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THRIPS 
Thrips are the only insects likely to seriously affect your gladiolus bloom. So tiny 
that they are difficult to see (1/16 inches long as adults) they feed on the leaf and 
flower petal surfaces, working largely at night or in daylight in the leaf crevices or on 
the inside of the bud petals. A heavy infestation distorts the florets and mars if not 
completely ruins the entire spike. 
Now, control is simple — spray or dust with DDT, Chordane or Lindane regularly 
once a week beginning when the foliage is only 6 inchs high. This will control their 
multiplication and will insure perfect flowers. Dust the bulbs immediately when dug 
with 5% DDT dust and repeat as soon as you have removed the old bulb and roots — 
to insure freedom from possible damage through the winter storage period. 
HOW TO GROW GLADS FROM BULBLETS 
A great many of our customers order bulblets and apparently have good success 
as we have had few complaints. We do not guaranteee the germination of bulblets, 
and they need good care after germination. A 75% germination is fine — some varieties 
are so difficult that 25% is good. They are cheap in comparison with the price of bulbs 
because they are uncertain, and given even fair germination it is an economical way to 
get a start in new and expensive introductions. With expensive varieties it increases 
your percentage of germination if the hard hull is cracked or, even better, entirely 
removed. A dusting of the bulblet with one of the root formation stimulants, such as 
Rootone, very often speeds germination especially if bulblets are soaked for 24 hours 
before planting and before this dust is applied. With these sorts it pays to give each 
bulblet ample room to develop. Given two or three inch spacing, with ample water, they 
can easily make a large bulb and even bloom the first year if they germinate quickly. 
We plant as early in the spring as we can get into the ground, covering the bulblets 
about 1% to 2 inches deep. Sizes vary greatly with different varieties, but the bulblets 
you will receive on your order are the largest we have on hand. 
One treatment we find helps greatly, and that is to keep bulblets stored in a warm 
room — 70 degrees or more — for four to six weeks before planting This seems to 
promote quick germination. Bulblets that are produced by bulbs grown from bulblets 
ordinarily germinate very much better than those produced from older bulbs. They 
are always smaller in size than those from older bulbs. When available, we always 
send out the bulblet grown from a bulblet because of the ease of germination. 
GROWING GLADS FROM SEED 
At some point in the progress of the Glad grower comes first the idea of growing 
them from seed. This is indeed a fascinating garden adventure. The results are 
guaranteed to relieve boredom, and if you have never tried this experiment — by alll 
means plant some this year. The planting and culture are quite simple — plant just as 
early in the spring as weather permits working the ground. The soil must be friable 
and mellow. By mixing leaf mold or finely ground peat in the soil trench, it can be put 
in good condition even if quite stiff and hard. A new product from Monsana—KRILIUM, 
now available at some of the high class seed stores, is a soil conditioner that leaves 
the toughest, tightest soil loose and mellow, permitting entrance of both air and water. 
If your soil condition is unfavorable for rapid growth of either seed or bulblets, an 
application of this will go far towards making success certain. 
The seeds are covered with about 2 inch of light mellow soil (pressed lightly to 
firm the ground about the seed) and spaced about 2 inches apart so that the new bulb 
will have room to grow to good size. Germination requires 3 to 5 weeks, when first 
blades will appear looking almost like a single blade of grass. Keep bed well watered, 
not of course until the ground is soggy, but well moist at all times. If ever the ground 
is allowed to become quite dry at root level the growth of the bulb is stopped, and 
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