THE GLADIOLUS FANCIER’S GUIDEBOOK FOR 1934 
Page 3 
In the sunniest location possible. In well 
drained soil. Preferably in a group by 
themselves. Do not make them compete 
with other roots of trees, shrubs or weeds. 
Cultivate often and close, keeping surface 
loose. If the garden plot was not fertilized 
the previous fall with a slow acting fertilizer 
apply none whatever until plants are six to 
eight inches high. Use then and every few 
weeks thereafter until blooming, if you 
wish, any quick acting fertilizer with ap¬ 
proximately “4-12-4” per cent of content of 
nitrogen, phosphate and potash, respec¬ 
tively. Sprinkle it sparingly (a handful to 
25 or more bulbs), several inches away from 
the plants. Scratch it in and soak to satura¬ 
tion. If you wish, when the buds first 
emerge from the foliage, substitute a single, 
similar dressing of ammonium sulphate. 
Soak the ground heavily the day before so 
that the plant will be saturated and in 
strong growing condition, thus withstanding 
a shock which might otherwise burn off 
the rootlets, turn the foliage yellow and 
stop further growth. Or better still, apply 
any amount of diluted, clear, fresh cow 
manure. (Have some fresh cow manure 
placed into a heavy sack. Place sack in tub 
or large barrel of water. Will pour off or dip 
out free of sediment. Refill and use until 
liquid loses color.) Now give the soil about 
all the water the drainage condition will 
permit during the blooming season. 
Particularly in hot weather, spikes which 
are cut when but one or two florets are 
open, fill out with more open at a time when 
bloomed indoors, making better exhibition 
spikes and preventing any fading of color 
such as is sometimes found in some of the 
finest orange scarlets, as well as preventing 
wilting of varieties without strong sub¬ 
stance. Cut stem slantwise to provide 
larger drinking area and place in water at 
once to avoid air pockets in stem. Allow 
three or four leaves to remain on the plant to 
mature the new bulb which is hardly half 
grown when spike is cut. At least six more 
weeks are needed to mature the bulb. 
VARIETIES TO BUY 
If you are only beginning to grow gladi¬ 
olus, avoid cheap mixtures, choosing the 
often unbeatable yet inexpensive sorts such 
as Minuet, Catherine Coleman, Mr. W. H. 
Phipps, Mrs. P. W. Sisson, Longfellow, 
Pride of Wanakah, Veilchenblau, Primrose 
Princess, Golden Dream, Betty Nuthall, 
Dr. F. E. Bennett, Orange Wonder. 
If you already have such varieties you 
can usually keep a few years ahead of the 
average gladiolus enthusiast by buying the 
new “world beaters” which are being offered 
for the first time at popular prices, such as 
Jubilee, Albatros, Salbach’s Pink, Mr. 
Fred’k Christ, Frank McCoy, Pauline 
Kunderd, General Kuroki, H. G. Wells, 
Ave Maria, Ruffled Gold, Senorita, Com¬ 
mander Koehl, Marmora, Mother Machree, 
Magna Blanca, Picardy, Red Phipps. These 
are the sorts, the large bulbs of which will 
hardly be in sufficient world supply to meet 
the demand. Likewise our supply. Wher¬ 
ever you buy, order these early if you would 
avoid disappointment. And, if you put off 
buying large size bulbs of Picardy, Magna 
Blanca and Commander Koehl until March, 
it is likely to be just too bad. 
Having these or desiring to grow, in most 
inexpensive manner, a stock of the newest 
“world wonders,” if the price of the large 
bulb is appalling you will buy a medium or 
small bulb of such exquisitely wonderful 
sorts as Mary Elizabeth, Salbach’s Orchid, 
Blue Peacock, Blue Danube, Grand Slam, 
Mildred Louise, Pelegrina. Even the small 
bulbs (excepting very late sorts) will bloom 
and most of the medium bulbs give blooms 
almost as good as the large bulbs. 
Commercial growers should purchase for 
propagation sorts which are approaching 
their peak of popularity, thus assuring a 
market for their bulbs when grown. 
In order to obtain immediately some of 
the wonders evidently slated to top the 
symposium voting lists in years to come as 
their dissemination among the voters in¬ 
creases, you will buy perhaps only a bulblet 
or two of such varieties as King Arthur, 
Sunnyside, Rosemarie Pfitzer, Mozart, 
Pelegrina, Southern Cross, Dorothy Dow, 
Solveig, D. A. Hay, Star of Bethlehem, and 
the new giant, Miss New Zealand. (Bulb- 
lets of this one not listed but we may part 
with a few if listed by any other grower.) 
About 90% of this list are the large, Ex¬ 
hibition sorts. There are only five Primuli- 
nus varieties in the entire list and these have 
exceptionally clean colors and fair size, 
easily outranking other small flowering 
sorts. The dozen or so Primulinus Grandi- 
florus are mostly the largest in their class, 
several of them as large as the largest Exhi¬ 
bition sorts. By simple analysis of the 
number of stars (*), daggers (f) and double 
daggers (J) appearing in the descriptions 
(see later full explanation), you are readily 
able to visualize the size of the individual 
floret, the number of them open at once and 
the approximate total number of buds on the 
flower spike. 
We list only the outstanding first prize 
winners of the last two years in national and 
other major gladiolus exhibitions around 
the world. While there are always a few 
“world beaters” in process of propagation 
which have not yet found their way into the 
shows, our catalog expresses much by its 
silent exclusion of many highly “tooted” 
sorts. Upon inquiry we will gladly discuss 
any variety excluded. 
