Glads & Fluffies

    Glads first: to be precise, Gladiolus cardinalis. I've had this plant in 
my garden for a few years now, originally a single corm from Gary Dunlop's 
nursery in Northern Ireland. By '98 it was clumping up nicely, so I managed 
to remove a few corms from the outside of the clump, to distribute to 
friends. I also saved the seed from that year's flowers, and these germinated 
well in '99. The original clump refused to flower last year; I assume that it 
was due to having its roots disturbed the previous year, rather than '98's 
atrociously poor summer. During last year, I noticed that an offset which I 
had planted in the back garden, and the seedlings that I planted out in the 
front garden (both in semi-shaded, and not particularly well-drained 
positions) were obviously much happier plants than the original clump. This 
was, until a couple of days ago, in the hottest and sharpest-drained spot in 
the garden. I've now moved it to a semi-shaded spot near to, (and eventually 
under?) a Podocarpus macrophyllus. Could anyone with more experience of this 
particular species tell me if I will live to regret moving the plant? Or 
otherwise?    

    Fluffies: Acacia dealbata. It must be well-known to many Medit-plants 
subscribers. My question is this: if cut back to ground level by frost, how 
long is it likely to take to reach flowering-size again? Mine flowered for 
the first time in 1995, and by the end  of that year was heaving with flower 
buds. Then the winter of 95/96 turned the whole thing brown in a matter of a 
few days. I eventually cut it back to near ground level, and it started 
shooting tentatively in the summer. It's recovered well since then, and is 
now some 7 feet tall (compared to the 14 feet it was previously). But no sign 
of flowers, so will I get any next spring, or the year after?(or the year 
after that...??)

Einion Hughes,
Rhyl, Denbighshire,
Wales, U.K.
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