MRS. F. PENDLETONMRS. F. PENDLETON
If one desires to grow the gladiolus commercially, there are several ways of making a beginning, and it is well to have a clearly defined plan. The grower can enter upon the work with very little outlay by commencing with seed. Only choice seed should be used. The first year's product will average about the size of peas. With extra pains, many of these could be brought to small blooming size, but it is better to keep them below that limit. The next year they will all grow to first and second sizes and the bulbs will be perfect in form and full of energy. Of these there will be no two alike, and such bulbs are generally in demand. Some will be of superior merit, and many good. Each purchaser will find at least a few that he will prize. By sowing seed every year, the grower will always have fresh stock coming on, and if careful to use only seed of high grade, he will establish a reputation as a producer of fine seedlings. He can, in time, make arrangements for growing seed himself, and thus save the expense of buying, besides enjoying the satisfaction of knowing its excellence.
Another way of starting is by purchasing small stock. This has the advantage of making salable bulbs the first year, also quantities of bulblets, but there is another side to the question, which is less encouraging. If the stock is simply common mixed, which is about the only grade offered for sale, the grower is likely to find that a good part of it is such as he can take no pride in, and he will be under the necessity of beginning soon to weed out the undesirable varieties. The same difficulty will re-appear in the crop grown from the bulblets. This method involves more expense than would appear at first thought, and is likely to be rather unsatisfactory as to quality in the end. If small stock of high excellence could be bought, it would be the perfection of a start for a beginner, but it is very seldom obtainable. Every grower knows that bulbs the size of peas are far more prolific of bulblets than those of the same variety two inches in diameter. Accordingly, he sells the large ones, which bring good prices, but make little increase, and retains the small ones, which would yield only trifling returns if sold, but are of great value as multipliers of stock.
Still another and very good way of beginning in the business is to buy blooming bulbs of fine named sorts, cultivate them separately, and sell them by name. He who adopts this plan does not need many varieties. It is better to purchase few, and a larger number of each. If he selects those that arein good demand, he is pretty sure to find ready sale for all that he can raise. He is not likely to have too many of the May or Augusta, nor of those newer and more expensive favorites, America and Princeps. This last method, and the one first described may be combined to good advantage.
If one wishes to commence growing flowers for market, he may start with seed, provided he can afford the time, or he may buy blooming bulbs, either mixed or named. In the latter case he should look out for a liberal proportion of light colors, as they are usually more salable than darker ones, though of late, good reds are rapidly gaining in popularity. Some growers raise mostly fine white and light varieties, and their flowers are in demand even when the market is full of common stock.
Finally, whatever the grower's objects may be in his work, and whatever methods he may adopt in carrying it on, he will find plenty of room for the exercise of his own judgment and tact, after he has read and pondered all that he can find in print in regard to gladiolus culture.
The gladiolus is horticulturally the most important member of the Iridacæ or great Iris family and has long been the most popular of all summer-flowering bulbous plants, ranking in general usefulness even such prime favorites as the dahlia, the canna and the lily. Almost one hundred and fifty species have been from time to time described by botanists, but only a fraction of the number has thus far proved of value in breeding and development work. Fourteen or more species are natives of Southern Europe and Western Asia, but these have always been of minor importance as garden plants.
The headquarters of the genus is South Africa, centering in Cape Colony and Natal, though there have been recent finds of value on the mountains of tropical Africa and in Madagascar. The European and Asiatic species run to purple and lilac in coloring, though white varieties occur in cultivation.Flowers and plants are rather small, rendering them most useful for pot or frame culture and for naturalizing in protected borders where the deeply planted corns can be kept from the effects of frost. The most attractive of these northern kinds areG. crispiflorus,G. atroviolaceus,G. ByzantinusandG. communis. The latter has been offered in this country as the "hardy" gladiolus, but it will not endure severe freezing. These species hybridize together when opportunity presents, but do not readily interbreed with the African kinds and have rarely developed garden forms superior to the respective wild types. The blooming time is early spring.
