Can someone please tell me why my Gladioli have reverted to a purple colour?

Question

I am an avid gardener, and had some beautiful tall fat gladioli in various colours, peach, cream with pink tinge on the edge, blood red, yellow. They were those colours for about 4 years. Suddenly this year they have all come out early by about 2 months, and are all a flourescent purple magenta colour.
Whilst they are very pretty. I would have prefered they had stayed the colours that I chose.

Thanks ED SNOW, I live in Devon. I do remember my daughter giving me some gladioli last year that she bought a bulk lot of, perhaps some of them are those. However,I do know I planted some gorgeous bright pink, flame coloured ones by my front gate and no others. I shall just have to wait and see, normally the Gladi's are out in July here.

Answer 1

Far too early for Gladiolus, even with global warming - which region do you live in? The Gladiolus you have described sounds like Gladiolus byzantium, a species variety that has just finished flowering in my garden, mauve/purple flowered, it flowers weeks before the hybrid varieties. As corms do not revert, (cross pollinated seed can change original colours, bulbs remain as you planted them), I suggest you keep an eye open for your `original` Gladiolus, as mine have only just broken the surface here (SE England). Gladiolus byzantium `travels`, and appears wherever it fancies, I suspect you have `recieved`some `travellers`, or planted some with your original corms.

Answer 2

your gladiolus is reverting back to it's "wild"original color. The "bublets" attached to the original bulb are new growth for new plants.

If the bees in your garden just stay within the purple glad area, the new plants most likely would be purple.

Most hybrid plants revert back to the original wild form when re-seeding in the garden. Your glads bulbs are its' seeds.

Hope this helps...
pat

Answer 3

I paid a very, very big price for some iris rhizomes and they were all purple, not the pale pink I ordered. The company said it the soil that made them turn.........???????
I found this link maybe it's the reason for the change!
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/hortiscope/flowers/glads.htm

Answer 4

you will find that what has happened is that the purple ones are the stronger plants and the others.weaker ones have died out leaving only the strong to grow

Answer 5

firstly they have come out early due to the famous "it will never happen to me" global warming!

secondly it appears they have been cross contaminated with another flower..believe it or not by a bee or similar!