Gladiolus primulinus Mirella - Sword Lily

The Gladiolus nanus Mirella is a variety of gladiolus with a modest size, shiny flowers, and delicate lines, whose hardiness allows for year-round cultivation in the open ground in our climate, provided it is well mulched in winter. This bulb produces, from late spring to the middle of summer depending on the climate, well-filled spikes of red-orange flowers splashed with carmine. It is a hybrid that is not widely planted in gardens, but has a great chance of changing the perspective of detractors who often consider this plant too stiff and artificial in appearance. Charming, natural, and graceful, it integrates well better than large hybrids into romantic or slightly wild flower beds.

The genus Gladiolus belongs to the iris family, and the cultivated varieties are hybrids divided into 3 major groups: Grandiflorus (large flowers), Primulinus (early-flowering), and Nanus (butterflies). 'Mirella' belongs to the Primulinus group, characterized by rather small and often maculated flowers irregularly arranged on 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28in) tall stems, each bearing up to 20 florets. The upper petal of each flower has a curved helmet shape.

'Mirella' is a cultivar introduced to the market in 1993, very popular due to its beautiful vigour combined with genuine elegance. It is a herbaceous perennial plant with thin, sword-shaped leaves arranged in a fan shape, forming a 70 cm (28in) tall clump. The leaves are topped by an inflorescence spike with up to 7 buds, and the flowers, resembling some orchids or canna lilies, are borne on very thin, upright stems. They are a red-orange colour veined with carmine, with a satin sheen. The storage organ is a corm, which is a swollen stem with scales. Each corm will produce 2 or 3 flower spikes.

Gladioli and their long colourful spikes are symbolic of the 70s and somewhat formal floral arrangements. While they are irreplaceable in bouquets, in gardens, their silhouette needs the company of plants with lush foliage that will enhance their abundant yet wildly romantic flowering. Plant 'Mirella', charming and sparkling, in beds of grasses, alongside forget-me-nots and perennial flax for example. Play with the white of some alstroemerias or columbines for elegance, and here and there add silver foliage of artemisia or Stachys lanata. Gladioli are regulars in cottage gardens, where they accompany vegetables all the way to the kitchen. For bouquet making, cut the flower spikes when the first floret begins to open. Plant them at intervals of two weeks from early spring until the end of June to have flowers in the house and garden all summer. 

The gladiolus owes its name to the shape of its sword-shaped leaves, derived from the Latin gladius. Its wild forms were often depicted in jewelry or on carpets and fabrics made by the Semites before the Christian era.