If you love our Byzantine gladiolus, meet 'Thursday's Child', sold as a white form of the Byzantine. Its clean white blooms light up the late spring garden. This bulb (technically, it is called a corm) can be used along fence lines, in borders, or to spruce up ditches and other hard-to-garden areas.
Blooms: The pure white flowers are clustered on a 20-28 inch stalk and open from the bottom of the spike to the top, so each stem gives you color for days. They bloom in late spring to early summer (May-June). These blooms are showy and demand attention whether viewed from a distance or up close. It performs best in full sun.
Planting: Plant the bulbs in 6+ hours of winter sun, well-drained soil, avoid standing water, and avoid too much competition. Plant the bulbs about 2-3 times the height of the bulb deep (so if the bulb is 1 inch tall, plant it 2-3 inches deep). If you are farther north and get very cold during the winter, you may want to plant it about 4-6 inches deep. Space the holes about 3-6 inches apart, and for a more natural looking display, consider planting 2-3 bulbs in each hole.
Why are they so valued? Plant 'Thursday's Child' with the magenta Byzantines for a striking magenta-and-white combination, or plant it on its own for a cool, all-white look. It also makes a wonderful cut flower; cut the spikes when the lowest flowers open for the longest vase life.
Resilient: Further north, the Byzantine is sometimes called the hardy gladiolus because it can be planted in the fall and handles the cold better than other gladioli. 'Thursday's Child' is newer to our gardens, so we are still learning how it compares.