Gladiolus Kotschyanus

Gladiolus kotschyanus is a hardy Eurasian species of wet mountain meadows, producing narrow sword-like leaves and slender summer spikes of violet to purple flowers. The blooms often carry paler markings or a white flash on the lower tepals, lending delicacy to the otherwise upright form. Unlike tender florist gladioli, this species is adapted to cold winters and moist high-altitude grassland from eastern Turkey and the Caucasus into Iran. It is an unusual choice for a sunny, moisture-retentive border or specialist bulb bed where the corms remain drained but never parched while in growth.