WARE, MASSACHUSETTS 9 

CARE AND CULTURE 
SOIL AND FERTILIZER 
Glads do well on most any soil if they are planted in the open garden 
where there is plenty of sunshine. You may work well rotted manure into 
the soil in the Spring by putting into the bottom of your planting trench, 
then covering with an inch of soil, then planting your bulbs. Vigoro is also 
good. Two or three applications of commercial fertilizer may be made on the 
surface along the rows during the growing season before the plants bloom. 
Any fertilizer should be kept from direct contact with the bulb or foliage. 
If you wish to grow immense spikes you must fertilize heavily; your plants 
must also have at least an inch of water every three or four days. 
PLANTING 
Work soil to a depth of eight inches, or ten inches will be better. For 
lurge bulbs they should be covered with not less than six inches of soil. The 
deeper planting helps keep them upright when blooming. Smaller bulbs should 
be planted not less than two inches. You may regulate your distance apart in 
the row by the space you have. Plant rows anywhere from 2 ft. to 3 ft. apart. 
Plant in rows from two to six inches apart, depending on space and number 
of bulbs. They do well planted close together, but require more water. 
DIGGING AND STORAGE 
Our early stock is taken up in late September. The bulbs should be taken 
up within six weeks to two months after blooming but before the tops begin 
to get brown. Even if the tops are green, bulbs should be taken up before the 
ground freezes deeply. After digging cut off the tops close to bulb and put in 
screen bottomed tray to cure. They should have plenty of ventilation while 
curing and must not be put in containers more than three or four inches deep. 
Stir them every few days and keep dry. In four weeks they will be cured so 
that old bulbs may be removed from the bottoms. They may then be placed 
. in storage. 
The storage temperature is best at 40 to 50 degrees. Your storage room . 
snould be dry, cool and ventilated and es near uniform as possible as to tem- 
perature. It is well to look at your bulbs every two or three weeks. If they 
are showing signs of too much moisture or looking mouldy, dry them out and 
give better ventilation. Keep them in small containers and spread thin. 
THRIP 
The adult Gladiolus Thrip is a very small black insect about one-sixteenth 
of an inch long. The injury causes bleaching of the foliage and drying up of the 
buds so they do not open. 
Start spraying when the plants are up 6 or 7 inches high, and spray every 
week or 10 days. The Government experts recommend 2 level tablespoons of 
TARTAR EMETIC (purchase at any drug store), 1/3 Ib. brown sugar, 3 gals. 
of water. Keep this concoction well stirred while using as a spray. 
If you are thorough in following out a program of spraying you will 
have no trouble with Thrip. 
