GLADIOLUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



GLADIOLUS. 



577 



the winter, provided the soil is light and 

 dry and the bulbs are protected from 

 frost. These Gladioli are extremely useful 

 for pot culture, and, by gentle forcing, can 

 be had in flower at mid-winter, and, for 

 securing bloom between the flowering 

 of the forced plants and of the plants in 

 the open beds, they may be grown in cold 

 frames. For this purpose a bed of loam, 

 leaf-mould, and sand in nearly equal pro- 

 portions should be made up in October. 

 It should be about i ft. deep and well 

 drained, and in it the bulbs may be planted 

 thickly 4 in. in depth. The lights should 

 then be replaced, and air left on always, 

 except during severe frosts. No water 

 should be given until the leaves appear 

 (which will be about February, or earlier 

 if the season be mild), and then only 

 enough to keep the soil moist. The 

 lights should be removed during mild 

 weather, and altogether in April. During 

 the latter part of May and in June plenty 

 of bloom may be cut for decoration. 

 Besides those named, the following are 

 some of the best kinds : The Bride, Groot- 

 voorst, Rubens, Maori Chief, The Fairy, 

 Elvira, Rembrandt, Philip Miller, Beatrice, 

 Baron von Humboldt, Sir Walter Raleigh, 

 and Rose Distinctive. 



Another interesting race of hybrids 

 has lately been obtained between G. 

 gandavensis and G. purpureo-auratus, 

 a Cape species, with yellow and purple 

 flowers. These hybrids have large 

 flowers of a creamy-white and a deep 

 purplish-crimson. The named kinds are 

 G. hybridus Frcebeli, G. h. Lemoinei, and 

 Marie Lemoine. Although by no means 

 so showy as many others, they are most 

 graceful and distinct in port, and in the 

 shape and colour of their flowers. In 

 deep sandy soil they attain a height of 

 nearly 5 ft., and the gradual development 

 of the flowers renders them effective for 

 at least five weeks after the first and 

 lowermost blossom. As graceful plants 

 they well deserve culture, being hardier 

 than many home-raised hybrids ; but a 

 warm deep soil and a sheltered position 

 near the foot of a south or west wall 

 are the most congenial to their strong 

 growth. 



A few of the true species almost equal 

 the hybrids in beauty. One of the finest 

 is G. Saundersi, about 2 ft. high, with 

 large flowers of a brilliant scarlet and 

 a conspicuous pure white centre. It is 

 not often grown, though hardy and of 

 very easy culture, and only requiring a 

 sunny position in a light rich soil. 



The European Gladioli are pretty 

 plants for the mixed border. There is 



a strong similarity among them, all of 

 them being from i to i^ ft. high, and 

 bearing rather small rosy-purple flowers. 

 The best-known are G. byzantinus, com- 

 munis, segetus, illyricus, neglectus, sero- 

 tinus. They like warm dry soil and a 

 sunny situation. They are of particular 

 interest from their free and hardy habit, 

 which makes them as easy to grow as 

 native plants. They are admirable for 



Hybrid Gladiolus (Lemoine's). 



the wild garden as they thrive in copses, 

 open warm woods, in snug spots in 

 broken hedgerow banks, and on fringes 

 of shrubbery in the garden. 



DISEASE. This is frequently, if not 

 always, accompanied by some condition 

 of the fungus known as Copper-web, the 

 Rhizoctonia crocorum of De Candolle, 

 which is known in France under the 

 name of Tacon. The fungus attacks 

 also the Narcissus, the Crocus, Asparagus, 

 Potatoes, and other bulbs, roots, etc. A 

 good deal of attention was paid to it in 



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