperature does not exceed the 5 to 8?C range. A gladiolus bulb is an annual organ - a new one, called substitute bulb, grows over the old one every season.

We recommend staking gladioli as tall plants with flowers positioned on one side of the stem.

A single package contains 5 bulbs of the Blue Isle gladiolus, sized 14-16. Basic growing instructions can be found on the package label.

• Variety: Blue Isle
• Use: ornamental - flower beds, lawns, cut flower
• Growth form: erect
• Flower colour: purple-blue with a white perianth
• Vegetation form: perennial
• Foliage: narrow, lanceolate
• Flower type: one-sided ears
• Site: sunny or partial shade; fertilized soil with a drainage layer
• Bulb size (circumference):: 14/16 cm
• Bulbs: 5
• Height: 90 to 120 cm
• Flowering period: July - August
• Planting period: April - June
• Planting depth (cm): 8 to 12 cm
• Planting distance (cm): 10 to 15 cm
• Wintering in the ground: no