The Gladioli and Its Popularity 



By I. S. Hendrickson. 



So much has been written and said recently about this 

 popular flower that it is becoming quite a task for one 

 with limited literary abilities to say anything new, but 

 still the subject is so intensively interesting to some of us 

 that we dislike to let pass any opportunity to exploit this 

 particular product of the soil. 



Gladioli have now reached a stage where they are not 

 a hit or miss indifferent bi-crop of the gardener or florist, 

 but are now being placed near the top of the list of wants 

 each season. 



Some of the principal reasons for this increasing pop- 

 ularity is their adaptability to all seasons and conditions 

 and tlie moderate prices considering the satisfactorv re- 



according to the substance of the soil; if the soil is quite 

 light it is good to plant them deep to keep them from 

 falling over when they reach their full height. Anyone 

 understanding the culture and growing of potatoes can 

 have success with Gladioli. 



If the flowers are wanted quite early it is a good plan 

 to prepare a frame in the fall and cover same with sash 

 or mulcli heavily with manure to keep out the frost, and 

 then plant the bulbs in this frame about the first of March, 

 keeping the sash on until the danger of frost is over. By 

 this method it is possible to get flowers during June. 



Alanv (iladioli are now being grown in the green- 

 house. While planted as early as December, experience 



GLAUIOLI ••SCRUiK.' 



GL.MJIOLI "BL.'VNCIIE." 



GLADIOLI "PRINCE OF INDI.\.' 



suits obtained ; it has now become possible for us to secure 

 some of the most beautiful varieties at a very reasonable 

 price. 



With prcipcr handling the blooms can be had from the 

 last of June until frost out of doors, and as the average 

 time for the bloom to appear after planting is twelve to 

 fourteen weeks, it is quite easy to plan for a continual 

 rotation of flowers by planting every ten days or two 

 weeks or for any particular time to suit the individual 

 needs. 



The cultivation of this flower is so simple that it re- 

 quires no skill whatever to get good results, although 

 they will respond to extra good care. They simply re- 

 quire a good garden soil, and can be planted either in 

 rows or beds, covering the bulbs three to five inches deep 



has shown that not very much is gained in planting them 

 before the middle of January, as during the short dark 

 days of December they are not apt to form the flower 

 spike properly, and I would rather spend the few weeks 

 between December and the middle of January in thor- 

 oughly drying the bulbs in some such place as directly 

 over a boiler, as much better results can be obtained when 

 they are finally planted. 



Some gardeners use Gladiolus bulbs to "fill in the gaps" 

 between Carnation plants, that is to say wherever a plant 

 has died or been taken out for some reason a bulb is put 

 in its place, and this method works out very well, as a 

 bulb requires about the same temperature as a carnation, 

 (iladioli are also very useful for planting in the hardy 

 borders to fill in between other plants, and they flower at 



