March  8,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
203 
GEUM  COC’CINEUM  FL.-PL. 
This  is  one  of  the  earliest,  brightest,  and  finest  of  hardy  border 
plants ;  it  is  late  as  well  as  early,  for  it  flowers  with  me  from  early 
spring  to  late  summer.  I  use  immense  numbers  for  decorative  pur¬ 
poses,  for  which  they  are  particularly  valuable.  Of  course  it  is  well 
known  that  the  flowers  (fig.  53)  are  of  a  brilliant  scarlet  colour. 
The  plants  are  raised  from  seeds  sown  and  treated  precisely  similar 
to  Sweet  Williams.  A  bed  of  this  fine  old  semi-double  Geum  should 
be  in  every  garden  where  a  supply  of  scarlet  flowers  is  required  for 
vase  decoration.  Young  plants  have  finer  flowers  and  produce  them 
more  continuously  than  old  stock,  and  hence  it  is  advisable  to  sow  a 
few  seeds  annually  so  as  to  insrrre  a  nutriber  of  vigorous  plants. 
Plants  raised  from  seeds  sown  now  would  in  all  probability  yield 
some  flowers  ne.vt  year,  and  would  certainly  produce  an  abundant 
supply  the  year  following.  It  is  a  border  flower  of  the  first  order  of 
merit,  but  to  see  it  to  the  best  advantage  it  should  be  grown  in  large 
masses. — F. 
GLADIOLUS  CULTURE. 
The  Gladiolus  has  become  a  favourite  flower,  and  many  of  its 
varieties  ate  so  reduced  in  price  that  it  is  now  within  the  reach  of  all. 
It  has  many  good  properties,  one  of  its  greatest  is  its  suitability  for 
decorative  purposes.  When  cut  and  intermixed  with  other  flowers 
for  the  drawing-room  it  will  not  wither  in  two  or  three  days,  as  an 
ordinary  flower  does;  but  with  care  and  attention  in  taking  off  a  little 
of  the  lower  part  of  the  stem,  supplying  fresh  water,  removing  the 
decayed  blooms,  a  succession  of  expanding  buds  enables  it  to  retain  its 
place  for  a  fortnight  at  least. 
It  can  be  advantageously  appropriated  to  window  decoration, 
interspersed  with  other  plants  to  form  a  contrast.  Take  a  bottle,  of 
which  the  neck  must  be  sufficiently  wide  to  admit  the  stem  of  a 
Gladiolus,  and  plunge  it  into  soil  in  a  flower  pot — a  deep  narrow  one  is 
the  most  suitable  for  this  purpose  ;  fill  the  bottle  nearly  full  of  water, 
and  cut  the  spike  the  height  that  may  be  required,  introducing  a  few 
blades  of  its  foliage  to  give  it  the  appearance  of  a  growing  plant.  By 
attention  as  above,  of  course  preventing  the  rays  of  the  hot  sun  from 
falling  directly  upon  the  spike,  I  think  that  all  who  try  this  method 
will  feel  themselves  compensated  for  the  slight  trouble  they  have  taken. 
Those  who  grow  the  bulbs  in  beds  or  groups  can  always  take  a  few 
spikes  for  this  purpose  without  materially  injuring  the  appearance  of 
the  garden,  hence  one  of  the  advantages  of  grouping. 
A  succession  of  bloom  may  be  kept  up  by  amateurs  for  from  four  to 
five  months.  There  are  two  ways  of  accomplishing  this.  1st,  by 
planting  at  different  times  ;  2nd,  by  a  careful  selection  of  large  and 
small  corms. 
Perhaps  I  may  here  be  permitted  to  say  that  I  have  been  an  ardent 
amateur  for  very  many  years,  and  have  cultivated  bulbous-rooted 
plants  to  a  considerable  extent.  I  commenced  the  culture  of  Gladioli 
as  soon  as  they  came  into  repute,  and  have  paid  special  attention  to 
them.  They  are  hardier  than  the  generality  of  people  are  disposed 
to  think ;  however,  I  paid  a  penalty  in  testing  their  hardiness  by 
losing  upwards  of  200  bulbs  ;  but  under  ordinary  circumstances  and  in 
a  favourable  situation  they  may  with  safety  be  planted,  weather 
permitting,  in  the  latter  part  of  February  or  the  early  part  of  March. 
When  they  are  about  to  break  through  the  surface  a  little  protection  is 
necessary,  such  as  straw,  dry  litter,  or  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse. 
Culture  in  Pots. 
Some  persons  recommend  artificial  heat,  which  I  strongly  object  to 
for  corms  that  are  intended  for  the  open  ground  ;  but  if  early  blooming 
is  required,  I  rather  prefer  to  plant  in  pots  and  plunge  in  a  cold  frame, 
choosing  my  largest  corms  and  the  early  varieties  for  this  purpose  ;  in 
fact,  I  consider  it  a  good  plan  to  plunge  in  this  way  at  different  periods, 
to  obtain  a  succession  of  bloom  when  there  is  convenience  at  land  to 
do  so. 
