Gladiolus tristis x liliaceus

This hybrid combines two South African, cormous, winter-to-spring-flowering gladiolus species: Gladiolus tristis, from Cape wetlands, with cream to pale yellow flowers often streaked brown and fragrant mainly at night, and Gladiolus liliaceus, from the south-western Cape, with large, tubular, light brown, pinkish or greenish-yellow flowers that turn bluish-mauve and release a clove-like scent at dusk. The cross produces a plant with narrow, lance-shaped leaves and a spike bearing several evening-scented flowers in intermediate shades of cream, brown and mauve. Like its parents, it requires well-drained soil, full sun and a frost-free climate, with a dry summer dormancy for the corm.