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ThcWcckly Florists' Review* 



Dbcbmbbb 21, 1911. 



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Dahlia and Gladiolus 

 Growers Hold Meeting 



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THE WESTEBN ASSOCIATION. 



The Western I>ahlia and Gladiolus 

 Association held its first annual meet- 

 ing Friday, December 15, at 66 Ean- 

 dolph street, Chicago, where facilities 

 for exhibition and meeting were pro- 

 vided by the A. L. Eandall Co. The 

 program as published in The Review 

 for December 7 was carried out with 

 the exception of two papers from mem- 

 bers unable to be present. .Following 

 the papers on "The Gladiolus," by 

 A. E. Kunderd, and on "Hybridization 

 and Culture," by H. W. Koerner, was 

 a general discussion enjoyed by all. 

 Carl Cropp gave some interesting points 

 regarding late development of the 

 corms of gladioli and the dahlia clumps, 

 showing that both plants largely in- 

 creased in size and solidity late in the 

 fall, but that care must be used in not 

 leaving too late, to be injured by severe 

 frosts. He also suggested that there 

 might be a profitable future for the 

 Colvillei type of gladiolus, Blushing 

 Bride and others. S. W. Pike, of St. 

 Charles, 111., gave it as his opinion that 

 late development of the bulbs is de- 

 cidedly advantageous. The paper on 

 "American Bulbs," read by E. S. 

 Thompson, completed the program. 



It was decided to appoint a commit- 

 tee on nomenclature, so that the work 

 could be started at once. M. Crawford, 

 of Cuyahoga Falls, O., was appointed. 

 The proposition to hold an exhibition of 

 flowers in connection with the Society 

 of American Florists at Chicago in 

 August, 1912, was placed in the hands 

 of the executive committee. The regu- 

 lar annual meeting of the association 

 for the election of officers will be held 

 at the annual bulb show some time in 

 December of each year, each date to be 

 fixed by the executive committee. 



No immense things were expected, 

 but those who have worked for the 

 association feel well repaid with the re- 

 ception by the trade as well as by the 

 amateurs, and anyone interested missed 

 a good thing if he did not look over the 

 bulbs shown at this meeting. Dahlias, 

 gladioli, cannas, irises, oxalis, tiger 

 lilies, montbretias, etc., were shown, all 

 grown in the central west. Mammoth 

 bulbs of Kunderdi Glory, four inches in 

 diameter, were shown, Koerner 's hy- 

 brids were three and a half inches in 

 diameter. Bulbs of Childsii, florists' 

 mixture, King and America, three to 

 three and a half inches in diameter, 

 were shown by the Central Seed and 

 Bulb Co. Vaughan's Seed Store gave 

 a good exhibit of King, Augusta and 

 the new Chicago White gladiolus. The 

 exhibit was a success from all sides, for 

 thd initial one of the association. Over 

 seventy entries were made. Dahlia 

 clumps fourteen inches across were 

 shown. One of the remarkable fea- 

 tures of the exhibits was the thick, 

 solid and healtty appearance of all the 

 gladiolus bulbs. Only one diseased bulb 

 was found in the collection, and the 

 western growers can congratulate them-> 



selves on placing on the tables the 

 largest sized and the finest appearing 

 gladiolus and dahlia bulbs ever placed 

 on exhibition in this country. The 

 association is so well pleased with the 

 work that next December will see more 

 than 500 entries of dahlia clumps, rep- 

 resenting all varieties of any value, and 

 specially showing those of good value 

 from the standpoint of the commercial 

 and amateur trade. It is designed that 

 other outdoor flowers grown from a 

 bulbous root will be included in the 

 scope of the work. One aim is informa- 

 tion to both trade and amateur. The 



growers are in earnest and propose to 

 be in the front for western bulbs and 

 business. E. S. Thompson, Sec'y. 



HYBEIDIZINa AND OUI.TUEE. 



[A paper by H. W. Koerner, of Milwaukee, 

 Wis., read at tlie meeting o( the Western Dahlia 

 and Gladiolus Association, in Chicago, December 

 16, 1911.] 



Though Secretary Thompson has 

 called on me to read a paper on "Hy- 

 bridizing and Culture," I wish to say 

 that my remarks shall be brief, as the 

 time for preparation was short and 

 thei'e were too many other things on 

 my mind. 



Hybridizing can be explained in fif- 

 teen words, but to go into details would 

 make volumes, so I shall just give a 

 few brief particulars as to the way I 

 do things. When there is any variety 

 that I wish to cross, I generally cut the 

 anthers off the one from which I intend 

 to save the seed, and then cross with 

 the one from which I take the pollen. 



Now, in judging and figuring so as to 

 get the colors and types you want in 

 gladioli, I consider all the points — ^the 

 habit of stem, the number of flowers 

 open, the closeness of the flowers to 

 the stem; the flowers must be well open, 

 and the main thing is color. 



Best aiadioli Multiply Slowly. 



I do not like the Lemoine type, al- 

 though I think there is a time coming 

 when they will go ahead of any other 

 type, for they multiply faster, which 

 gives them the lead. The reason I do 

 not like them is, because they generally 

 have crooked stems and only two or 

 four flowers open at once. I can pick 

 out any one that has Lemoine blood by 

 those two points. One thing I have 

 learned is that the best varieties gen- 

 erally multiply the most slowly, for I 

 have been growing some of my best 

 kinds for ten years and still have not 

 stock enough to offer. 



Follenization of Dahlias. 



In pollenizing dahlias, it is more diffi- 

 cult to do the work right. You must 

 employ a strong magnifying glass to see 

 the anthers which should be cut off, and 

 to select the ripe pollen. I always se- 

 lect free-flowering and long-stemmed 

 varieties to cross, and I never save shy 

 bloomers or short-stemmed varieties, for 

 there are too many of that kind already 

 on the market. 



The best time of the day for crossing 

 is between 12 and 2 o 'clock on a bright, 

 sunny day. 



I venture to declare that hybridizing 

 is yet in its infancy and that there will 

 be entirely new types and shapes, unlike 

 any ever seen before, in both dahlias 

 and gladioli, for I have some rare sorts 

 in both flowers and I also have new 

 types in peonies, one in particular, 

 which is like a decorative dahlia. 



As to culture, there is not much to 

 say. Any soil that produces corn or 

 potatoes will grow dahlias and glads, 

 but plant deeply, at least four inches 

 below the surface. The time of planting 

 differs greatly; gladioli should be plant- 

 ed early and dahlias late. 



Thit iKtidwig Building. 



GLADIOLUS AND ITS FUTUKE. 



[A paper by A. E. Kunderd, of Goshen, Ind., 

 lead at the meeting of the Western Dahlia and 

 Gladiolus Association, In Chicago, December IS, 

 1911.] 



So much has been written and said 

 about the gladiolus, as regards its cul- 

 ture both outdoors and under glass, for 

 bulbs and cut flowers, that I will not 



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