"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
On 13/7/07 08:18, in article , "Charlie
Pridham" wrote:


"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...
In article , Sacha
writes

can make from 1 purchase!)

We have Gladiolus papilo and planted it in one of the borders where it
got
swamped by some Crocosmia. It's an absolutely beautiful plant and
entirely
unlike the Edna Everage types.
http://www.theafricangarden.com/gladioluspapilo.jpg

But the one Sean had today was

http://www.gapphotos.com/imagedetails.asp?imageno=47230

an absolute stunning plant by the look of it. Very rich colour unlike
the normal papilio which I also have and admire.

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Unfortunately while Ruby will bulk up in pots and is therefore easy to
produce it does not in the garden behave like the fabulous papilio which
as
you know spreads rapidly but rather forms many small corms which then
either
die or take years to reach flowering size, I have tried twice now to get
it
to grow in an area papilio does well but it has disappeared on both
occasions.
But it is a stunning colour (and takes a good picture!)

We planted some G. papilio in the border along the house, opposite the tea
room lawn. It came up once, was greatly admired and has never been seen
since. Ray has some others in pots, fortunately. Do you find it doesn't
like competition. There is a lot of Crocosmia 'Krakatoa' in that area and
our guess is that it's just swamped the gladiolus. And are you selling
either/both of those glads? ;-)
--
Sacha

We have to dig loads of G. papilio out each year as its invasive and has a
running habit and will seed if allowed, although fortunately it never kills
other plants. here it will even grow in quite deep shade (although it never
flowers there) I am suspecting it likes our dry soils (as I recall you are
wet in places) we do not find it the slightest bit tender as it does not
come up in spring until late and its only drawback is a tendency to be
individualist in so much as its direction of lean giving a somewhat erratic
look to the clump! Ruby I have given up on, I never feel comfortable selling
something I can not grow.
Many garden visitors have tried to get papilio to flower and failed and I
can not see why it is so easy, we grow it with cannas, hedychiums and for a
bit of earlier colour, Tritilaria, which grows in amongst it.
And yes we sell some to visitors!

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collections of Clematis viticella (cvs) and
Lapageria rosea