Which Varieties for your Locality | 3 
Many people write me to recommend varieties to them that will do well in their par- 
ticular locality. As far as I know glads don’t have any choice of ee providing the grow- 
ing conditions are good. Except that very late varieties might not bloom early enough or 
even at all in the northern tier of states. But aside from that I don’t know why a variety 
would not do well most any where if it has sun and reasonable soil and plenty of moisture. — 
Though I have heard that some kinds didn’t do so well in Florida but I don’t know what | 
kinds they are and I am inclined to think if the man-made conditions in Florida were differ- 
ent they would do well. But I can’t make any definite recommendations about commercial — 
varieties in Florida any different from what I recommend in my descriptions. However I — 
have heard that some kinds do better than they do here in the north. But don’t write me 
for the names of them as I cannot definitely recommend anything. You will just have to 
try them out for yourself and see how they do for you under your conditions. 
Culture of Gladiolus 
The culture of galdiolus is very simple. They will grow in most any kind of soil or in 
any climate where there are 70 to 80 days of growing weather. We sell them in many coun- 
tries from Alaska to South Africa. The main requirements are: 
Full sun all day. 
Plenty of moisture. 
Good drainage. Merce 
Spraying if there is any possibility of there being thrips in the neighborhood. 
Some fertility in the soil. They will do well if there is very little fertility pro- — 
vided they have plenty of water, but they will do much better if they have 
some fertilizer. 
A six (6) page circular on culture goes with every order of bulbs. If you wish this cir- 
cular before your order is sent drop me a line. 
Soil and Fertilizer Requirements 
Glads will grow in most any kind of soil from the hardest clay to light seashore sand 
providing they are frequently cultivated and have fertilizer and moisture. I wouldn’t put 
fertilizer in the trench under the bulbs unless the soil covers it so that it doesn’t touch the 
bulbs as sometimes it will cause scab on the bulbs. I would prefer to scatter fertilizer on the 
top of the ground after the bulbs are up and preferably give them three or four applications 
during the season. It is alright to put fertilizer under them when planting if it is put down 
deep. And it might be a good idea if your soil is rather poor as I understand that the flower 
head is made while the plant is very small, that is, before the third or fourth leaf appears 
and it should have plenty of fertility and moisture at that time. 
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Days to Bloom 
Many people want to know the definite number of days it takes for a variety to bloom. 
I don’t give these dates as they are very misleading. In some parts of the country it takes 
a variety from one to four weeks longer to bloom than it does in other places. Then it varies 
a good deal as to whether you plant them early or late. Then again a variety doesn’t all 
bloom at one time. A lot of 100 bulbs would not all bloom in 75 or 80 days or whatever the 
blooming date might be but might straggle over a period of 2 to 5 weeks or even longer. 
So I can’t see what good it does to mention a definite blooming date. I know it is hard to 
strike shows right on the proper date but usually to be reasonably sure of having blooms 
for a certain show date you would want to plant a number of bulbs and possibly make two 
or three plantings of them a week apart. 
Guarantee 
I guarantee to do my utmost to please my customers. We mean to send out only clean © 
bulbs, free from disease and insects. Any claims or complaints in regard to bulbs should be 
sent soon after receiving the bulbs. 
Of course if any bulbs are not true to name you can not make claims for that until 
after blooming. If anything goes wrong we always try to make a satisfactory settlement 
with the customer. This is the only way that anyone can hope to build up a business. 
However we do not guarantee in any way the bulbs you harvest as unsatisfactory grow- 
ing conditions or disease in the soil are beyond our control and we cannot be responsible for 
the crop you harvest except that if bulbs should not be true to name we will be glad to re- 
pace them or make a satisfactory settlement but not exceeding the purchase price of the 
ulbs. 
