The non-native gladioluses which do best in mediterranean climates are the ones which come from the winter-rainfall parts of South Africa. One which is a favourite with many mediterranean gardeners, for its delicacy and the purity of its creamy white flowers, is Gladiolus tristis. In the wild, this often grows in marshy spots; it is perfectly happy drying out completely in summer, and facing high temperatures then, and does best in places that get plenty of winter rain. Here it is growing in our hot Greek garden, in fairly heavy red clay, and getting some shade from surrounding shrubs. It grows just as well in another part of the garden in full sun, but the flowers there fade more quickly. Depending on the season, it flowers for us around March, but in cooler gardens won't flower until June:
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A more exotic gladiolus which also does well on clay is [/i]Gladiolus uysiae[/i] - one of those flowers which really deserves a close-up look, for the intricacy of its markings and shadings. It's quite a small plant, growing to only a few inches in height. The picture below is of some in a pot under glass in the UK, where I have been bulking them up to take out to Greece:
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Rather similar but usually a little taller, up to a foot or so, is Gladiolus watermeyeri; another of those "what's that!" really unusual flowers.
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