prove to be his finest creation and that 
probably also means one of the very 
finest gladiolus varieties ever to be 
created. I'd like to compare it to Spic 
and Span as so many of us have be- 
come accustomed to use this fine vari- 
ety as a measuring stick for glads. 
King David grows just as straight as 
Spic and Span, and a trifle taller. It 
also produces more buds and will open 
more florets, which easily measure 5/2 
inches. 
King David will open 10 florets with 
many more showing color. It is one of 
the best varieties to open in water and 
has great holding qualities. 
The color of King David is a deep 
royal magenta. I have asked my ar- 
tists for their opinion of its color and 
this is their decision. They also added 
the comment that in art circles Royal 
Magenta is known to be a very rich 
and beautiful color. It will be classed 
as a purple. 
The many ruffled florets of King 
David come in fine placement and 
carry a very distinctive silver edging. 
The throat petals are of rich, velvet 
Page Eighteen 
G DAVID 
red and help to beautify the florets. 
The spike pictured is the only one I 
had photographed this summer and I 
was lucky not to miss out on that. It 
was cut with one open on Thursday 
and taken 50 miles on Saturday to be 
photographed. It was fall and this 
spike was nipped by early frosts which 
set in as early as Sept. 2nd. Finer 
spikes were available earlier but as 
per usual this job of taking photos was 
put off from day to day, week after 
week. 
The foliage of King David is broad 
and the deep red tones of the bulbs 
carry up into the base of the foliage, 
making very rich and unusually at- 
tractive plants. King David produces 
excellent bulbs, large, firm, beautiful- 
ly colored, healthy, together with 
many bulblets. When you see the 
bulbs you'll agree that they look good 
enough to eat. 
King David has won the coveted 
American Home Achievement Award. 
Spikes were shipped to the New Eng- 
land Gladiolus Society Show at Bos- 
ton, where it won Award of Merit and 
scored 86.9 on single spike and 87 
on three spikes. 
My good friend Walter Krueger took 
four spikes to the Indiana State Show 
at Wabash where they carried off top 
seedling awards of champion single 
and best three-spike seedling. Here 
the four spikes averaged 87 when 
scored. Other awards were gained at 
Dover, N. J. Champion 6-spike vase, 
and Grand Champion at the Wiscon- 
sin State Fair show. 
I do not do any hybridizing but a 
few spikes which remained uncut pro- 
duced giant seed pods. It very likely 
will make an excellent seed parent. 
In my estimation, King David will 
prove to be the best dark colored glad 
we have, and very likely one of the 
all-time greats. It's really a glad of 
the future. You will make no mistake 
in placing your last $5 on this one. 
King David is a late mid-season 
bloomer, approximately 80-85 days. 
Prices: $5.00 each for any size 
$10.00 each with ten bulblets 
(Commercial growers write for quotations 
on larger quantities.) 
