€ ultural | nstructions 
This Cultural Information Applies to All Classifications of Bloom Size 
BULBS — Be sure glad bulbs are clean and free from dis- 
ease. However, do not mistake bruises that are caused by 
rough handling for disease. If the bruise or discoloration is 
only on the surface it does no harm. A scab that can be 
dug out and leave a clean hole is harmless, but if disease 
has eaten into the tissues of the bulb, discard it, as no treat- 
ment will cure a diseased bulb. 
WHERE TO PLANT — Most any place where plants will not 
be shaded and where soil is not too wet. Glads will not 
stand wet feet and must have sun nearly all day. You can 
plant in a low perennial border but not close to trees or 
other tall-growing plants. The vegetable garden is a good 
place, but not near beans, as sometimes glads get bean mo- 
saic, a disease that spots the flowers and ruins the bulbs; or 
what is more likely, insects will carry the disease from the 
glads to the beans and spoil them. Like every other plant, 
glads like deep mellow soil. 
WHEN TO PLANT—!n the north glads are planted when the 
maples are leafing out or from three or four weeks before the 
last hard freeze, up to June [5th or later. A series of plant- 
ings will spread the blooming over a longer season, though 
later plantings will bloom in a somewhat shorter time than 
earlier ones. Often the early and late plantings will produce 
better blooms than those that bloom in extreme hot weather. 
In other parts of the country, probably your neighbors can 
tell you when to plant. In Florida you can plant from Septem- 
ber to March or April. Glads need about a three month's 
growing season. If you plant an unlabelled collection they will 
bloom over a long period as some varieties bloom later than 
others. A definite number of days to bloom is not accurate. 
As a general rule they may vary a great deal according to 
location and weather conditions. We may say that early 
varieties take from 65 to 75 days to bloom, mid-season va- 
rieties 75 to 85, and late ones 90 days or more, sometimes 
taking as long as 120 days. 
PRE-PLANTING TREATMENT— You can just stick your bulbs 
in the ground and have better than a 50-50 chance of getting 
nice blooms, but like everything else, it pays to do things 
right and be sure. It is not necessary to peel or husk the 
bulbs. The only reason for so doing would be to see if there 
is disease under the husk, which there is sometimes on bulbs 
that apparently are all right. Bulbs should be treated with a 
dust or dip of some kind to kill possible thrips or invisible 
disease spores that might later develop in the ground. There 
is some controversy about the value of these treatments, but 
most commercial growers do treat with something. Many 
growers and most large seed houses sell chemical bulb treat- 
ments. DDT, containing copper, dusted on the bulbs will con- 
trol thrips and help to keep bulbs free from disease. Arasan 
and Spergon are considered good dusts. Bichloride of Mer- 
cury, '/2 ounce to 3 gallons of water for two hours at 70° is a 
good control for scab, but it delays blooming somewhat and 
FOLLOW THE EXPERTS’ HINTS IN BULLETINS OF THE NORTH 
scab is not a serious disease anyway. New Improved Ceresan 
is the dip most used by commercial growers, using | ounce to 
3 gallons water for 15 minutes. Lysol, I'!/2 tablespoonsful 
per gallon water for 3 hours, is considered good. WHEN 
USING ANY DIP THE BULBS SHOULD BE PLANTED THE 
SAME DAY. IF HELD OVER, THE BULBS MAY BE HARMED, 
OFTEN BEING RUINED ENTIRELY. 
HOW TO PLANT — You can plant with a trowel, but the 
usual way is to dig or furrow out a trench and plant the bulbs 
in either a single or double staggered now. Place the bulbs 
right side up, two or three inches apart in the row, or if you 
are growing for shows, give them six inches or more. Large 
bulbs should be planted four to six inches deep, medium 
three to four inches and small two to three inches. They will 
come up however deep you plant them. Extra tall varieties 
should be planted more than six inches deep or else be hilled 
up several inches before the bloom spikes appear. The rows 
should be twenty to thirty-six inches apart. Thirty inches is 
a convenient distance. 
FERTILIZING—This is the first thing most novices ask about, 
yet it is really the least important. If your soil is reasonably 
good don't use much fertilizer, as too much, especially nitro- 
gen, will cause disease. Bone meal or super phosphate in the 
trench below the bulbs is good, but cover with an inch of soil 
so bulbs do not touch the fertilizer. Then during the growing 
season you can spread most any mixed fertilizer, like 5-10-10, 
alongside the row, but not touching the plants. Well rotted 
cow manure is good if spread on the land the previous fall 
before planting. 
CULTIVATION—This should be shallow so as not to disturb 
the roots. Mulching two inches deep will eliminate most cul- 
tivation, keep down weeds, conserve moisture, and keep heavy 
soil from baking hard. Use straw, shavings, sawdust or most 
anything you can get. After digging, mix the mulch with the 
soil, plowing it in or otherwise incorporating it with the soil. 
WEED KILLERS — 2-4-D and other chemical weed killers 
have given good results in many places, but they are toxic to 
plants and we do not recommend them. 
WATERING — If you have a fair amount of rain, you will 
not need to water, but if it is really dry, especially from the 
time the bloom spikes emerge from the leaves, a good soak- 
ing every few days will help tremendously. In fact, plenty of 
water will do more than fertilizer to produce big spikes, 
but you must have good drainage to produce healthy bulbs. 
lf drainage is good you can hardly overwater when glads are 
coming into bloom. 
THRIPS—This is the small black insect about a quarter of 
an inch long and the width of a pencil mark that has caused 
more trouble with glads that anything else, yet they can very 
easily be avoided. Thrips may dry up the buds so they do 
not open. When a novice first runs into thrips, he always 
