best when 3 years old from bulblets, while 
others will produce good bloom for several years. 
A bulb 2 years from a bulblet is generally con- 
sidered at its best. 
Identification of blooms 
Every year I receive many blooms for 
identification that are either rotten or dried up. 
Do not send open blooms, as they are nearly 
always rotten and have lost color. If you will 
send a good part of a spike in rather tight bud, 
it will probably reach me in condition so I can 
tell what it is if I know the variety. Do not 
put anything wet around them unless weather 
is cool. It is not needed at any time. If you can 
ship by air, so much the better, as mail service 
now 1s often very slow. 
However if you are shipping a long dis- 
tance and want blooms to arrive in as good 
condition as possible a good way is to put a 
small rubber balloon of «water on the end of 
the stems and fasten it on with rubber bands. 
What is a seedling? 
A seedling is a new variety, usually unnamed 
but not always, that has not yet been introduced 
to the trade. 
Brief list of requirements for 
growing good gladiolus 
No. 1. Have good bulbs. 
No. 2. Disinfect with Lysol, New Improved 
Ceresan or dust with DDT Containing 
Copper or with the Enuff Brand that | 
list on page 67. This latter is both a 
fungicide and insecticide. Spergon 1s 
also highly recommended. 
. Any kind of soil. If the soil is hard or 
sandy and can’t be watered a 3’’ mulch 
of sawdust or shavings or buckwheat 
hulls or ground corn cobs or most any- 
thing else will hold the moisture and 
be very beneficial to the glads. 
Z 
9 
Ww 
. Full sunshine all day. 
Zz 
e 
. Do not plant near trees or strong grow- 
ing plants that rob the soil of moisture 
or food. 
. Good drainage. Glads will not tolerate 
“wet feet.”’ But if the drainage is good 
they will take a lot of water to ad- 
No. 
vantage especially as they come into 
bud and bloom. 
. Go easy on fertilizer. You can put some 
deep in the trench below the bulbs or 
65 
No. 
No. 
No. 
A, NEPA 
can side dress once or twice during the 
season but don’t over do it. 
8. Spray or dust every week or ten days 
with DDT or other insecticide from the 
time they are a few inches tall. If using 
DDT better put in some Black Leaf 40 
or some insecticide that will kill aphis 
or other insects that sometimes carry 
bean mosaic. Enuff Brand is very good, 
contains rotenone that kills most 
insects. 
. When cutting blooms leave at least 4 
leaves to nourish the bulb that is form- 
ing. 
Dig a month or so after blooming or 
leave longer if possible and if the plants 
are still green. 
. When digging cut the stem tight to the 
bulb. Dust the bulbs with DDT or Enuff 
or Spergon. 
10. 
Dry in a cool airy place for two weeks 
or more and don’t have the bulbs more 
than four inches deep in the tray or box 
you put them in. A warm place is OK 
if airy. The moisture must get out of 
the bulbs as soon as possible. 
. When the old bulbs can easily be re- 
moved from the new ones (in 2 or 3 
weeks) take off the old bulbs and save 
the bulblets if you want to grow them 
on. Then let the bulbs dry out more for 
two or three weeks before putting 
them away for the winter. Put on some 
more DDT or Enuff Brand at this time 
after cleaning. This is said to help keep 
the bulbs healthy during the winter. 
Keep cool during the winter. 35 to 50 
degrees is OK. Very small lots can be 
put in paper bags. Discard all bulbs 
showing disease. But small scabs that 
can be lifted out with the finger nail 
don’t do any harm. They just don’t look 
so good. But bulbs showing any disease 
lesions that eat into the bulbs should be 
destroyed. There is no cure for a 
diseased bulb. 
A 6 page circular of growing instructions giving 
all details for growing them goes with every order. 
Shows 
I am not as show minded myself as I should 
be, but a great many people do get a great 
kick out of growing glads for the shows. I 
don't profess to be able to give any tips to old 
show growers, but will mention one or two 
