GLADIOLUS 



crop will usually come in at the very time when the whole country 

 is full of Gladioli. One might say that carloads of. flowers are 

 dumped on the market by men who grow the plants for the bulbs, 

 and while such plants really shouldn't be used for cuttings they 

 are, nevertheless. Such flowers may not be as good nor as long- 

 stemmed as others, yet they are being made use of for occasions 

 where cheapness in price counts for more than quality of stock. 

 It is beyond the florist to change these conditions, but it isn't 

 beyond him to not only arrange matters so as to avoid competing 

 during the time of a glut, but actually to make the growing of 

 Gladioli a paying proposition. 



How TO Make Gladioli Pay 



During the months of April, 

 May, June and July the florist 

 has the market in Gladioli 

 practically to himself. If he 

 takes advantage of this fact 

 he needn't care whether hun- 

 dreds of thousands of flowers 

 go to waste on the market 

 the next two months. Almost 

 any greenhouse with three 

 feet of headroom above the 

 benches can be used for Gladi- 

 oli. Their culture is very 

 simple and, at the same time, 

 the demand on the part of 

 the public so brisk that one 

 cannot help but wonder why 

 the average retail grower does 

 not pay more attention to it. 

 There is no trouble in realiz- 

 ing from $2 to $4 per dozen 

 for weU-grown stock during 

 April and May. No other 

 flower we have to offer at that 

 time compares with the Gladi- 

 olus in stateliness, beauty 

 and attractiveness; there is 

 nothing jSner for decorative 

 work, nothing more lasting. 

 Besides, the blooms form a 

 pleasant change from what 

 your patrons have been getting 



Fig. 169. — Gladiolus "June." It is the 

 number of open, perfect flowers that 

 counts. A variety in which the first flower 

 wilts before the fourth opens is of little 

 use, no matter how large and well-colored. 

 (Courtesy of the J. L. Childs Co.) 



