If it’s decadence and drama you’re after, Gladiolus 'Black Star' has got the goods. With a staggered planting, this strong, large-flowered cultivar can bloom from July to September, proudly displaying spikes of some of the darkest, richest red-black flowers we’ve ever seen! Gladiolus 'Black Star' is a jewel of a plant ideal for weaving through the middle to back of a border or having as a centrepiece in a container display.  

Like many gladioli, Gladiolus 'Black Star' will benefit from a little winter protection in the UK. If you garden on heavy, damp soil or live in a chillier region, this is best done by lifting the corms out of the ground in autumn and storing somewhere dry and slightly warm. Keep them there until the following April or May, when it is safe to plant them out again. For those on light, free-draining soil or living in the milder, more southerly part of the country, you will probably get away with leaving them in the ground with a thick layer of insulating mulch.