The increasingly popular small flowered gladioli are particularly easy to grow and come in a range of delicate colours and subtle shades, many with decorative markings. They grow to about half the height of traditional gladioli and are naturally sturdy so they don’t need to be staked, making them an ideal choice for a mixed border, annual beds or as a bright colourful display in pots or containers. Sword like foliage supports delicate 60-80cm arching flower stems which produce 5-6 blooms in a range of exotic colours. Gladioli nanus are generally better for using as a cut flower than their larger cousins in the Gladiolus grandiflorus group. They have a decided advantage in that they will often send three, or even four, flowering shoots from the same corm. Plant around 5cm deep and 10-12cm apart in moist, well-drained soil in full sun. Leave them in the ground and they soon form dense clumps.