In  potting  for  the  cold  frame  first  insert  crocks,  then  a  little  sound 
turf  mixed  with  sand  and  leaf  mould  ;  next  put  in  the  cofm,  and  cover 
it  with  sand  and  crushed  charcoal,  filling  up  with  the  previous  compost. 
Be  cautious  not  to  give  too  much  water.  When  planting  out,  remove 
the  top  soil,  or  rather  turn  it  back,  and  add  a  little  more  sand  and 
charcoal. 
I  would  impress  upon  all  cultivators  of  the  Gladiolus  the  absolute 
necessity  of  a  dry  bottom  or  good  drainage.  I  have  been  rather 
amused  at  the  detailed  account  given  me  by  a  friend’s  mode  of  growing. 
He  digs  out  his  bed  to  a  depth  of  3  feet.  The  first  layer  consists  of 
4  inches  of  turf ;  then  I  calculate  that  there  will  be  9  or  10  inches  of 
decayed  cow  manure  (it  is  a  pity  to  waste  such  good  stuff,  it  often 
cannot  be  obtained),  and  18  inches  of  turf  and  loam;  then  come  the 
corms  in  cocoa-nut  fibre,  and  4  or  5  inches  of  turf  and  loam  upon  this, 
making  the  36  inches.  Had  I  to  make  up  his  bed,  and  3  feet  deep,  my 
experience  would  lead  me  to  proceed  as  follows  :  6  inches  of  brick 
rubbish,  then  turn  back  upon  this  8  inches  of  the  top  soil  taken  out. 
with  a  little  sand  added,  as  it  is  strong ;  upon  this  5  inches  of  the 
decayed  cow  manure,  and  13  inches  of  the  turf  and  sandy  loam ;  then 
my  corms  smothered  in  a  little  clean  river  sand,  mixed  with  bruised 
charcoal,  completing  with  4  inches  more  of  the  turf  and  sandy  loam, 
of  course  thoroughly  incorporated. 
The  following,  which  is  my  own  mode  of  culture,  I  have  invariably 
found  successful  : — Bed  30  inches  in  rlepth ;  bottom  dry,  of  course. 
Turn  back  10  inches  of  the  top  soil  taken  out,  put  in  4  inches  of  old 
cow  manure,  then  well-mixed  turf,  sand,  and  loam,  with  the  addition  of 
a  little  old  leaf  mou'd,  if  certain  of  its  containing  neither  fungus  nor 
anything  to  create  it,  to  the  depth  of  12  inches.  1  then  plant  my  corms 
covered  by  a  little  clean  river  sand,  mixed  with  crushed  charcoal,  and 
a  covering  of  4  inches  of  turf  and  loam.  Protect  as  above.  I  do  not 
object  to  silver  sand,  but  it  is  in  some  cases  more  expensive,  and  I 
consider  the  other  quite  as  advantageous. 
Growing  in  Beds. 
I  am  not  an  advocate  for  growing  Gladioli  in  beds  unless  the  blooms 
are  required  for  exhibition  ;  when  this  is  the  case  the  corms  should  be 
planted  8  or  9  inches  apart  each  way,  leaving  a  groove  between  the 
rows  for  the  purpose  of  applying  liquid  manure  if  necessary,  as  I 
strongly  object  to  any  kind  of  manure  coming  in  close  contact  with  the 
corms.  It  is  better,  as  a  safeguard,  to  water  the  bed  slightly  before 
applying  the  liquid  manure,  and  also  again  after  doing  so. 
If  not  wanted  for  exhibition,  I  prefer  grouping  five  or  six  corms 
together,  or  as  number  and  convenience  suggest,  the.  soil  being  prepared 
in  the  same  manner.  In  the  autumn,  when  I  take  up  my  corms,  I  treat 
them  in  the  same  way  as  I  usually  do  Tulips — simply  drying,  and 
protecting  from  frost  during  their  time  of  rest.  I  throw  out  the  soil 
upon  a  space  prepared  for  it  to  the  depth  of  the  cow  manure.  I  then 
have  the  latter  forked  up  with  a  portion  of  the  soil  below  it,  turning 
this  over  frequently  to  temper  it  thoroughly,  at  the  same  time  turning 
over  what  had  been  previously  laid  out.  When  planting  time  draws 
near  I  add  a  little  more  decayed  cow  manure,  and  then  fill  in  the  soil 
that  has  been  thrown  out.  This  I  have  done  for  some  years  and 
have  never  been  disappointed  with  the  result. 
When  leaf  mould  is  introduced,  let  it  be  leaf  mould,  not  decomposing 
leaves.  Nothing  to  my  mind  is  more  injurious  than  decaying  sticks  or 
timber.  Pieces  of  the  former  are  inv^ariably  mingled  with  decaying 
leaves,  and  as  invariably  fungus  is  produced.  Of  all  edgings  for  beds, 
avoid  wooden  ones  ;  the  boards  and  stays  employed  are  almost  cei’tain, 
sooner  or  later,  to  produce  fungus,  a  consequence  of  all  others  to  be 
feared.  I  do  not  know  of  anything  else  which  has  such  an  injurious 
effect  upon  corms. — Flora. 
