GLADIOLUS 



GLADIOLUS 



1341 



State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, 

 where gladioli are now being carefully stuilied. 



Following is a score-card prepared by direction of 

 Gladiolus Society of Ohio: 



Points 



1. Spike (long, 5; straiglit, 5; many blooms, 5; facing together, 



5) 20 



2. Flower (large, 5: widely opened, 5: broad, round petals. 5; 



substance and texture, 5; beauty of bud, 5) 25 



3. Color (attractive, 10; either self-color, or strikingly marked, 



5; adapted to cut-flower trade or florists' use, 5j 20 



4. FoHage (dark, healthy green, 5; broad, 5; abundant, 5) _. 13 



5. Durabihty (continuance of bloom on spike, 5; lasting quali- 



ties as cut-flower, 5) _. 10 



6. General effect (in mass bed or field, 5; in vase or cut display, 5) 10 



Total 100 



Culture of the gladiolus. (Isaac S. Hendrickson, except 



when otherwise stated.) 



The Gladiolus has several good points combined to 

 make it interesting, popular, and promising, as: The 

 low cost; ease of culture; freedom from insects; varia- 

 tion in color; ease of carrying over from year to year; 

 length of blooming season: rapid increase; ease with 

 which new varieties are produced. 



Figures recently compiled from information given 

 by the growers in the United States are as follows: 



Number of acres devoted to gladioli 400 to 500. 



Estimated number of bulbs produced annually 



14,000,000 to 15,000,000 

 Estimated value of crop $250,000 



Raising new varieties. 



It is the contention of some growers that certain 

 definite results can be secured by hand-crossing of 

 different varieties, while other growers assert that they 

 cannot trace a single valuable result to that method. 

 The writer's observation has led him to the opinion 

 that some of the best and most useful sorts on the 

 market today are the results of careful selection of seed 

 from the varieties showing best form, growth, color, 

 vigor, size, and other quaUties. It is well for the general 

 gardener to purchase a collection of the best-named 

 kinds now on sale, plant them together and let the 

 insects transfer the pollen naturally; and if the weather 

 is favorable, one is almost sure to have a crop of seed. 

 This seed must be carried over until the following 

 spring, when it can be planted in shaUow drills, cover- 

 ing about one-eighth to one-fourth inch with soil; they 

 will make only a shght grass-hke growth the first year, 

 and must be taken up in the fall, and housed away from 

 frost. The following spring they can be planted as 

 one would sow garden peas, and covered about 1 } 2 

 inches deep; they will make a little more growth and 

 perhaps a small percentage will flower, but the bulbs 

 will have to be lifted and planted once more before a 

 good showing of flowers can be expected. The com- 

 mercial grower expects to wait three or four years 

 after planting the seed before he has salable bulbs, 

 which of course, can be sold only as seedUngs or mix- 

 tures as all forms and colors wiU be present. In look- 

 ing for new varieties to name, the greatest care must be 

 taken to choose only those of real merit, something that 

 is distinct from previous selections, new in color, good 

 in substance, excellent in form, and in all ways merito- 

 rious. When the selection is finally made from perhaps 

 thousands of seedlings, it is labeled out and lifted 

 separately in the fall, and jealously guarded imtil the 

 next planting-time; then it is watched with eagerness 

 to see whether it wifl prove constant and worth taking 

 the trouble to "bring up," for as it requires at least ten 

 years to secure enough bulbs to offer for sale, one can 

 easily waste much time if the selection does not prove 

 to be a wise one. It is often said that there are too many 

 varieties now under name, and this is true; but as it is 

 so very easy and so fascinating to grow seedlings, one 

 should not discourage the amateur in securing this 

 satisfaction. 



Of course the professional or expert breeder will 

 exercise the most careful choice of the parent stocks; 

 and he is able to make many interesting and valuable 

 combinations of special quahties. 



Cidture. 



While nearly any good garden soil is adapted to the 

 culture of the gladiolus, the plant seems partial to a 

 sandy loam. In field cul- 

 ture, gladioU are usually 

 planted in rows similar to 

 potatoes; that is to say, 

 the furrows are made 3 

 feet apart to allow tillage 

 with horse. The bulbs are 

 placed in the row by hand, 

 usually about 2 to 4 

 inches apart each way 

 according to size, and 

 covered about 4 or 5 inches 

 deep. Deep planting pre- 

 vents them blowing over. 

 Frequent tillage must be 

 given in spring and sum- 

 mer. 



For garden culture, they 

 may be planted promiscu- 

 ously in the border if 

 wanted for garden decora- 

 tion; or if wanted for 

 cut-flowers principally, the 

 straight-row method is 

 best, as it enables better 

 tillage to be given and 

 mtikes it much easier to cut 

 the blooms. The gladio- 

 lus is essentially a cut- 

 flower. If one has a 

 goodly number of bulbs, it 

 is an exceUent plan to 

 make successive plantings 

 about fifteen days apart, 

 beginning as earl}' as the 

 ground can be worked 

 and continued until July. 

 This will insure continu- 

 ous bloom from July until 

 October, or until the 

 plants are cut down by 

 frost. As the old bulb or 

 corm produces its flower, 

 it dies and a new one 

 forms in its place, and de- 

 velops until harvest time, 

 when it is lifted and stored 

 in a warm dry place ; some 

 time during the winter 

 the roots and old bulb 

 should be taken off, so 

 that the bulb will present 

 a clean appearance and 

 be ready for planting. 



As a cut-flower, the 

 gladiolus will rival most 

 other flowers in keeping 

 qualities. The blooms can 

 be kept fresh and beauti- 

 ful for a period of five to 

 ten days after cutting by 

 changing the water daily 

 and removing each- day the withered blooms; it also 

 helps if the ends of the spike are nipped off when chang- 

 ing the water. If the spikes are cut when the first two 

 or three flowers have opened, the entire stalk will open 

 out after it has been put in water. They may be sent « 

 to a distance; they will arrive in excellent condition if 



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1647. The ruffled gladiolus. 



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