If you love our heirloom Byzantine gladiolus, meet its white sister. 'Thursday's Child' is the pure white form of the Byzantine gladiolus (Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus), a newer introduction registered in England in 2024. It has the same upright habit and easy-going nature as the magenta Byzantine, but with clean white blooms that 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 2-3 foot 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? Many gladiolus will flop over in your garden, but as long as they have enough sun, Byzantine-type gladioli are sturdy upright plants. 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. They also make a wonderful cut flower; cut the spikes when the lowest flowers open for the longest vase life. Like the Byzantine, it multiplies with little baby cormels forming around the base of the mother corm, so over time you will have a clump of white in your garden!
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' shares that toughness and can grow from zone 6's cold winters to zone 10's heat. We know these will be a great success in your garden!