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Gladiolus cruentus
Blood Red Gladiolus Article
by Michael Hickman
The
species name Cruentus means blood red.
This gladiolus is rare and is said to be critically endangered in the
wild found growing only on
seasonally wet Natal Group Sandstone cliffs in the Valley of a Thousand
Hills and at nearby Shongweni where the plants hang in out of cracks in
the shear cliffs.
I have been growing Gladiolus cruentus which has a pendulous growth
habit at the coast in handing basket with ease for about the last 30 years .
Gladiolus cruentus is both easy to grow and to propogate. Propogation I
have done by means of removing the numerous small cormlets that they
produce and planting them in community pots until they ae large enough
to plant out individually.
Gladiolus
cruentus grows well partly shaded in a well drained growing, although
they like to be well watered to give the best results I have also had
good success growing them as roof top plants in large contaners in
mixed plantings where the only water that they get is from the rain
Although this plant is hardly known and is probably not grown by many
other plant enthusiasts here in South Africa it has been grown in the
United Kingdom and in Europe since the 1800´s
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