The Canadian Horticulturi^ 



Floral Edition 



Vol. XLV. 



PETERBORO, ONT., JUNE, 1922 



No. 6 



Notes on the Gladiolus 



THESE notes make no pretence to 

 include any fraction of the desir- 

 able varieties in commerce. For 

 one thing, the prices are much too 

 long for the moderate purse to compass 

 many of them, and after one has pur- 

 chased a hundred or so of the named 

 varieties, he becomes deeply impressed 

 with the truth of a remark of a friend 

 ast year, that many of the named kinds 

 'hould never have been offered. Even 

 the men who have introduced the really 

 great things of the gladiolus world are 

 conspicuous sinners in this respect. 

 One man who got most of the new in- 

 troductions of a certain prominent 

 grower pronounced them "90 % junk!" 

 Personally, I have been much amused 

 at the nerve of some growers. Some 

 months ago, a firm offered through 

 "The Flower Grower," a set of "World 

 Beaters," at about $7 per "beater!" 

 One looks in vain for the names of those 

 illustrious kinds in the prize-list of the 

 " st shows, and why? Doubtless be- 

 i:>e they are not of the supreme 

 -xcellence that is claimed. 

 And therein lies a lesson. Do not 

 at expensive varieties at the first 

 ...cring. If they are good, they will be 

 leard from later, and if poor no one 

 vants them. One needs to be the more 

 ^articular on account of the attitude of 

 iome of the magazines. One of my 

 eports on the gladioli of the past 

 «ason was emasculated on account of 

 he unfavourable criticism of varieties 

 >ffered by prominent men who, were 

 rl "-ertisers ! 



lie following list is treated alph.i 

 leally for convenience of reference, 

 ;i'i refers only to good ones, or those 

 hat might be supposed to be good, 

 whether from the price, or the originator 

 Adeline Kent, similar to Pride of 

 ioshen, and inferior to that variety. 



Anna Eberius — A fine red-purpk : 

 ood spike, and good flowers. 



Armistice, (Groff)— Bought under tlu 

 umber 855. A splendid deep dark 

 carlet. The finest of its color that I 

 ave seen. Five feet high with five 

 ich flowers. 

 A. W. Hunt (Christy)— The best 

 ght red; A wonderfully fine and bright 

 iplor. My spikes have not been tall, 

 ut a great variety nevertheless. 

 Badenia— Again failed to bloom, to 

 '" '""■"* -''".ippointmcnt. Others had 



k 



W. E. Saunders, London, Ont. 



the same experience. The blues are not 

 always sturdy. 



Baronne d'lvoley, (Vilmorin) — A 

 lovely white, but it seems to dislike 

 heat. Perhaps later planting will pro- 

 duce better flowers; Worth experi- 

 menting with; of great promise, if one 

 can succeed with it. 



Carmen Sylva — The most promising 

 of the new whites. (Have not flowered 

 White Wonder, though I have now 

 bought it). Color, spike and size, good. 



Challenger — Holding its position as 

 the best of the cheaper reds in my 

 garden; popular in London. 



Colonial (Metzner)— The only one of 

 a dozen Metzner varieties that seems 

 worth keeping; colors as in Byron L. 

 Smith, and they blend better. 



David Starr Jordan — Good colot, but 

 much inferior to Armistice, so why 

 grow it? 



Dawn (Groff) — Unequalled as yet in 

 the salmon colors. Not enough is heard 

 of this grand variety, and we, Canadians 

 should give prominent place to the 

 creations of one of ourselves who was 

 the pioneer on the continent in the 



advancement of the gladiolus. 



Diener's White — Not a white at all. 

 A near white, suffused with an ugly 

 tinge of dull magenta pink. 



Dominion— Very fine; Glowing red. 



Etendard (Lemoine) — White, lower 

 petals lemon, and the cardinal blotch is 

 absolutely the most brilliant thing in 

 the gladiolus world. 



F. J. Symmes — A fair-sized flower of 

 a fresh color; Orange salmon. 



Flora — Fine yellow, now getting very 

 cheap. 



Herada — Not too easy to attain 

 success, but a fine color. 



Ina ColHns — unworthy of name; poor 

 color. 



Le Marechal Foch — My spikes have 

 not been fine but the color is splendid, 

 and others may have better success. 



Lily White — Fancy that one must 

 pick this as soon as it is opening to save 

 it from the purplish tinge that overcasts 

 it so soon. 



Louise — Certainly a grand color and 

 of good size, but the spike leaves con- 

 siderable to be de^red. Still, it is one 

 of the real additions to the list. 



A SI'LENDID SPECIMEN OF WHITE CLEMATIS 

 The Cleniiitii U a climber which u iiiurh pi izid for its haiiilmnic and oflfii Hbowv lluwirs. There are several white- 

 vnrieties, SiUcll as lleiiryi, Mrs. OcorKc Jack-mil mid Lailuuiiiosa Caiulida. They. 

 hoMrcvc-r, are not very hardy in some parts of Ontario. 



