OPPORTUNITIES WITH GLADIOLUS 
Is your local florist able to buy plenty of up-to-date flowers locally or does he have to 
have them shipped in? Do you live on a well traveled road where you could sell flowers 
roadside? Do you have a small plot of ground that you could put in glads for an additional 
income? If you have some ground and plenty of water you should be able to make some 
extra money. It takes a little investment, a little land and a lot of initiative to start out. If 
you haven't all three, forget the whole thing. 
Here are the possibilities on a plot of ground 50 x 100 feet. For cut flowers number 3 
bulbs work out best. You get good flowers and the bulbs grow to jumbo giving you an 
increase in value at both ends. 
Make 24 rows 2 feet apart and 90 feet long. Plant your bulbs about 6 to the foot for 
commercial growing. This will require approximately 13,000 bulbs. At an average selling 
price of 75 cents a dozen you would have over $750 return on cut flowers and your bulbs 
should increase in value over $5 per 1,000 giving you over $60 in value. You have to consider 
your time, spray, water and land value out of this, however. Also, you might not be able to 
sell all of the flowers if you get the wrong varieties or if you aren’t on your toes. Don’t start 
out with too expensive varieties. Don’t get too many varieties for florist use. They like to 
have an even dozen of a kind. Roadside is different—the more varieties and the odder the 
colors the better. 
For florist trade have about 35% white, 20% pink and salmon, 10% yellow, 15% red, 
10% cream, 10% lavender. This is just a rough estimate. Some florists are different than 
others. A few like dark colors and smokies, but to start out omit these. Don’t plant all at 
once as a florist doesn’t like to have you start and then quit in a few weeks. When your glads 
first come out take a half dozen spikes to your florist and show him what you have. Don’t 
wait until they are ready and go down because he might be all stocked up. Pick when they 
just one or two florets open. 
CULTURE DIRECTIONS 
When thrips get on glads people blame the weather, the bulbs and even me. Thrip free 
bulbs don’t mean thrip free glads. Thrips seem to be everywhere. When the weather warms 
up they come out, multiply by the thousands and start in on the glads. ALWAYS WHEN 
THE PLANTS MAKE GOOD GROWTH AND THEN THE BUDS DRY UP—IT IS THRIPS. 
Glads can stand temperatures up to 105 degrees if you give them lots of water. 
Having thrips is just carelessness as a good spraying or dusting of 5% DDT every two 
weeks will take care of them. 
TIME TO PLANT 
Early spring is best but any time after that up until about 90 days before you expect the 
first frost. Start planting when the buds start swelling on fruit trees. Make successive plant- 
ings every three weeks for continued biooms. In the south you can start planting early in 
February and continue until the first of August. 
PLANTING 
We have found Natriphene a wonderful product for absolutely the best results. Dissolve 
1 Natriphene tablet in 2% gallons of water. Soak your bulbs for 48 hours to 2 weeks. The 
longer the better. Natriphene is an effective fungicide that absolutely kills bulb diseases on 
a 2 weeks soak. The bulb absorbs the solution and kills the disease from the inside out. 
We use it. 
Natriphene tablets: 15 cents each, 2 for 25 cents with bulb order only. Fine for rose 
mildew and damping off. Send 10 cents extra for tablets alone. 
Be sure to dip your bulbs. If you don’t and they don’t come up good, don’t write to me 
about it. 
After you dip your bulbs make holes or furrows approximately 4 inches deep. Plant from 
2 to 6 inches apart. Make rows 24 to 30 inches apart. 
Plant in full sun if possible. Glads do equally well in clay or sand. 
Cultural directions continued on page 7 
