The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



July 9, 1908. 



The columbines are all beautiful, wheth- 

 er we look at the ones grown from a 

 package of seed which has cost 10 cents 

 an ounce, or at the newer hybrids at 

 twenty times that price. Delphinium, or 

 larkspur, forma a great standby in the 

 perennial bonier. Some beautiful, soft 

 shades of blue l.ave been added of late 

 to the list of varieties. A fine assort- 

 ment can be found in Kelway 's Hy- 

 brids. Sow at once. 



A half ounce of seed of Dianthus 

 plumarius, the pheasant's eye pink, will 

 give a few hundred strong, bushy plants, 

 which will be loaded with flowers next 

 spring. There are always plenty ad- 

 mirers of this old favorite and more 

 should be grown. Shasta daisies can also 

 be sown out now, as well as gaillardias, 

 in order to have salable plants this fall. 

 Both are good sellers and a good num- 

 ber should be found on every place, 

 to cut from during the summer months. 

 Hollyhocks may also be sown now. It is 

 important to keep the color.^ separate. It 



a paying investment for but little ex- 

 pense and trouble. More varieties can 

 be added from time to time. All those 

 described in these notes > will stand an 

 ordinary winter, such as we get in the 

 middle west, yet it is advisable to give 

 them protection in a coldframe. They 

 can be at once transplanted into winter 

 quarters as soon as the seedlings- are 

 large enough, giving them about six 

 inches of room each way. Sashes covered 

 with mats or shutters form a good pro- 

 tection, but a covering of brush and 

 leaves will do nicely. Fritz Bahr. 



CULTIVATION OF GLADIOLI. 



[A paper by Arthur Cowee, of Berlin, N. Y., 

 read before the Philadelphia Florists' Club, 

 July 7, 1908.1 



It is with much pleasure, and with a 

 high appreciation of the honor con- 

 ferred upon me, that I address you this 

 evening upon a subject which, in spite 

 of other business cares and responsibili- 





A Standiogf Crescent Wreatb. 



is just as ea?y to do so, and a great 

 deal of bad feeling can be avoided by 

 being able to give customers a red or 

 a pink when they ask for them. 



There are a great number of other very 

 desirable perennials, besides the above, 

 which can be grown early from seed, but 

 if a good stock of those mentioned is 

 grown by the beginner it will be found 



ties, has been uppermost in my ambition 

 and desire to excel; that is, the "Culti- 

 vation of Gladioli." 



Doubtless some, if not all, of you are 

 familiar with the exceptionally rapid 

 development and improvement of this 

 flower during the last ten years or so. 

 Especially do I refer to the artistic forms 

 and coloring of enormous flowers, prop- 



erly arranged on a gracefully bending 

 spike. 



The time was not long ago when prac- 

 tically the only gladiolus bulbs commer- 

 cially offered were of one type, the 

 Gandavensis, with stiff, straight spikes,, 

 comparatively spiall flowers arranged 

 closely together, all of the buds devel- 

 oping at about the same time. The va- 

 riety of colors also was limited and it 

 is no wonder to me that, except for 

 massive decorations, the average florist 

 has been slow to take up the growing of 

 this flower. 



Our Debt to Groff and Lemoine. 



To such hybridizers as Groff and Le- 

 moine are we indebted for the many 

 types of beautiful and artistic flowers 

 which have been recently introduced, and 

 upon which, although it may seem impos- 

 sible, improvement is constantly being 

 made. These modern hybrids, from their 

 cheapness and adaptability to any kind 

 of decoration, either, large or small, are 

 yearly tempting more and more the 

 artistic, critical and exacting florist. I 

 do not wish to appear in the light of 

 condemning the entire Gandavensis fam- 

 ily. Such is not my intention, for among 

 the hosts of named varieties of this class 

 are many which I value highly on ac- 

 count of some particular attribute or at- 

 tributes which render them invaluable for 

 certain purposes. 



For instance, I have found the vari- 

 eties Shakespeare, May, Augusta and 

 Brenchleyensis the most reliable for forc- 

 ing purposes, one year with another. 

 With a succession of plantings, also, this; 

 type can be used with splendid result* 

 en masse on extensive lawns, where the 

 contrast in colors is most pleasing. 



As my task has been principally in 

 the direction of collecting, selecting,, 

 classifying and growing commercially 

 this bulb, my talk will be on this line 

 rather than from the scientific or hy- 

 bridizer's standpoint, although I have- 

 had considerable experience with hybrid- 

 izing in n)ij early work. 



Early Experiences. 



Ever since I knew anything about 

 flowers the gladiolus has been my favor- 

 ite, the growing of which I called a fad 

 up to a few years ago, when, realizing 

 the possibilities of the development and 

 consequent demand for the.se modern 

 types, I concluded, if possible, to make 

 a business of the growing of these bulbs. 

 I was convinced, also, that the soil and 

 climatic conditions of my section of the 

 country were especially adapted to the 

 development of a strong, vigorous bulb, 

 which in the gardens of the amateur and 

 professional growers would give most 

 satisfactory results. How well I have 

 succeeded is indicated bv the harvest in 

 1907 of about 16,000 bushels of bulbs, 

 bulblets and cormels, all of which stock 

 has been disposed of during the season 

 of 1908-1909, with the exception of 

 such as we were obliged to retain for 

 further growing. This stock is made up 

 of selections from unnamed seedlings 

 and named varieties placed in mixtures 

 and color sections, also named varieties 

 of recent introduction, as well as novel- 

 ties not yet introduced, and, of course, 

 some old varieties, which by reason of 

 some particular attributes are still in 

 demand, are retained. 



Comparing the wild species with the 

 modern hybrids, one could hardly believe 

 that the latter were offsprings of the 

 former. Of the wild species referred to,. 

 I there have so far been discovered 14(> 



