Plant Library

Other Names:  Sword Lily

Description:

A beautiful gladiola that displays luxurious peach blooms with yellow centers; bloom time is mid-summer; may not always need staking, but should be sheltered from wind

Ornamental Features

Peach Melba Gladiola features showy spikes of pink flowers with yellow eyes along the stems in early summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive sword-like leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Peach Melba Gladiola is an herbaceous annual with a rigidly upright and towering form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Peach Melba Gladiola is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Peach Melba Gladiola will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 inches. The flower stalks can be weak and so it may require staking in exposed sites or excessively rich soils. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Peach Melba Gladiola is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.