Peeeyre BEDFORD, MASS. 3 

GLADIOLUS CULTURE 
Select a sunny ‘location to plant your glads, away from trees or shrubs which=wil-take up 
the food and moisture intended for the gladiolus. 
Soil makes a great deal of difference of course. If a heavy clay soil, do not plant as deeply 
as in a light sandy soil. Plant large bulbs about six inches deep in light soil; medium size four 
inches, and small bulbs three inches. For increase in bulblets, plant as close to the surface as 
possible. Light soils usually give more bulblets than heavy soils. 
Your first planting can be about the time farmers plant potatoes in your locality and your last 
planting should be about 120 days before your usual first frost. We make three plantings, three 
or four weeks apart, to insure a long blooming period, and suggest, in southeastern New England, 
April 6 to 15 — May 10 or thereabouts — and June | to 20. 
Either spade or plough (depending on the size of the garden) the soil deeply, preferably in 
the fall, leaving it rough during the winter. If stable manure is used, put it on before spading 
and it will be well rotted by spring. 
We prefer planting in double rows in a trench as the bulbs tend to support one another. 
The rows are from 18 to 36 inches apart, depending on your method of cultivation——by hand or 
machine. Allow about five inches between large bulbs and less for smaller sizes. 
As we prevoiusly stated, stable manure, well rotted, will give you the finest results but for 
larger plantings, if is often necessary to resort to a commercial fertilizer. Here, at Flying Cloud 
Farms, we have found that either Vigoro or Agrico supply the needed elements and have given 
us excellent results. 
To prepare your rows for planting, loosen the soil well to at least an inch lower than you 
intend to plant your bulbs. Use about four pounds of fertilizer to 100 feet and work it well into 
the bottom of the trench,—then let it stand a day or two. When the bulbs are set in the trench, 
cover and hill up a bit. As small weeds appear, rake down level again and that first crop of weeds 
is killed. When the glads are eight to ten inches high, a surface feeding is advised at the rate 
of four pounds to 100 feet of row. This should be scattered on both sides of the row and worked 
lightly into the soil. A similar feeding should be applied as the buds appear. 
Water is so necessary and your glads should have a good soaking once a week. If it has 
to be by irrigation be sure the ground is well soaked for at least three-quarters of an inch. As the 
spikes begin to break through the sheath, they greatly need the water. 
Cultivation is very important. We use lawn brooms in the planted rows on our light soil and 
cultivators between the rows, but hoeing, scratching, brooming, or whatever method of cultivation 
you use, must be done often,—about every fifth day. If it rains, or we irrigate, we try to cultivate 
as soon as it dries out. 
We guarantee our bulbs to be absolutely free of thrips or disease when we ship them but 
advise you to dip them nevertheless. We soak our bulbs, as we plant them, in Bichloride of 
Mercury (Corrosive Sublimate) from 8 to 10 hours in a solution of one ounce to seven gallons of 
warm water. This prescribed time is for bulbs with the husks on. If you peel the bulbs, six to 
eight hours is sufficient. For this dip, wooden, glass, or crockery containers must be used as metal 
causes a chemical reaction. The Lysol dip is also very widely used: 1 tablespoon to 1 gallon of 
water, soaking the bulbs four to eight hours, depending upon whether the bulbs are husked or not. 
We advise planting before the bulbs have dried out, when using either of the above mentioned dips. 
A newer and effective dip is the New Improved Ceresan: one ounce of this and 3 teaspoons 
Grasselli Spreader Sticker to 3 gallons of water. For larger quantities: ¥2 lb. N. I. Ceresan and 
5 teaspoons Grasselli Spreader Sticker to 25 gallons water. With this treatment the bulbs only 
have to soak fifteen to 30 minutes but the solution should not be allowed to settle. The Ceresan - 
treatment is so much shorter it will probably become more popular but you must plant the dipped 
bulbs the same day. 
As your glads grow, do watch for any signs of thrips. It is advisable to spray them when the 
growth is about six inches high as thrips are hard to distinguish and a few at this stage in the 
growth of your glads would multiply enough to make serious damage later. As a spray, we have 
used Tartar Emetic very successfully. The formula is: 4 pounds Tartar Emetic, 16 pounds brown 
sugar, to 100 gallons of water. For home gardens use: 1 gallon of water, 12 teaspoons Tartar 
Emetic, and 9 tablespoons (2 cup plus | tablespoon) brown sugar or molasses. 
Dusting with DDT powder, 5%, while the leaves are still moist, is the most recent suggestion 
and we have found it to be very satisfactory. Any type of dust application—with favorable 
conditions—is more easliy applied. 
