1342 



GLADIOLUS 



GLADIOLUS 



a little care is taken when shipping. The spikes should 

 be cut when the first flower opens, and put in water in 

 the cellar or cool place for two or three hours, after 

 which they will stand a journey of two or three days; 

 and then when placed in water they will quickly 

 respond and unfold their petals. 



The uses of gladioli are varied; great quantities are 

 used for decorating dining tables in the great hotels 

 and steamboats; florists have long recognized their 

 value in making funeral designs; at the exhibition of 

 the American Gladiolus Society, at Rochester, it was 

 demonstrated that they can be used for fancy table 

 decoration, wedding bouquets, and other purposes. 



Varieties. 



No two persons will agree on varieties, but the fol- 

 lowing represent some of the good types at present 

 (given here as a matter of record) : 



While. — Europa, Blanche, Peace, LaLuna. Pink. — 

 Wild Rose, America, Mrs. Frank Pendleton, Myrtle, 

 Taconic, Panama. Scarlet. — Mrs. Francis King, 

 Princeps, Brenchleyensis, Contrast (scarlet and white). 

 Yellow. — Golden King, Sulphur King, Niagara, Kun- 

 derdi Glory. Maroon. — Empress of India, Mrs. 

 MilUns. Violet. — Baron Joseph Hulot. 



Variation in size of bulbs. 



There is great variation in size of bulb or corm. It is 

 a varietal characteristic. Some kinds never make a 

 large bulb, yet they may be superior kinds. This 

 ought to give a hint in buying mixtures at the flower- 

 shop. Nine times out of ten, when a customer has the 

 opportunity to pick out the bulbs personally, the very 

 largest ones are taken, with the result that perhaps not 

 more than one or two kinds are received, as very often 

 the very best and choicest flowers are concealed in the 

 small or medium-sized corms. Some of the 

 large-bulb sorts are very inferior, and it is 

 easy to increase the stock, while others, 

 perhaps producing smaller bottoms, bear 

 only a few oiTsets. 



Commercial cultivation for stock or bulbs. 

 (E. H. Cushman.) 



For successful commercial culture it is 

 essential that sandy soil conditions are 

 obtainable. Such preparation of the soil 

 as puts it in a loose, friable condition wiU 

 answer. Probably the ideal soil is a sod, 

 fall-|)lowed and then most thoroughly worked 

 in the spring. Strong, fresh stable manure 

 should be avoided. If soil is not sufficiently 

 rich in plant-food it is best to use all strong 

 manures on a previous season's crop of some 

 other kind. Any complete fertilizer is bene- 

 ficial when thoroughly worked through the 

 soil, at the rate of 600 to 1,000 poimds to the 

 acre. Planting should be begun as early in 

 the spring as the proper working of the soil 

 will permit. The ground being prepared, it 

 should be furrowed 4 inches deep and from 24 to 36 inches 

 apart, according to method of cultivation. If fine, round 

 bulbs are to be grown, and the stock for planting 

 exceeds 1 }-2 inches in diameter, it wiU be necessary to 

 place the bulbs right side up in the furrow by hand, 

 either in single or double rows 2 inches apart. Bulbs of 

 lesser size may be scattered as evenly as jjossible along 

 the furrow, with an average of ten or twelve to the foot 

 of furrow. Clean culture throughout the growing season 

 is essential. Cutting the spike of flowers is a help to 

 increasing the size of the bulbs. Foiu- months is suffi- 

 cient for the growth and maturity of the bulb. To har- 

 vest, loosen the soil and Uft the bulbs by their tops, 

 and lay on the ground to dry off and ripen. Should 

 weather perndt, they can be entirely ripened out-of- 

 doors. Cut the tops off close to the bulbs, pulling off 



the old bulbs and roots, and place in thin layers in 

 crates and store in a cool, dry place. If circumstances 

 require, the tops may be trimmed off at once on hfting, 

 and the bulbs taken under cover for cleaning and 

 drying. 



Culture in California. (Sydney B. Mitchell.) 



Gladioh, like all South African bulbs, do very well in 

 Cahfornia; indeed near Santa Cruz, some of the popular 

 large-flowering varieties are grown in commercial quan- 

 tities for their bulbs. These summer-flowering kinds 

 may be planted in the faU to bloom in the following 

 May and June, but in private gardens additional 

 corms should be put in at intervals from April to July 

 so that a succession of flowers may be available until 

 October, right through the season when California 

 gardens are barest. It should be noted that the early- 

 flowering class of the nanus and Colvillei types are 

 also quite hardy here and 

 so do not require the glass 

 protection given in the 

 East. The favorite varieties 

 of the nanus or dwarfs are 

 Peach Blossom and Blush- 

 ing Bride, while The Bride 

 easily leads in the Colvillei 

 section. A few of the less- 

 known early species are also 

 grown occasionally, as for 

 example G. tristis (yellow and terra- 

 cotta^ and its variety concolor (pale 

 greenish yeUow), both of which 

 flower in March around San Fran- 

 cisco Bay. The earher-flowering 

 classes should all be planted just as 

 soon as available in late October or 

 in November. Growth starts at 

 once, but the flowers usually do not 

 appear much before the following 

 May, when they make a brave show 

 and are fine for cutting. Their 

 simple requirements are fall-plants 

 ing in a well-drained, preferably 

 loamy soil, put about 3 inches 

 deep and about the same apart. Separate 

 bulbs are reset each autumn for best 

 results. As they increase quite rapidly and 

 gain greatly in vigor after they have had 

 a year in Cahfornia, as far as soil and 

 chmate go, there is no good reason why 

 the local-gro-nTi bulbs should not quite 

 replace imported ones. 



Indoor culture. (A. C. Hottes.) 



Until recently, the gladiolus used for 

 blooming indoors was principally of the 

 nanus type. Planted in November, they 

 bloom in April and May. They may first 

 be started in 5-inch pots and later benched. 

 They require a cool temperature, about 

 45° at night, if one expects the foliage to develop nicely. 

 This is a temperature near that of the carnation oj)- 

 timum; they are therefore, often planted around the 

 margins of the carnation benches. Their growth at first 

 is slow, making little growth till the sun gets higher 

 in the spring. 



The flowers of the nanus type appear two or three 

 weeks earher than the standard varieties of gandavensis, 

 Lemoinei or nanceianus. Varieties of the latter groups, 

 however, are being developed with the desirable 

 quaUties for forcing, that of earhness and of a pleasing 

 commercial color, and are becoming of considerable 

 importance as a spring flower for the florist. 



If the stems are not cut too short, the corms will 

 renew themselves as well as in outdoor culture and they 

 can be forced again or given a year's growth in the field. 



1648. Gladiolus tristis var. 

 concolor. ( X ? 2) 