Another series of early-blooming, small-flowered species is represented byG. blandus, flesh colored,G. Watsonius, scarlet,G. alatus, yellow and red, andG. tristis, pale yellow, sweet scented. All are native to the Cape of Good Hope and can endure little cold. They are admirably suited for window and greenhouse culture and are interesting subjects for interbreeding, though no startling results should be expected. The winter-blooming varieties grown by florists, such as theBride,Delicatissima, andPeach Blossom, belong to the hybrid section known asGladiolus Colvillii, which is, without doubt, a hybrid betweenG. cardinalisandG. tristis. The corms of these early-blooming species are less resistant than those of the summer-blooming kinds and can rarely be kept over winter in good condition. The speciesin this class are many, several are fragrant, and all are worth growing by the specialist for their individual charm, but few are likely to attain commercial importance in this country for a considerable time.
Our popular garden and commercial varieties are, with scarcely an exception, developments of strong-growing and relatively late-blooming species found wild in South Africa. The chief of these isG. psittacinus, native of Natal, but cultivated in Europe since 1830. It is a striking and robust species with hooded, narrow, red-and-yellow flowers, borne in a scattering manner on a tall fleshy scape or spike. Eleven years later a seedling appeared in the famous Van Houtte Nurseries, Ghent, Belgium, thought to be a hybrid betweenpsittacinusandG. cardinalis, the latter a tall scarlet flowered species or variety of uncertain origin, known to have been cultivated as early as 1785. The Van Houtte seedling, namedGandavensisin honor of the city of its origin, was so superior topsittacinusas to cause the latter to at once go out of cultivation.
Gandavensismade a great sensation in its time and is still the best representative of the old-time gaudy red-and-yellow garden gladiolus, or corn flag. It was eagerly welcomed by breeders of the day, among others the accomplished French hybridizer, Mons. Souchet, of Fontainebleu, who really laid the foundation of the modernGandavensisstrain, thebasis of all that is best in the summer-blooming section. The predominating types of the finestGandavensisvarieties, however, retain few of the characteristics ofpsittacinus. The erect, fleshy stem, capable of absorbing sufficient water, when the spike is cut, to develop all blooms, and the strong upright growth have been preserved as indispensable features, but the flowers have been marvelously improved in respect to form, color, size, arrangement and finish, as the result of interbreeding with every procurable species or variety of sufficiently distinct character, and constant seeding selection. The most popular varieties of the day, such as May, Augusta, and Shakespeare, have little resemblance topsittacinusand practically none tocardinalis, but exhibit strongly the main characteristics ofG. oppositiflorus, an old white-and-rose, many-flowered species, often thought to have been the real parent ofGandavensis, instead ofcardinalis. The writer's experience is that present-day authentic hybrids ofpsittacinusandcardinalisdo not resembleGandavensis, while the issue ofpsittacinusxoppositiflorusclosely reproducesGandavensisas it is found in old gardens. Varied and beautiful as theGandavensishybrids or "French seedlings" of the last generation were—and some have never been excelled—intense and pleasing shades of red were strangely lacking, when the predominance ofpsittacinusblood in the strain is considered.
It was not until 1878 that Victor Lemoine, Nancy, France, produced, by crossing the finestGandavensisvarieties withG. purpureo-auratus, an important race now widely known asLemoinei, that possessed the rich and intense shades of red, purple, and yellow so ardently desired by fanciers. Some of the richest coloring in the floral kingdom is found among theLemoineivarieties, now wonderfully developed by consistent breeding. The hooded form ofpurpureo-auratusblooms, however, is often retained, and the stems usually have the wiry texture of the species rendering the development of the flowers, after cutting, less perfect than theGandavensis.
The next great improvement in garden gladioli was brought about by Max Leichtlin, Baden Baden, Germany, who extensively hybridized the bestGandavensisvarieties withG. Saundersii, then a newly introduced species characterized by large widely opened scarlet flowers speckled with white on the lower divisions. The resulting seedlings, without doubt the finest strain of modern times, were bought by V. H. Hallock and Son, Queens, N. Y., then the most extensive American bulb growers, and for many years the stock was worked up by them in the most painstaking manner. Before dissemination it was sold to J. L. Childs, Floral Park, N. Y., who introduced it to general cultivation under the name ofChildsii. The trueLeichtlin Saundersiihybrids are characterized by gigantic growth and very largerichly colored well-opened blooms with beautifully spotted and variegated throats. Shades of red predominated at first, but light colors have since been developed in a very satisfactory manner. The only just criticism of this strain is that some kinds lack substance of petal and are not as lasting asGandavensisvarieties under similar trying conditions.
