varieties like Misty Dawn to plant June 15 for late cut flowers. Any soil that 
will produce good vegetables will give you good glads. Plant In full sunshine 
away from trees and shrubbery. Cover the bulbs with 5 to 6 inches of soil—deep 
planting helps to support the plant and puts the bulb where there is usually 
sufficient moisture. Rows can be any convenient distance apart. Large bulbs 
should be 4 to 5 inches apart in the row. 
Fertilizing: You can do harm with too much fertilizer. We suggest a side 
dressing after the plants are up followed by a thorough soaking with water. Use 
any complete fertilizer—just do not use an excess. Two or three light feedings 
will do more than one heavy. 
Cultivation: Glads do not like to be in competition with weeds and like to 
have the ground to themselves. Do not cultivate deep—two inches is sufficient. 
When the weeds are in the garden, cut them off but don’t make too much work of it! 
Watering: A large gladiolus bulb has sufficient food stored in it to produce 
a good spike in any soil provided it has sufficient water and good drainage. In 
other words, water is more important to glads than fertilizer. We purchased 
aluminum irrigation pipe, sprinklers and a large pump last spring and were able 
to put one eighth of an inch of water an hour on our glads—with very remarkable 
results both as regards bloom and bulb growth. After eight hours of watering the 
glads seemed to explode! A good thorough soaking once every week to ten days 
will do wonders for your glads, and by a good soaking we mean one inch of water. 
Spraying: If your neighbors grow glads you will probably have thrips in your 
glads. The safest thing is to spray or dust with DDT every two weeks starting in 
June and continue until you cut your spikes. We use one ounce Ofen0ven DD 
wettable, in 3 gallons of water. Another pest which has bothered us is the aster 
beetle or blister bettle. It eats the petals of open florets and attacks a large 
number of different flowering plants. One application of DDT will clean them out 
completely for the year. 
While we use spray (the spray outfit is mounted on the tractor) you can use 
5% DDT dust with equal success Dust should be applied while dew is on the plants, 
Cutting bloom: Cut you bloom in the morning, preferably when one or two 
florets are open. Glads last much longer when cut and taken indoors. We like 
to nick the stem about six inches from the ground with a sharp knife, then bend 
the spike away from the cut. It will break clean and five or six leaves will remain 
on the plant to mature the bulb. To prolong the life of glads indoors, cut the stem 
a half inch each day and give fresh water. 
Digging: Dig your bulbs the middle of October and cut the tops as close to 
the bulb as possible. Wash the bulbs in a screen bottom tray using the spray 
nozzle of your hose. We have found washing pays big dividends. After washing, 
spread bulbs out for several days to dry, then dust with 5% DDT. Put them in 
a dry part of the basement and in four weeks the old bulb and roots will snap off 
leaving a clean scar on the new bulb. DO NOT husk the bulbs—nature has given 
them a husk to conserve moisture within the bulb. We remove the outer husk 
on bulbs we sell immediately before shipment in order to give them a more careful 
inspection. If the old bulb does not snap off clean or if it looks diseased, then throw 
the bulb out. 
Storing: Store in a cool dry part of the basement. A temperature range of 
33 degrees F to 50 degrees F is best. Bulb stored under moist conditions will 
be more susceptible to storage rot and disease. If your bulbs are in a cloth bag hung 
in the basement you can almost forget them until spring. 
Treating bulbs before planting: Probably the best and easiest dip to use is: 
Lysol one and a half tablespoons to a gallon of water, soak two to three hours 
and plant before they dry. 
For our own planting we are going back to mercuric chloride. 
For up-to-th-minute information akout glads, join your local or state Gladiolus 
society and the New England Gladiolus Society, Horticulture Hall, Boston 15, Mass. 
and the North American Gladiolus Council, 2 Williams St., Bel Aire, Maryland. 
Mr. F. M. Bayer, 4668 N. 41st St., Milwaukee 9 is treasurer of the Wisconsin 
Gladiolus Society and will appreciate receiving your $1.25 dues. 
