KAYLOR NURSERIES, BLAINE, WASHINGTON 
Glad Ramblings 
The great wave of gardening inter¬ 
est that set in about tne close of the 
World War, and grew rapidly thru the 
depression, has resulted in a big in¬ 
crease in the number of plant breeders 
and new varieties of flowers being offer¬ 
ed gardeners. 
Perhaps no other flower attracted 
so many of these new plant breeders as 
did the Gladiolus. The resultant im¬ 
provement has been so great that var¬ 
ieties listed as top notchers five or ten 
years ago are no longer carried by com¬ 
mercial growers—they have been dis¬ 
placed by newer and much finer kinds. 
Gardeners in welcoming this new 
plant material should remember that it 
is perfectly natural for parents to think 
their kids are just about the finest ever. 
Hundreds of new flower kids have come 
into the picture. Naturally many of 
these home town boys were not so good 
when moved into some other climate. 
Because they had not been tested long- 
enough, or in other parts of the country, 
they flopped. 
A few years ago new Glads were in¬ 
troduced at from $25 to $300 per bulb. 
A variety that descended the price scale 
rapidly was not apt to find favor with 
those who had not seen it. The writer’s 
opinion is that no Glad was ever worth 
$100. Sales at this price were very lim¬ 
ited. 
Retah Schell 
Every year we grow several thousand 
new hybrids from crosses made the year 
previously. Perhaps ten out of every 
thousand are considered good enough to 
carry along. They are given a number, 
the geneology and a description written. 
In the fall the bulb and all its bulblets 
are harvested. The following year 
these are planted, after the number of 
bulblets has been noted. If the bulblets 
fail to germinate easily and grow prop¬ 
erly, the whole lot is discarded. Why 
carry something that is too weak to win 
in a race that belongs to the strong as 
well as the beautiful? 
By the third year the bulblets have 
reached blooming size. A few are sent 
to Glad fan friends in other parts of the 
country where they are tested out under 
other climatic conditions. By the time 
these tests are completed we have built 
up a good sized stock of the variety. 
The only way to get any financial return 
for the labor invested, is thru selling 
this stock. It is introduced at a price 
that will attract many customers. Most 
Glads that remain at a high price year 
after year are slow multipliers—weak 
somewhere. Picardy, surely a top notch- 
er, has dropped in price like a tobaggan 
on an icy hill, and this too, in the face 
of an unprecedented demand for its 
bulbs. It’s a rapid multiplier—has 
strength. 
Last year we introduced Leschi, Re¬ 
tah Schell, Miss Pocotello and Robert 
Brownlee at from $1.50 to $2.00 each. 
This year they are down to 50c and 75c 
each. All are strong, rapid multipliers 
with good health habits. (They have 
been tested here on Puget Sound for four 
years. We have good sized stocks, so 
why not give everybody a chance to 
enjoy their beauty? 
That they have made good in other 
than their home town is shown by the 
following letters from those who grew 
them last year: 
“Leschi was by far the best dark red 
I have ever grown. It wasn’t very tall 
from my medium bulbs, but every spike 
was straight 'with perfect placement. 
I shall certainly want more of this var¬ 
iety next year. Miss Pocotello, Emeline 
Manning and Robert Brownlee were good 
and will be retained.” Above from an 
advanced Glad Fan in one of the hot¬ 
test parts of the South. 