Lemoine soon afterwards produced a fine large flowered and brilliantly colored race by crossingLemoineihybrids withSaundersii. This race was namedNanceianusand comprises many truly beautiful varieties, few, however, possessing the vigor of theLeichtlinhybrids.
The next break of importance, also the work of Lemoine, came with the use ofG. papilio, pale lilac, blotched and overlaid with dull red. In many of its hybrids the primitive colors have separated, resulting in an attractive series of rich purple and heliotrope blues, quite new to the genus. True bright blues, free from red and purple tones, have not yet been obtained, but the blue kinds—issue ofPapilioand theLemoinevarieties—are unique and desirable acquisitions.
Gladiolus cruentus, blood red and white, pollenized with a selectedChildsiivariety resulted in the magnificent scarlet hybridPrinceps, acknowledged the first of its color yet produced. The latest species of importance to be widely used isG. Primulinus, recently found in the Zambesi Valley, South Africa. It is a vigorous species with narrow blooms,pure bright yellow in color. The hybrids largely partake of this coloring, and it appears only a matter of time when good self-yellow varieties, comparable in size and finish to the best red and pink kinds will be bred.
A number of hybrids ofG. dracocephalus,G. CooperiandG. Quartinanushave been offered of late years. These species are closely allied toPsittacinus, but yellow, green and purplish shades, oddly marked and striped, appear in the offspring. Some are curious and attractive, but possess little value from the standpoint of the commercial grower.G. Quartinanusis a very late bloomer and may produce varieties extremely useful for mild climates where the seasons are sufficiently long to form bulb development.G. Eckloniis a rare species with small whitish blooms, minutely dotted with black purple. The hybrids have mostly purple or red ground colors flecked with darker shades. They are exceedingly attractive, but do not increase with sufficient rapidity to possess great value.G. vitatus, an early blooming, dwarf species, has yielded some charming porcelain and salmon colored garden varieties, of rather small size, however.G. Leichtlini, scarlet and yellow, allied toSaundersii, when crossed withcruentus, is a striking brilliant crimson hybrid of much vigor, but when blended with other species entirely loses its individuality. The list may be extended, but enough has been said to indicatethe great possibilities inherent to the use of wild species as a means of adding attractive new features to highly developed garden strains.
The gladiolus, in its European species at least, has been in garden cultivation for quite 400 years.
The African forms first found their way to Europe about 1745 and new ones have since been constantly added. The genus now numbers almost 150 species.
The firstmarked improvement, from the garden standpoint, came with the introduction from Holland, about 1785, ofG. cardinalis, one of the reputed parents ofG. Gandavensis. The true origin ofCardinalishas never been ascertained.
In 1840G. Gandavensiswas raised in Belgium from seed ofG. psittacinus, an African species supposed to be pollinated withCardinalis, but more, likely withG. oppositiflorus, which the progeny ofGandavensismore closely resembles.
From 1845 until 1880Gandavensisseedlings or "French Hybrids" held full sway in gardens. More than 400 varieties have been named, comprising some of the most highly prized of all garden kinds.
Lemoine introduced in 1878 his justly celebrated hybrids between Gandavensis andG. purpureo-auratus, known asLemoinei.
TheNanceianusstrain, crosses betweenLemoineiandG. Saundersii, was introduced in 1889.
Childsii, originated by Max Leichtlin, Germany, was first disseminated in 1893. It consists of hybrids ofG. Saundersiipollinated with the finest Gandavensis varieties.
Lemoine's New Blue was first exhibited at the Chicago Exposition 1893 and placed on sale the following year.
PRINCEPSPRINCEPS
Gladiolus Princeps, ChildsiixG. cruentus, the finest scarlet variety ever raised, was introduced in 1903.
Gladiolus primulinusand hybrids were first publicly offered in 1909.
The gladiolus, owing to the large size of the blooms and its open character, is one of the easiest plants to pollinate artificially. Healthy vigorous plants should be selected for seed bearers, and the bloom spike supported with a firm stake. The blooms should be visited in early morning as they open, and the anthers removed before they have shed pollen, with the fingers, or better with slender forceps, taking care not to injure the style or the three-parted stigma, which will be ready to receive pollen about midday in bright weather or late in the afternoon, or even next day if cloudy or dull.
