Showing 1 thru 5 of 5 "Gladiolus" items
Tall, stunning Gladiolus flowers make a beautiful bouquet perfect to send for a birthday or use as a table centerpiece.
Gladiolus flowers are stunningly captivating and add beauty to bouquets or table centerpieces. But, do you know the root meaning of the plant? How did it get its name, what do the different colors of flowers represent, and what is the overall story of the gladiolus flower? Let's explore all there is to know about gladiolus flowers.
A gladiolus is known for its tall flower spikes and large, brilliantly colorful blooms. It is a perennial and is considered a bulb plant but is not your typical bulb. The gladiolus bulb is called a corm. A bulb contains layers like an onion, whereas a corm is solid and flatter. A bulb stays intact after the flower blooms, but a corm contributes to the growing process and does not remain in a bulb-like form. Gladiolus typically reach between 2 to 5 feet tall with blooms that range in size from miniature flowers to close to 3-inches in diameter, or giant flowers that are more than 5 inches in diameter at full bloom. The gladiolus thrives in full sunlight.
There are more than 10,000 cultivated varieties of gladiolus. Gladioli are simply gorgeous with more than 250 species that offer a rainbow of colors that range from white, yellow, pink, lavender, rose, burgundy, red, orange to purple. Some varieties even come in green. Each color has meaning. Red means deep love or passion, pink is associated with motherly love, white stands for purity, and yellow cheerfulness or friendship, while purple signifies grace.
If you were born in the month of August, your flower is the gladiolus. But, you don't have to be born in August to enjoy the beauty and meaning behind the gladiolus flower. The gladiolus also helps celebrate a 40th wedding anniversary because of its dual meaning of infatuation and integrity. The overall meaning of Gladiolus is strength and integrity. The plant itself signifies symbolic meaning meant to pierce the heart of the recipient expressing strength of character, remembrance, faithfulness, and moral integrity.
The gladiolus flower gets its name from its shape and appearance. The term gladiolus stems from the Latin word gladius, which means sword. The name gladiolus literally means a little sword. These sword-like flowers also are sometimes referred to as sword lilies, corn lilies, or shortened to "glads". Gladiolas originated in Africa and Asia. During Roman times, the flower was associated with the gladiators who would wear the flower around their neck for protection during battle.
While parts of the gladiolus plant are poisonous if ingested, the British and Mediterranean gladioli once provided medicinal purposes. The English used to turn the stem base, corms, into bandages and use them for extracting thorns and splinters or turn them into powder to mix with goat's milk to soothe colic.
