Hornberger’s Home and Garden Service 
3 
surface will rebound. The distance of such rebound is not always fully considered. 
Perhaps one of the most prolific sources of mixed stock are the work of mice in the 
storage rooms. They carry, small bulbs and bulblets and it is surprising how much 
they may carry, before discovery is made. They carry bulbs and bulblets from one 
container to another. They feed mainly on small bulbs and bulblets, but I suppose 
it is possible for them to carry much stock even where no trace of feeding may be 
visible. Using the same soil too often, even where the ground freezes, is another 
cause of mixture. It is surprising how long glads may remain in some type soils. 
Bulblets often remain in vital condition in an ordinary storage several years. What is 
known as variability or bud variation, common with plants and trees, as well as with 
glads, is also a possible cause of mixed stock. This trait causes what we know as 
mutants or sports which are changed colors or other characteristics much different 
than that of the original plant. The N. Y. State experiment station at Geneva, N. Y. 
has given out the information that there are some sixty known sports of the 
Delicious apple. As many of you know potato growers often practice hill selection 
of seed potatoes to maintain true type seed. We have found that where this 
sporting takes place with bulbs or bulblets too small to flower, then you have a 
direct cause of mixture. 
QUESTION: What are the best methods to use in removing strays or rogues and 
producing pure stock after your stock has been somewhat mixed? 
ANSWER: Due to the fact that only a very small percent of bulblets ever 
flower the first year and also due to the fact that a very large percent of the small 
bulbs they produce flower to but a limited degree in the second year it may require 
the third year before you discover a slight mixture among the original bulblets 
planted. In order to secure true to name bulblets will require that you save bulblets 
from flowering size bulbs only, but even then you cannot be sure that every bulb 
planted will produce a spike of bloom, as you know glads more often produce but one 
flower spike than many. This is often long and sometimes quite brittle. It may 
be broken off in cultivating or by storms and high winds or worms and insects may 
feed on some stems and cut them off and one or more rogues may be among the bulbs 
that were not enabled to produce a spike of bloom. Even if one single rogue 
survived you will have the same process all over again. 
QUESTION: Should the husk or bulb covering be removed in the Fall? 
ANSWER: It is desirable to leave as much of the covering on the bulbs as 
possible. This is a natural protection against excessive drying and is most important 
with small bulbs and bulblets. Where the quantity permits this covering may be 
removed a short time before planting. With large plantings the cost and labor 
involved makes it impractical to remove all of the outer coverings. 
QUESTION: What is the best size to purchase for growing cut flowers? 
ANSWER: For greenhouse use or for extra early bloom and the largest average 
spike the # 1-2 sizes are to be preferred. For main crop outside, with most of the 
popular commercial varieties, the # 3 in particular if young bulbs, are the most 
desirable, and there is no doubt that this fact has been discovered as we find our # 3 
size one of the most popular sizes we list. The size gives spikes often nearly equal 
in length to that produced from #1-2—in some instances even better. A #3 
seldom gives more than one spike but all large bulbs do not always produce two or 
more spikes and as a rule you get about two # 3 at the approximate cost of one 
# 1 size. On an average it requires at least ten days longer to flower the # 3 size. 
QUESTION: What is the best planting size to purchase: #4-5 or 6? 
ANSWER: The answer to this question depends on the purpose for which the 
stock is wanted. With most leading commercials, in particular the tall tree flower¬ 
ing kinds, the # 4 size often gives nearly as good a spike as the # 3 size. As it is 
nearly always grown from a bulblet or a very small #6 it is a very young bulb 
and will produce largely # 1 bulbs in the fall, and perhaps the maximum of bulblets. 
The #4, like the #3, has a wide utility value but requires about two weeks longer 
to flower than large bulbs. The # 5 size will likely produce as many bulblets as 
well as average almost as many # 1 bulbs under fair culture, however, the spikes 
will not average as long, but even last year, in a very dry year, we cut Picardy from 
# 5 where the stems were over three ft. long. With most varieties all or nearly all 
# 5 flower. A few varieties are exceptions. # 6 size is much lower in price, but 
does not flower so freely. With some of the very free flowering varieties # 6 do 
flower almost 100% but this does not hold good for all varieties. #6 do not 
produce as many # 1 size, however, with such varieties that tend to produce extra 
large #1 sizes often up to 3" or more such as Aflame, Minuet, Picardy, Nuthall 
etc. the # 6 size do produce a large average of # 1 sizes. 