The blooms should, immediately after the anthers have been removed, be covered with thin cheesecloth, or "bobinet," firmly tied or pinned in such a manner as effectually to keep out bees and visiting insects. Ordinary mosquito netting will not serve after it has been wet with dew or rain, as the mesh becomes so loose that energetic little pollen carrying bees force their way through, often entirely spoiling results. The pollen-bearing blooms should be carefully selected to open the same day and shouldbe as well protected with muslin or fine netting as possible to prevent robbery of pollen.
About noon, when the anthers are covered with dry-dust-like pollen they can be pinched out with forceps and carried to the seed-bearing spikes in a covered dish to protect from wind. The anthers may be taken separately in the fingers, or with forceps, and lightly brushed over the stigmas, which should be erect and open if they have reached the receptive stage. One anther will usually suffice for a seed bloom if pollen is abundant, but in some of the lighter-colored varieties it is scantily produced and several may be needed. Occasionally the anther valves do not open freely enough to permit the escape of pollen, which may then be taken out with a narrow-bladed penknife, or better with a little instrument made of a flattened pin fixed in a wooden handle.
The pollinated blooms should immediately be covered with the netting, which should remain until they fade. If conveniences are at hand the work may be rapidly accomplished—several hundred pollinations being made in a single day by an active worker. Pollen can also be used from cut blooms, the spikes being kept in water in a light room, free from flies or bees, but it gradually loses power when the upper blooms open under such artificial conditions. If the work is carefully done the resulting seeds will produce hybrids or cross breeds as the case may be, and it is always possible that the idealsought for may appear among the number. Pollen may be kept a week or more by drying in the shade and wrapping in paraffin paper, but is far less reliable than if applied fresh from the anthers.
The blooms of large garden varieties are rarely self-pollinated, even if left uncovered, but the chances of fertilization with inferior kinds, generally the most abundant pollen producers, are so great that it is well to protect all seed-bearing blooms from insect interference. If the work is to be done on a large scale sleeves of netting or muslin large enough to enclose the entire spike will be found serviceable. The ends may be drawn together by cords looped through the fabric, effectually barring out the meddling bees. If a greenhouse structure or even a well lighted room is available, the plants may be grown in large boxes or pots and taken inside when blooming. This is especially desirable in the case of rare species and varieties, as there is no interference from stormy weather. Every bloom can be pollinated and practically every grain of pollen utilized under these secure conditions.
Rare or scarce gladiolus seeds, particularly those resulting from difficult crosses, should not be risked under ordinary garden or field conditions of growth. We naturally wish to bring to maturity every possible plant that the ideal we are breeding for may not be lost, if it should by chance be included in the number. If grown in pots or boxes the first season, with due care every good seed is likely to produce a vigorous bulb that may be planted out next year. I have found six-inch standard flower pots, after many trials, to be the most convenient receptacles for small quantities of seeds, though almost equally good results may be had from well drained wooden boxes five inches deep. The boxes may be a foot or more wide and 18 to 20 inches long, and should be new and clean.
On no account grow gladiolus seeds or bulblets successive years in the same pots or boxes without sterilization, lest disease be fostered. Sterilization may be effected in the case of pots, by roasting an hour or more in an oven at a temperature above the boiling point of water, or by well soaking in bichloride of mercury or formaldehyde solution, describedin a preceding chapter.[C]Boxes may also be roasted in the oven or soaked in sterilizing solutions, but it is best to use new ones if procurable. Boxes should have at least one-half-inch drainage hole to each sixteen square inches of bottom surface, as gladiolus seedlings greatly dislike waterlogged soil. An inch of pebbles, broken shells or sterilized potsherds should be placed in bottom and pot or box filled to within one-half inch of top with light compost made of two parts rich loamy soil and one part sand, well mixed together. Some very old fine manure may be used, but it should be confined to the bottom third of the receptacle and not come into contact with the seeds or resulting bulbs. The seeds previously rubbed free from chaff, should be thickly sown on the surface—one hundred seeds is not too many for a six-inch pot—and covered with one-half inch of clean sand. Water with a gentle spray until entire mass of soil is saturated, cover top with old burlap or bagging and place pots or boxes in a secure place where the temperature will not vary greatly from sixty degrees. But little more water will be needed until the plants begin to come up, which should be in about twenty days. A sunny situation in greenhouse or garden is needed to grow the seedlings to best advantage, but if in the latter, protection should always be given from beating rains as the tiny seedlings are very easily broken down during the earlystages of their development. Water should be given with sufficient regularity to keep the soil constantly moist without becoming sodden and all weeds removed as they appear. The bulbs will mature in twelve to fifteen weeks from germination. Water should gradually be lessened as growth ceases and foliage begins to yellow until the soil quite dries out, when it may be passed through a sieve and even the smallest bulblet secured.
