27 
A. H. NICHOLS 
CUTTING BLOOM 
The wonderful popularity of Gladiolus has been due to its 
fine keeping qualities as a cut flower. It has no fragrance to 
make the air oppressive—new florets keep opening for days. 
When cutting flowers use a knife with a small blade. Leave 
at least four leaves or else you spoil the bulb for next year. 
With a little practice you can run your knife blade down along 
the stalk and get a good long stem without cutting a leaf. 
In fact, it is better to cut the flower-spike carefully than to 
let the flower bloom clear out and the stalk ripen seed. If you 
do not use the flower for cutting, top it later to keep it from 
forming seed. 
BULBS MUST HAVE CHANCE TO RIPEN 
We are often asked: “How long shall I water after the 
bulbs bloom?” If you will examine a plant you will find that 
just after blooming time the new bulb makes most of its 
growth. So water for a month or more, in fact, until the leaves 
begin to turn brown, then withdraw water if you can and let 
the bulb and bulblets ripen. Some varieties ripen more quickly 
so it is hard to give any set rule, but it is best to dig before 
they die clear down. Never pull the tops off or the bulbs up. 
Dig them. 
After digging, cut the stem off half an inch from the bulb, 
spread out to dry in the sun being careful to cover lightly with 
the old tops to avoid any danger of sunburn, and allowed to 
remain so for a week or ten days. They should then be cured 
enough for the old bulb to be easily removed. Never pry the 
old bulb away. Some people leave their bulbs in the ground 
more than one year, but you will have better flowers if they 
are dug and allowed to cure. 
Do not remove the husks—just clean off the base of the 
bulb. If you want to save the bulblets, they can be put away 
in paper sacks or left with the bulbs. In the small garden and 
with bulbs obtainable at such reasonable prices it seems hardly 
worth the time and energy to grow bulblets two years to get 
good bloom from them. 
