AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



July, 1906 



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THE GLADIOLUS, THE PEONY 

 AND THE DAHLIA 



By Eben E. Rexford 



AMONG the more popular flowers of to- 

 day we must include the gladiolus, 

 the peony, and the dahlia. The glad- 

 iolus, all things considered, is our best summer 

 bloomer. Nothing in the whole range of the 

 floral world excels it in rich, beautiful, and 

 at the same time delicate coloring, with its 

 hues of carmine, crimson, pink, and lilac, as 

 well as vivid touches of other colors. The 

 gladiolus in a mass is magnificent and this 

 without a hint of coarseness, such as we often 

 find in the highly colored blossoms. 



The gladiolus has many merits to commend 

 it to the attention of the amateur gardener. 

 Among these are its beauty and its ease of 

 culture. It is a plant that anyone can grow; 

 in fact, it is one of the few that seem almost 

 able to take care of themselves. Beyond plac- 

 ing the corms in the ground in May and oc- 

 casional weeding as the growth develops, no 

 other attention is necessary. I have seen beds 

 of this flower which, in spite of neglect, had 

 grown to a height of three feet with blossoms 

 for half the length of the stalks and scores 

 with three and four stalks to each root. Many 

 other plants would have given up the fight 

 against the weeds early in the season, but the 

 sturdy gladiolus courageously triumphed over 

 the encroaching growths. 



When planted, as it always should be, in 

 masses, the gladiolus makes a brave display of 

 color. Charming when planted singly, it is 

 unequalled in gorgeous wealth of solid color 

 when massed. One must see fifty or a hun- 

 dred plants in a bed ten or fifteen feet long, 

 fully to appreciate what can be done with it. 

 The corms should be set about eight inches 

 apart each way and not less than fifty should 

 be placed in one bed. 



The time to plant is May — certainly not 

 earlier — after the soil has become warm. 

 Cold, wet earth often causes the roots to de- 

 cay. The bed should be spaded up to a depth 

 ot at least a foot, working the soil into a light 

 and mellow state, with the addition of a lib- 

 eral quantity of old, well-rotted manure from 

 the barnyard. The gladiolus thrives best 

 with this fertilizer though many of_the com- 

 mercial kinds can be used with success. The 

 plant will sometimes do well even in unfer- 

 tilized soil, but such a condition is naturally 

 not favorable for the best results. 



The corms should be put about four inches 

 below the surface, care being exercised at 

 planting to see that they are right side up. 

 As soon as the plants appear some provision 

 should be made for the support of the stalks. 

 If you prefer to stake the beds, set the stakes 

 about two feet apart each way. The wire 

 or cord need not be stretched upon the stakes 

 until the stalks are fairly grown, but it is ad- 

 visable to put the stakes in position early in 

 the season to avoid the possibility of injury 

 to the plants after they have got a good start, 

 for they are then easily bruised and hurt. 

 The wire or cord should be run in several di- 

 rections in order to furnish efficient support 

 without the necessity of having the stalks 

 lean out from the perpendicular. For two 

 years past I have made use of wire netting 

 with a large mesh, placed over the bed and 

 fastened upon stakes about 18 inches high. 

 The plants find no difficulty in working 

 through the large meshes and with support of 

 this kind they dispose themselves in a natural 

 manner. The netting need not be placed 

 over the bed before the early part of July. 

 By that time most of the weeds which will 

 appear during the season have been disposed of 

 and the netting will not greatly interfere 

 with the proper cultivation of the beds. 