The little seedling bulbs, ranging in size from a wheat grain to a hazelnut, keep best in dry sand and should be sown next season like peas in drills in the garden. Some of the strongest are likely to bloom the second year and all should produce flowers the third. If seeds are sown under glass soon after ripening, in early October, according to foregoing directions, the bulbs may usually be ripened off in March, cured in sand in a dry warm place and planted out in May, thus securing a few blooms the following Autumn, one year after gathering the seed. Most of the bulbs thus treated should attain blooming size by the end of the first season. If only a few seeds of a rare variety are obtainable, very porous compost in five-inch pots or shallower boxes, the seeds sown near the edges, will give best results. The seedling gladiolus the first year is so slender and with such a small root system that considerable attention is needed to avoid excess moisture unless closely planted.
A useful modification of the above method is to replace the bottom of a box of convenient size with wire netting of one-half-inch mesh or less, sink it to within an inch of the top in the soil in a convenient sunny place in garden, fill with prepared compost, sow seeds and proceed in the described manner except that less attention will be required in watering than if entirely exposed to the air. Box and soil can be lifted out when the bulbs mature, the soil dried and sifted to secure every minute bulb. If a considerable quantity of seed is to be sown a board frame eight inches deep, with bottom lined with one-half-inch mesh netting, and sunk in the ground, will give complete security from moles and similar vermin. If ordinary poultry netting is stretched over the top, additional security against surface marauders is given. Hand hybridized seeds are too precious to risk in ordinary unprotected soil. Five thousand seedling bulbs may be grown in a frame 4×6 feet, if seeds are thickly enough sown.
The following list includes the most important Gladiolus species, as recognized by modern botanists. Many species formerly included in the genusGladiolusare now correctly assigned toAcidanthera,Antholyza,Babiana,Freesia,Montbretia,TritonaandWatsonia. Most true Gladiolus species will hybridize together, under favorable opportunity, but all attempts to breed the above genera with Gladiolus, thus far, appear to have failed. The most important garden hybrids of Gladiolus, useful in breeding work, have been described in preceding chapters. An attempt is here made to note the height of each species, the season of bloom in the northern hemisphere, the native locality where known, and the approximate date of introduction to cultivation:
Planting gladioli after potato or tomato crops is said to incur risk of scabby stock.Parcel post has proven very satisfactory for shipping blooms, packed in this manner.The pure yellow Primulinus Sunbeam when displayed with purple Baron Hulot is very effective.Peeled bulblets require a warmer soil than the unpeeled ones, and for this reason, May 15 to 20 is about the proper time for sowing.To grow giant flower spikes, plant in rows 21 to 30 inches apart and 7 to 9 inches apart in the rows; fertilize well.Long distance crates for mailing cut blooms may be made of slats ¾-inch apart, with end pieces 6 to 7 inches square, braced in the middle.All spikes should be cut when lowest or first flower begins to unroll; spikes should be set in water for an hour or more before packing.Constant cultivation creating a dust mulch is very necessary with these as with other crops in case of drought. Many overlook this.Mrs. B. H. Tracy says that Liebesfeur or War, Mrs. Frances King, Pink Perfection and Independence make a wonderful color combination.It is conceded that second or even third size bulbs of Mrs. Francis King will throw a better flower spike than bulbs of a similar small size of most other kinds.When your flowers are coming on freely and weather turns warmer, don't forget that cuttings must be made more frequently, and Sunday work unavoidable.Some Gladiolus bulbs can stand freezing, though frozen solid. If left in tight boxes or barrels and allowed to thaw out very slowly without handling or exposure to air they will not be seriously injured.When the roots of the gladiolus have attained their full growth, the surface of the soil should be stirred but lightly, because of the danger of cutting the roots. Prior to that time, gladiolus bulbs will stand deeper cultivation.Write your state experiment station for analysis of commercial fertilizer best adapted to the Gladiolus. If you contemplate shipping cut blooms, consult your commission man as to the most satisfactory method of packing.Young bulbs from seven eights to one inch in diameter should, if given space when plants of about two and a half inches apart and well cultivated, produce a crop approximately half or more first grade bulbs and the remainder seconds.One grower never plants gladioli the second time in succession on the same land. Dr. Van Fleet, the originator of Princeps, who distributed it through Vaughan's Seed Store, says that the variety should never be planted on recently manured land, but in a naturally