374 



The Garden Magazine, August, 1922 



centre of one bulb to the centre of its neighbor — which will be 

 ample space if the ground is made rich with fertilizer. This 

 trench may be oval in shape or of irregular outline, the latter 

 being preferable for the larger beds. Take out all the soil to 

 the depth of six inches or more, and loosen the soil beneath 

 for about the same depth. Spread the fertilizer on the surface 

 about a quarter of an inch deep or less, according to the quality 

 of the soil, and stir it in. 



For fertilizer I recommend pulverized sheep manure as the 

 best for garden use, though any commercial fertilizer that is 

 suitable for Potatoes is about as good. I experimented with 

 some half a dozen sorts and found but little difference in them, 

 and chose the sheep manure because it was effective and was 

 easy and pleasant to handle. (For topdressing, while the plants 

 are growing, a mixture of hardwood ashes and ground bone is 

 satisfactory. This should be applied three or four times during 

 the season.) 



When the trench is prepared, place the larger bulbs carefully 

 top side up and cover them with two or three inches of soil, then 

 add a thin layer of fertilizer and on that spread the remainder of 

 the soil. Treat in similar fashion the bulbs that are put in the 

 vegetable garden for cut flowers, laying them zig-zag in the 

 trench, about four to the foot. If you want to grow the smaller 

 sizes, put these in the vegetable garden also, making the trench 

 for them about four inches deep and sowing them thickly — 

 twelve or more to the foot. A shallow trench will best suit the 

 bulblets. Sow them as you sow peas only thicker, as it has 

 been proved by experiment that the thicker they are planted the 

 larger will be the percentage of germination. 



In past years the germination of the bulblets has been very 

 uncertain. Of the large plantings the percentage has not been 

 more than seventy to eighty as a rule, and in some varieties it 

 has been even less. The idea prevailed among the growers 

 that the germination would be increased if the shells of the 

 bulblets were moistened, so they were stored in winter in moist 

 sand and at planting time were soaked in water for a day or 

 more. Recently, however, it has been proved that when the 

 shells are wet they are tougher than when dry; that the dry shells 

 are quite brittle and more readily yield to the pressure of the 

 embryo plant. So to-day the best informed growers store their 

 bulblets in a dry room and before planting lay them in the sun 

 for a couple of days. The result from this treatment has 

 proved its efficiency. 



Sometimes, to make more certain the germination of rare and 

 valuable varieties, the shells of the bulblets are peeled off, but 

 when this is done great care has to be taken that the bulblets 

 do not become dry. A good plan is to put them at once, as soon 

 as the shell is removed, into a pot filled with prepared soil. The 

 pot can be set in the sun during the day and at night removed 

 from any dangerous draft. Such work can be done early in the 

 spring, before the ground outside is in fit condition for planting, 

 and this will give the plants a longer period in which to grow. 



The bulblets of a few varieties will not germinate till the 

 second year and these can be left in the ground all winter 

 if covered by a mulch of leaves. 



Gladiolus seeds may be grown in much the same way as any 

 other garden seeds; but the ground must be kept moist to secure 

 the best results. The top soil may be kept moist by covering it 

 with bagging or any coarse cloth. (A black muck makes a 

 good seed bed for Gladiolus.) 



Planting 



THE best time to plant? That is a problem which arises in 

 every section of the country each season, but a 

 good general rule to follow is to wait until the ground is 

 dry enough to handle readily and warm enough to pre- 

 vent the bulbs from being chilled. There is nothing 

 gained by putting them into the ground any earlier, for 

 the chilled bulbs will be passed by those which are put 

 in the ground two or three weeks later. The latter 

 will bloom earlier and will produce better bulbs. For a 



guide I will add that more than once I have begun to plant my 

 large stock as early as April fifteenth, in the central part of 

 Massachusetts, also more than once I have been obliged to wait 

 until the middle of May, and on one occasion I did not get the 

 last of the bulbs in the ground until the " glorious Fourth." 



During the summer the beds should be kept free from weeds 

 and the plants given plenty of moisture. The ground about 

 them should be well soaked at least once a week and sufficient 

 water applied to make sure that it reaches the feeding roots, 

 which are underneath the bulbs. Sprinkling is of no service, 

 indeed it is rather injurious as it helps to form a cake on the soil. 

 When a cake does form, which may occur after a rain or after 

 watering, it should be broken up by a rake, and at all times the 

 soil around the plants should be kept loose. 



Harvesting 



YOU will find it an advantage to let the large bulbs remain in 

 the ground until the leaves are brown for at least half of 

 their length. The bulbs will continue to grow as long as the 

 leaves continue green; but do not wait until the entire leaf has 

 turned brown, for then it will be too brittle to handle — it will 

 break when you attempt to pull up the bulbs. 



For digging use a common spade or a spading fork — the latter 

 being the better of the two. Insert the fork into the ground a 

 few inches from the leaves and force it obliquely under the 

 bulbs; press down the handle and raise the bulbs toward the 

 surface; grasp the leaves with the left hand and pull the bulbs 

 from the ground; hold them over a sieve and cut off the tops close 

 to the bulbs — within about half an inch. Shake out the soil that 

 has adhered to the bulbs and dump them into a box or tray. 

 This tray should have a solid bottom to prevent the bulblets 

 from being lost — the ordinary nursery "flat" makes a good tray 

 for that purpose. 



Use the same method when digging the smaller sized bulbs, 

 which can be detached from their leaves in bunches by a twist 

 of the wrist. 



After digging the bulbs allow them to lay in the sun for suf- 

 ficient time to dry off the outside moisture and to dry any soil 

 that may still adhere to them, then put under cover but where 

 they will get enough heat to dry them more thoroughly — to 

 "cure" them, as it is called. If convenient, it is a good plan to 

 lay them in the sunshine for a week or two before placing them 

 in their final storeroom. 



Storage 



AN UNDERGROUND cellar that during the winter will be 

 cool, though frost proof, and free from excessive moisture 

 is the best place for the storage of Gladiolus bulbs. Too dry 

 an air causes the outside layers of the bulbs to become hard and 

 stiff; yet if there is too much moisture there will be danger of 

 mould and rot. Such humidity as is usually found in a cellar 

 where vegetables can be kept with safety will suit the bulbs. 

 A good average temperature for the bulbs during these months 

 is around 40 to 45 degrees. 



A convenient sized tray for storing is two feet square and 

 four inches deep. It should have an open bottom to permit 

 ventilation. Laths laid a quarter of an inch apart make a good 

 bottom though a better plan is to cover the entire bottom with 

 wire netting. The trays may be placed in racks furnished with 

 cleats on which the trays will readily slide in and out, but there 

 must be sufficient space between each tray to admit of a free 

 circulation of air. Small quantities of bulbs may be put into 



bags of coarse cloth or of heavy paper, and hung to 



the beams. 



AT ANY time after they are dried the bulbs 

 may be "cleaned" — that is they may be de- 

 tached from the roots and from the old bulbs and 

 the bulblets. They can be cleaned while the moisture 

 from the soil is still on them, but the labor is then 



