March Sowing and Planting 



should be planted some 2 or 3 inches deep. Montbretia 

 rosea is a charming kind with rose-pink blossoms. The 

 correct botanical name of Montbretia is now Tritonia, 

 though for garden purposes the former is much more 

 familiar. 



Planting Gladioli. There are now so many sections 

 of Gladioli that the uninitiated may become puzzled 

 in attempting to form a selection. The chief groups are 

 those known as gandavensis, Lemoinei, Childsi and 

 nanceianus. The gandavensis group is the oldest of 

 all, the varieties are late flowering, and the colour range 

 is a wide one. Bulbs of seedlings comprising many 

 charming shades of colour can be obtained more cheaply 

 than named varieties. The Lemoinei Gladioli were raised 

 by M. Lemoine, a French nurseryman, by cross-breeding 

 between Gladiolus gandavensis and another kind, pur- 

 pureo auratus ; they are known popularly as the Butterfly 

 flowered Gladioli, owing to the distinct colour blotches 

 found on the flowers, which are generally smaller than 

 those of the gandavensis type. The nanceianus kinds are 

 distinguished by a looser spike of bloom and large flowers. 

 Among the Lemoinei and nanceianus types are found 

 some exquisite colourings, especially of blue shades. The 

 Childsii Gladioli are fine, vigorous sorts containing some 

 beautiful flowers in which shades of yellow are often 

 prominent. One should not lose sight of the old red- 

 flowered Gladiolus brenchleyensis, which is very easily 

 grown and requires little attention in the way of staking, 

 and this is more than can be said for some of the newer 

 sorts, whose larger blooms render the stems top-heavy. 

 The bulbs of Gladioli should be planted 3 or 4 inches 

 deep, according to the size of the root (which is techni- 

 cally a corm), in soil that has been deeply dug ; wood ashes 

 are an excellent material to mix in the soil, failing this 

 bonemeal may be used with advantage. They should be 

 placed 8 to 10 inches apart, so that each plant may have 

 sufficient room in which to develop. 



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