deep, rich, alluvial soil.When bulbs are worth only two cents or less and cut blooms selling at three cents net or over, stalks may be cut close to the ground, giving foliage much desired by the retail florist. This advice, of course, applies to other values whenever the flowers are selling well above the cost of the bulbs.Gladiolus make roots freely outside in quite cool weather, therefore, may be planted as early in the spring as ground can be opened, sometimes certain soils may be heavily mulched with straw in fall and thus kept unfrozen for very early planting in March.When cut blooms are selling for less than the value of the bulbs, great care should be used in cutting to leave four good leaves uncut as these are necessary to complete the growth and mature a healthy bulb. Two leaves or even three are not enough to finish and develop a first class bulb.For all points south of the Ohio River and in the extreme south second grade bulbs, that is of diameter 1-¼ to 1½ inches have bloomed well out of doors. Mrs. Frances King bulbs of only 1 inch to 1-¼ have produced well; America and ChicagoWhite for best results need larger grading than King.Watchfulness in winter storage is necessary. If bulbs are racked or shelved too deep and become moist, they must be thinned and turned or both; if they become too dry, as they will if your cellar or storehouse lacks moisture, you may put more layers in the racks, or spread newspaper over them or spray the floor of your storeroom as often as may be necessary to maintain proper moisture which can be told by feeling of the bulbs.Those, and they are many, both Amateur and Commercial growers who exhibit blooms at Flower shows should remember that if spikes are cut when the lowest blooms begin to open and transported to the exhibition halls early and there, standing in vases allowed to open their blooms, will be much more perfect and free from that bruised condition shown by blooms which have not been cut until the flowers on the spikes were nearly open.One reliable grower keeps his black hard-shelled bulblets in gunny sacks containing about one bushel mixed with about 20 per cent of fine dry earth. He has been quite successful in keeping the bulblets in this manner, and when so kept the shells do not harden to such an extent as to prevent sprouting of the kernel, as sometimes is the case when they dry out too much. This same grower believes in soaking the black hard-shelled bulblets for 36 hours in water just before planting, but no longer.Gladiolus bulbs stored in bins should be turned every few days, especially after February, as this tends to prevent sprouting. They should not be kept in too warm and dry a place. It is best to keep them quite cool, the thermometer running as low as forty degrees Fahrenheit at times, and in an atmosphere of the ordinary cellar, which usually has some moisture. If they become troubled with green fly, sprinkle them with tobacco dust once a week.Gladiolus bulbs stored in racks have been kept in good condition by close covering of double or triple thickness of newspapers, the bulbs being levelled off and the newspapers laid closely over the racks and kept close to the bulbs by loose strips of wood laid over them. Others have kept gladiolus bulbs in very good shape in old paper flour sacks, which contain half a bushel or three pecks of the bulbs (the bulbs being, of course, thoroughly dried out when tied in the bags). The natural moisture of the bulbs seems, by some kind of paper protection as mentioned above, to be conserved, while full and continued exposure to dry air seems to provoke scab as well as hardening of the outer skin of the bulbs.It requires a good sized bulb of America to throw a first class spike and second size bulbs produce, when forced, a considerably smaller spike than the first size bulbs. The America requires a longergrowing season than most other gladioli and continues its growth well up to severe frosts. Growers who wish to harvest the largest possible number of first size bulbs allow these to grow as late as possible, and then leave the plants on their sides for 36 or 48 hours, during which time the sap from the stalks seems to go into the bulbs, making them more firm and putting them into better keeping condition for the winter. This latter suggestion probably applies to all gladioli and not alone to America, as it is practiced by a good many of the best growers.Growers differ a good deal as to the depth of the planting and width of rows. One very successful Ohio grower plants his bulblets and small bulbs fully six inches deep and in rows only two feet apart, pressing the dirt down very firmly over the bulbs. Such deep planting, he claims, secures cooler soil for the working roots and insures a better crop in case of dry weather. The same grower in planting hard shelled bulblets sows one pint to about three feet of row, making them very thick in the row, as he believes that the hard shelled bulblets, in germinating so close together, cause the hard shells of most of them to rot. There is convenience also in digging the crop which may be lifted in a mass. They also grow up so closely together in the row that they seem to choke out the weeds, thus saving hand labor.
