A classic cut flower, garden gladiolus produces tall flower spikes adorned with large, showy, funnel shaped flowers. The flowers open in succession of each other, from the bottom of the spike to the top, over a time frame ranging from a couple of days to two weeks.
Garden gladiolus come in a huge range of colors, including apricot, blue, burgundy, pink, gold, red, orange, and white, as well as multicolored varieties. The plants bloom in midsummer only for only a short time; however, one can prolong the bloom period by choosing early, mid, and late season types and staggering planting times. Height of flower spikes ranges from 50 to 170 centimeters. The large-flowered varieties have flower diameters of up to 15 cm.