GPAs Ost USO RF eD TS TIN CTION 3 
FOREWORD 
I take pleasure in presenting my 1952 catalog for your approval and consideration, to 
extend greetings to all my loyal friends and customers, and to express my appreciation for 
the splendid business given me by them last season. War, and the threat of future wars, 
is still with us, but flowers offer an outlet from worry, strife and greed, and surely no 
flower is lovelier than our own gladiolus. 
The year 1951 will go down in my memory as one of the two best seasons in the past 
decade, being exceeded only by the previous season. True, the abnormal cold days of May 
and early June were not conducive to outstanding spikes from April planted bulbs, but 
later plantings were fully up to highest standards, being favored by Nature with an abun- 
dance of moisture and an absence of the extreme heat which has characterized many of 
our summers here in the Middle West and all indications point to a better than average 
bulb crop. It has again been my experience that in a period of oversupply of blooms, 
good varieties not only sell first but command a premium. Fortunately, many which have 
heretofore been out of the price range of the commercial cut-flower grower are now 
available in quantity. 
The tendency in white glads is toward more ruffling and some notable examples of this 
have appeared recently. EVENING STAR is without a doubt the heaviest ruffled of this 
group, pure white with a texture like leather. SIERRA SNOW does not fall far behind and 
opens up to 12 of its 22 to 24 buds. CELESTE traces back to that grand old aristocrat of a 
decade ago, SOLVEIG, reminiscent of it, but snow white thruout, whereas the latter had 
a prominent throat mark. You will find it to be one of the earliest. One that greatly im- 
pressed me was the new WHITE SYMPHONY which grows tall and large, florets pointed 
and fluted and with good attachment and facing. Field growth, propagation and germina- 
tion are excellent. BRIDAL BEAUTY, introduced modestly in 1950, was in short supply 
this season, growers evidently waking up to its merits. Uniformity of spikes is but one of 
its many good features. MOTHER FISCHER can be one of our finest ruffled whites but 
prefers warmer growing conditions than the present season afforded it to be at its best. 
Her contemporary, FLORENTINE, suffers little by comparison, opening as its does, 5 to 8 
waxy florets with a beautiful frilling at the edge. WHITE GODDESS lacks only good 
attachment. In the slightly smaller flowered group, GRACE STEWART PEET is an over- 
looked beauty. SKIPPY, with its small pink throat mark, is a basket glad par excellence. 
WHITE CHRISTMAS is temperamental, but can be a classic when well grown. It is one 
of those glads where the occasional exhibition spike more than repays one for growing it. 
Both SILVER COURT and NEWPORT WHITE have a chaste whiteness. Both have large 
wide open florets but differ widely in form and spike. The former has the best placement; 
the latter is one of the easiest of all glads to cut without disturbing the leaves. LEADING 
LADY still remains my No. 1 favorite and is likely to hold that position for some time. 
SILVER WINGS, tho it has a habit of reverting to PICARDY, can still be as lovely. If 
they have a serious rival, this honor would have to go tt FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE which 
is increasing each year in popular favor, both as an exhibition and commercial glad. 
WHITE WINGS, like WHITE CHRISTMAS, is for the connoiseur. LADY ANNE is my 
choice for a first early. The blotched whites are well represented by MISS ALBERTA 
and WAX MODEL, with their lavender purple throats. HEART O’GOLD is self descriptive 
and is sure to be everyone’s early favorite. 
Among the more recent yellows, CYNTHIA is the first to bloom. The florets are large 
and arranged formally. Flowerhead could stretch a bit but the soft self color is just what 
the florists want. If you want something exotic, try arranging a basket of CYNTHIA, 
combined with BURMA. The newer KEVIN, by the same originator, is slightly deeper 
but is tall and opens up to 10. GOLD, which held the spotlight among the 1951 yellow 
releases, is the deepest of all. Its only weakness may be in number of buds, which rarely 
goes over 17, but it opens 7 to 9 wide open florets and retains size and color well to the 
tip. Propagation is excellent and no variety is a stronger grower from bulblets, both 
essential commercial qualities. KEEPSAKE is one of the most beautiful of all yellow 
varieties because of its clear, unblemished color. It produces spire-like spikes and opens 
a ribbon of color. GOLDEN CROWN should receive the attention of commercial growers; 
practically every bulb producing good salable spikes. Color is a soft medium yellow. 
TERRIFIC will always win in the class for the most open florets, 12 to 14 being not unusual. 
GOLDEN DAWN also excells in this respect, slightly ruffled and carrying a 
flowerhead of 20 or more buds, something unusual in a yellow. MARATHON undoubtedly 
possesses commercial possibilities, especially in the South, due to its unusual ability to 
