Varieties I Like 
In appraising the new varieties of gladiolus I always like to 
visualize how a dozen might look. If I have enough in bloom 
I take a dozen or two to one of our Milwaukee florists for 
their opinions. Ultimately, if a variety is to prove its worth 
it must be good enough to get into commerce. 
Blue Lagoon, tall growing, proved to be a fine florists color 
. a needed color on the commercial market. It is quite 
early. Burma rates tops with the florists. Myrna Fay is 
valuable because of its earliness and is an easy growing 
variety. Huntress is similar in many respects, blooms a trifle 
later. June Day looks good, is early and bloomed well from 
bulblets. Lavender Prince improved greatly for me and made 
tall, handsome spikes. It is a good and useful lavender. Of 
the reds, I like Destiny for its brightness of color. Red Charm 
is very reliable and makes a good cutting commercial. Ken- 
wood is later, and I like its deep red color and the florists 
like it, too. Birch Red with its heavy, round, black red florets 
is outstanding, one of the best glads I grow. 
Rosea is a choice, light rose, quite early and well worth 
growing. Many large florets open. A good commercial. Daunt- 
less, another Australian variety, is a tall pink with darker 
throat and promises to make a good florists variety. It is a 
leading show variety in Australia. 
Tralee is destined to be a great commercial. It has the req- 
uisites. Clean, lavender rose. Good substance—grows straight 
and tall and is easy growing. Mr. Krueger's Dream Girl was 
outstanding this past summer with its tall, light rose pink 
florets. You had better begin growing it right now as it will 
prove more and more popular. A choice, tall pastel rose pink 
with many open. Gold Medal also suits my fancy. I saw it 
grow in Mr. Krueger's garden without any pampering, tall 
and straight (100% better than those on the photo he sent 
to me) which, when cut, made outstanding wins at the 1947 
shows. His Reliant will open your eyes. It is a tremendous 
large white which needs a long growing season. 
White Challenger was very popular among the gladiolus 
experts. A fine large white with blush pink throat. Promises 
to be among the best. Beauty’s Blush bloomed in bad weather 
but still was fine and is well liked. 
Sunspot came to the fore and.won several grand champion- 
ships. I have grown it for two years and have a choice stock of 
bulbs and bulblets. Be sure to grow it this coming season. 
I grew many other new varieties, many of which were ex- 
cellent. Phantom Beauty, Golden Arrow, and Cracker Jack 
made fine spikes from bulblets. Phantom Beauty will make 
a good florists flower but will need good growing conditions. 
I still list some of the fine older and proven commercial varie- 
ties, every one of which is a dependable cut flower gladiolus. 
ANNAMAE: Ai fine, early chalk white. 
A good florist’s flower and satisfactory 
in every respect. 
ABU HASSAN: A dark blue of good 
color which the florists’ trade likes. 
BLUE LAGOON: Tall, medium blue with 
lighter throat. Holds four or five open. 
Makes good spikes from bulblets. Need- 
ed in this color range for florists’ work. 
An excellent performer. Made beautiful 
baskets in combination with Spotlight. 
A valuable commercial flower. 
BIRCH RED: A tall, deep red with hand- 
some round florets. Excellent in every 
respect and should be in every garden. 
Has only limited distribution but will 
grow in popularity in the coming years. 
Don't go without it, is my advice. 
BURMA: What more could one want in 
glads with its tall spikes of heavily 
tuffled deep rose florets? Florists are 
happy when they can buy these fine 
glads. 
BIG TOP: A good cut flower. Tall, light 
pink with carmine blotch. Giant Size. 
Excellent for basket work. 
COLOR MARVEL: More and more ap- 
preciated as it gets around. A fine com- 
bination of pastel colors in the pink and 
yellow tones. 
CONNECTICUT YANKEE: Probably its 
only fault is slow propagation. Marvel- 
lous, large pink florets, formally placed 
on tall spikes. A leading show winner. 
CRACKER JACK: A good early orange 
which propagates fast. A good invest- 
ment at this year’s prices. 
DAISY MAE: Large, deep orange pink 
florets on tall spikes with many open. 
Popular and a good commercial. 
DIEPPE: A bright scarlet which does 
well under trying conditions. Very fine 
and a high-rating cut flower. 
DONELLA: Light pink with white throat. 
Medium sized florets, strong, vigorous 
grower. Valuable because of its earli- 
ness. 
DREAM GIRL: A choice rose pink with 
small rose feather. Tall growing, 8 open. 
One of my favorites since the day | first 
saw it at the Wisconsin 1945 show. Be 
sure to try this fine variety. 
EVANGELINE: Grows straight and tall, 
with many very large florets open. 
Ruffled light rose with cream throat. 
An outstanding variety which has won 
many top show awards in the past two 
years. Now looks like Prof. Palmer's 
finest origination. 
EXCLUSIVE: Tremendous white florets 
with deep rose blotch. Not many open 
but you don’t need many because of its 
size. You'll like it. 
FUCHSIA BELLE: A fine, much needed 
florists’ color. A deep rose red. Spikes 
are tall but will throw some crooked 
spikes. 
GLEAM: A light yellow, very ruffled and 
of heavy substance. 
GOLDEN ARROW: I've only bloomed 
this variety from bulblets so am not too 
familiar with its real qualities. Is recom- 
mended as a good, deep yellow. 
GOLD MEDAL: A giant, deep yellow 
with buff tones on upper petals. Large, 
triangular shaped florets of heavy sub- 
stance and fine ruffling. Many outstand- 
ing awards as seedling in 1946-47. 
HIGH FINANCE: Gray toned- smoky, 
large and with many open. Late, but 
one of the best in this class. An older, 
but favorite variety. 
HUNTRESS: Valuable because of its 
earliness. A good commercial lavender. 
JUNE DAY: Another very early light 
pink with darker feather in throat. You 
cannot go wrong with this variety be- 
cquse it will bloom when prices are al- 
ways high. 
KENWOOD: A moderately priced deep 
red, late midseason. Proved to be a good 
florists’ color. 
LAVENDER PRINCE: Another variety 
which greatly improved the second year 
in my garden. A deep lavender which 
is most welcome on the cut flower mar- 
ket. Tall, straight growing. 
LEADING LADY: A famous cream col- 
ored almost white sport of Picardy. One 
of our leading show flowers and best 
commercials. Oriental Pearl can beat it 
on the show table and grows larger. 
Leading Lady is lower in price and | 
have a fine stock of bulbs. 
