Here and There... 
Glads are easy to grow 
You can just stick the bulbs in the ground and 
with no care can often get really good glads, 
especially if you have plenty of rain. However, 
like everything else it pays to do things right 
and be sure of good results. I send a 6 page in- 
struction sheet with every order. The things they 
must have to be at their best are full sun, good 
drainage and plenty of water. Fertilizer is sec- 
ondary. 
Gladiolus types and sizes 
Glads can be had in every size from the huge 
ones measuring up to about 8 inches across down 
to the smallest miniatures not much over an inch 
in diameter. There are devotees of all sizes. The 
largest ones are nice for garden specimens or for 
large vases in the house. The small and medium 
sizes are better for arrangements. At the shows 
you can enter all the five size classifications. The 
large ones are still the most popular with home 
gardeners but there is a very strong growing 
demand for the medium and small sizes. For 
modern apartments they_are more suitable than 
the giants. 
As to type, there is about every conceivable 
form you can imagine. This year Bird of Para- 
dise adds a new form. Nearly all varieties have 
ruffling of some sort. 
What size bulbs to grow 
Theoretically Jumbos will give the best bloom, 
especially if de-eyed, that is, all eyes cut out 
but one. Some varieties will do their best from 
Jumbos. But not many Jumbos are available 
and really a #1 or 2 not over two years old from 
bulblets is best in most cases. The cut flower 
growers do not plant Jumbos but sell them and 
plant younger bulbs. Usually age is more im- 
portant than size. Some varieties do not naturally 
make large bulbs anyway. For my own use I 
would plant medium size and give them good 
care. 
Small bulbs look awfully small to a beginner 
but they really will produce fine blooms. Many 
people are surprised at the size bloom they get 
from small bulbs the first time they plant them. 
Our main planting to produce bulbs for sale are 
almost entirely small bulbs, and they bloom 
profusely. 
Blooms open 
The number open at one time varies greatly 
under different conditions and different years. 
I don’t know why. So, tf a variety that should 
open &-10 opens only 5-6 don’t condemn it on 
just trial. 
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Growing for shows 
Use large bulbs. In some kinds Jumbo bulbs 
with all but one eye cut out do the best. 
Plant on good well-drained soil. Well rotted 
manure put on the fall before will help. Or mulch 
with rotted manure. 
Make several very light applications of fer- 
tilizer. Give plenty of water at all times, es- 
pecially when coming into bloom. Be sure to 
visit all shows you can and enter your best ones 
in the shows. 
Balance 
For Show purposes a spike of bloom should 
have ‘‘balance’’—that is, a proper relation 
between the number of blooms open, buds in 
color and tight buds at the end. But for the home 
garden I don’t believe many are interested in 
that. I believe most people want as many open as 
they can get even if there aren’t a lot of buds at 
the top of the spike. With ten open a spike should 
have twenty or more total buds but some fine 
varieties don’t have that many. 
Blooming dates 
Definite blooming dates are misleading as 
they vary in different parts of the country and 
the same variety often blooms over a period of 
a month or more. So all we can say is they are 
early, midseason or late. 
Fertilizer 
About the first question a beginner asks is 
“what fertilizer do you use.’ Really if your soil 
is reasonably good you don’t need much fertilizer 
—go easy especially on nitrogen. Water is more 
important than fertilizer. 
Bulblets 
Bulblets are a good means of getting started 
im high priced varieties but remember they do 
not germinate 100% under the best conditions 
and so many things can happen and growing 
conditions vary so much that no one can guar- 
antee all bulblets to grow. If I were buying high 
priced bulblets I would peel them or at least 
crack the shells. Putting them in the sun for 
several hours also helps. Most varieties do 
germinate easily but sometimes bulblets are erratic 
in their behavior, germinating well under certain 
conditions but not under others. If you get bad 
or defective bulblets I will be glad to replace them 
but we cannot guarantee sound bulblets to grow 
100%. 
