tend to plant (4 inches in heavy soil, 6 inches in 
light soil). Place bulbs in the Hottom’of the 
trench with the basal scar down, spacing them 
two to four times the bulb diameter. Several 
rows, 5 to 6 inches apart, may be placed in 6ne 
trench. Three or four bulbs to the foot in a 
staggered row method is ideal. Super-phosphate 
may be scattered over the bulbs at the rate of 2 
pounds per 50 ft. of row. (Do not use complete 
fertilizers in this fashion as it will injure the 
bulbs.) After the bulbs have been planted the 
trenches should be filled in or even ridged up 
slightly. Ridging the planted row and raking off 
_ level as the new growth comes through the ground 
helps to destroy the first crop of weeds. (Note; 
If the use of chemical weed killers is contem- 
plated, the rows should be left level.) 
Bulblets should be planted in beds or rows 
early in the spring at about 2 inches depth. Some 
have a hard outer shell that is almost impervious 
to water. Soaking bulblets for 48 hours in water 
before planting will aid in germination or those 
of valuable varieties can be cracked between the 
fingers or peeled with good results. Plant bulb- 
lets early and do not let the ground dry around 
the bulblets until germination is complete. 
THRIPS CONTROL: The worst insect enemy of 
the gladiolus is thrip. These minute insects 
cause damage to the foliage, discolor the blooms 
and cause blasting of the buds (failure to open). 
Even though all of your bulbs may have been 
dusted with DDT and dipped, thrips may find 
their way from nearby plantings and multiply very 
rapidly. It is a good plan to locate and inspect 
all gladiolus plantings in your neighborhood. 
Start dusting your plantings with 5% DDT dust as 
soon as the foliage is about 6 inches high and 
repeat every ten days to two weeks throughout 
the entire season. Get your neighboring glad 
growers to do the same. More frequent applica- 
tions must be made if thrip damage is noted. 
(3) 
