CULTURAL SUGGESTIONS 
WHEN?—This depends on your individual locality. When the ground is fairly warm and 
you can pick up a handful of soil and it won’t cake up, then you can start planting. Some 
growers say a good rule to go by is to watch until the maple leaves begin to open, then 
start planting. Here in N. Y. State, we usually start planting from the first to the fifteenth 
of April. Sometimes we are able to get our bulblets in the latter part of March. We stagger 
our plantings about 10 days to two or three weeks apart to insure a longer blooming period. 
We make our last planting about the middle of June. If we have a late fall, like last season, 
we get a fine crop of late blooms. Of course you are taking a chance with mother nature 
as frosts are apt to catch up while these late ones are spiking. But, it’s worth a try. 
WHERE?—They must have sun all day to do their best. Do not plant near shrubs, trees, 
stone walls, etc. Even the shadow from a tall building, a part of the day, will show its bad 
effect. Plant in soil where there is good drainage. Glads like lots of water, but they don’t like 
wet feet. Glad bulbs will do O.K. on the same type ground as you’d grow potatoes. Keep 
the soil slightly acid. 
HOW?—First, be sure your ground has been properly prepared. Use well-rotted cow manure 
plowed or spaded under the fall before, if possible. Spade or plow soil deep. Peat moss 
makes good humus and if you combine this with a good commercial fertilizer such as 4-8-8 
or 4-12-8 you will get nice blooms. For better production of bulbs, try a mixture of 4-8-12. 
Green cover crops are very helpful in building up your soil. Planting of the bulbs will vary, 
according to soil conditions. If the soil is light and inclined to be sandy, plant about 6 
inches deep. Otherwise, when your flower heads start to appear, the heavy spikes will tip 
over. On the other hand, if your soil is heavy, then you might plant about 4 to 5 inches deep. 
This is for large bulbs. Smaller bulbs need only be planted about 3” deep and bulblets 1% 
to 2” deep. Give them plenty of water before and during the blooming season. If the rain- 
fall isn’t sufficient, and you can use the garden hose, water thoroughly once a week, rather 
than just sprinkling lightly every day or so. This only wets the top of the ground so that 
the root system stretches up toward the sun to get the water and that leaves the tiny 
roots so near the top of the ground that they are apt to burn. 
For exhibition blooms in our show garden, we plant the bulbs about 6 to 8 inches apart. In 
the commercial fields we plant more closely, using the rule of leaving the space of another 
bulb of same size in between. We make a trench and sow our 5’s and 6’s sparingly. The 
bulblets are also sown in a shallow trench, much the same as peas are planted. 
DISINFECTING—Dip all bulbs and bulblets in a disinfectant to kill thrips and to prevent 
possible disease infection on the bulbs. There are many dips available. (See formulas for 
Dips and Sprays. ) 
THRIPS—A sucking insect that has ruined many a glad patch before its owner knew what 
it looked like. It is very tiny. You can just about see it with the naked eye. The adult ones 
are black, while the young ones are a lemon color, which makes it very difficult to see them. 
They live in the sheaf of the leaf, which is about the same color as the young thrip. Don’t 
wait until you see signs of thrip, such as drying up of the buds before opening, streaks of 
grey on the foliage, etc., before doing something about it. An ounce of prevention is worth 
many pounds of cure, in the case of thrip. To be on the safe side, when your foliage is 6 to 8 
inches in height, start dusting with a 5% DDT dust and do this every ten days until blooms 
appear. This should keep your glads free from this troublesome pest. If it should rain the 
dust off in a few days, then you should dust again real soon. 
WHEN TO CUT? Blooms will be at their best if cut early in the morning with from 1 to 
2 florets open. Place in cool water immediately and put inside and allow to open slowly. 
A dark, cool cellar is excellent for this. Always leave 4 to 5 leaves on the plant when 
cutting. You need this for good development of the bulb. Ends of spikes (stem end) should 
be cut about 4’ every day, a little bit on a slant. The blooms will last much longer if taken 
care of in this manner, and will open clear to the tip. 
DIGGING—Bulbs should be dug from 4 to 6 weeks after they have bloomed. On some of 
the real late varieties, it may be necessary to dig them immediately after blooming, as it 
is best to get them dug before a cold, wet fall sets in. We use a spade to loosen the varieties, 
then lift out and cut tops off with pruning shears, close up to the bulb. Where there is an 
increase of bulbs and they are grown together, do not separate until bulbs are thoroughly 
dry (3 to 4 weeks). 
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