Gladiolus grandiflorus Georgia Peach - Sword Lily

Gladiolus 'Georgia Peach' is a summer-flowering bulb that produces long stems covered in large peach-salmon, slightly ruffled flowers. Between July and September, it produces long, very straight, heavily flowered stems, perfect for cut flowers. Its soft hue, between tender apricot and salmon pink, complements many perennials and annuals, both in the garden and in a vase.

Belonging to the Gladiolus genus (family Iridaceae), 'Georgia Peach' is a hybrid gladiolus cultivar derived from various South African species. A deciduous perennial with a corm, its foliage dies back at the end of the season. With limited hardiness, it is best cultivated as a summer-flowering bulb, with the corms being lifted at the end of the season in regions where winters are cold and/or very wet. Classified in the horticultural group of Grandiflora, with large flowers, this cultivar produces very straight flower spikes 90 cm to 1 m in height, adorned with several funnel-shaped flowers 8 to 10 cm in diameter. Each flower has wide, overlapping tepals with fringed edges, in a luminous peach-salmon tone, with a creamy throat barely washed with salmon and fine pinkish streaks near the heart. The medium green foliage consists of long, sword-shaped leaves, forming a clump at the base of the stems. Flowering spreads from July to September, depending on the planting date.

Gladioli traditionally symbolise strength of character and fidelity, which explains their presence in formal bouquets since the Victorian era. In the garden, Gladiolus 'Georgia Peach' is best planted in tight clumps to add height to the back of borders or in a dedicated cutting garden. It pairs particularly well with Dahlia 'Rosario', the warm umbels of Achillea millefolium 'Terracotta', ornamental grasses like Pennisetum orientale 'JS Dance With Me', the white double flowers of Cosmos 'Double Click Snow Puff'; in cut flower arrangements, it is superb with chartreuse-green Zinnia 'Envy Double' in very contemporary pastel displays.

The Gladiolus genus takes its name from the Latin gladius, meaning sword; in the Netherlands, gladioli are even presented to walkers who complete the "Four Days Marches of Nijmegen", extending their ancient symbolism of strength and victory.