Planting gladioli after potato or tomato crops is said to incur risk of scabby stock.
Parcel post has proven very satisfactory for shipping blooms, packed in this manner.
The pure yellow Primulinus Sunbeam when displayed with purple Baron Hulot is very effective.
Peeled bulblets require a warmer soil than the unpeeled ones, and for this reason, May 15 to 20 is about the proper time for sowing.
To grow giant flower spikes, plant in rows 21 to 30 inches apart and 7 to 9 inches apart in the rows; fertilize well.
Long distance crates for mailing cut blooms may be made of slats ¾-inch apart, with end pieces 6 to 7 inches square, braced in the middle.
All spikes should be cut when lowest or first flower begins to unroll; spikes should be set in water for an hour or more before packing.
Constant cultivation creating a dust mulch is very necessary with these as with other crops in case of drought. Many overlook this.
Mrs. B. H. Tracy says that Liebesfeur or War, Mrs. Frances King, Pink Perfection and Independence make a wonderful color combination.
It is conceded that second or even third size bulbs of Mrs. Francis King will throw a better flower spike than bulbs of a similar small size of most other kinds.
When your flowers are coming on freely and weather turns warmer, don't forget that cuttings must be made more frequently, and Sunday work unavoidable.
Some Gladiolus bulbs can stand freezing, though frozen solid. If left in tight boxes or barrels and allowed to thaw out very slowly without handling or exposure to air they will not be seriously injured.
When the roots of the gladiolus have attained their full growth, the surface of the soil should be stirred but lightly, because of the danger of cutting the roots. Prior to that time, gladiolus bulbs will stand deeper cultivation.
Write your state experiment station for analysis of commercial fertilizer best adapted to the Gladiolus. If you contemplate shipping cut blooms, consult your commission man as to the most satisfactory method of packing.
Young bulbs from seven eights to one inch in diameter should, if given space when plants of about two and a half inches apart and well cultivated, produce a crop approximately half or more first grade bulbs and the remainder seconds.
One grower never plants gladioli the second time in succession on the same land. Dr. Van Fleet, the originator of Princeps, who distributed it through Vaughan's Seed Store, says that the variety should never be planted on recently manured land, but in a naturally deep, rich, alluvial soil.
When bulbs are worth only two cents or less and cut blooms selling at three cents net or over, stalks may be cut close to the ground, giving foliage much desired by the retail florist. This advice, of course, applies to other values whenever the flowers are selling well above the cost of the bulbs.
Gladiolus make roots freely outside in quite cool weather, therefore, may be planted as early in the spring as ground can be opened, sometimes certain soils may be heavily mulched with straw in fall and thus kept unfrozen for very early planting in March.
When cut blooms are selling for less than the value of the bulbs, great care should be used in cutting to leave four good leaves uncut as these are necessary to complete the growth and mature a healthy bulb. Two leaves or even three are not enough to finish and develop a first class bulb.
For all points south of the Ohio River and in the extreme south second grade bulbs, that is of diameter 1-¼ to 1½ inches have bloomed well out of doors. Mrs. Frances King bulbs of only 1 inch to 1-¼ have produced well; America and ChicagoWhite for best results need larger grading than King.
Watchfulness in winter storage is necessary. If bulbs are racked or shelved too deep and become moist, they must be thinned and turned or both; if they become too dry, as they will if your cellar or storehouse lacks moisture, you may put more layers in the racks, or spread newspaper over them or spray the floor of your storeroom as often as may be necessary to maintain proper moisture which can be told by feeling of the bulbs.
Those, and they are many, both Amateur and Commercial growers who exhibit blooms at Flower shows should remember that if spikes are cut when the lowest blooms begin to open and transported to the exhibition halls early and there, standing in vases allowed to open their blooms, will be much more perfect and free from that bruised condition shown by blooms which have not been cut until the flowers on the spikes were nearly open.
One reliable grower keeps his black hard-shelled bulblets in gunny sacks containing about one bushel mixed with about 20 per cent of fine dry earth. He has been quite successful in keeping the bulblets in this manner, and when so kept the shells do not harden to such an extent as to prevent sprouting of the kernel, as sometimes is the case when they dry out too much. This same grower believes in soaking the black hard-shelled bulblets for 36 hours in water just before planting, but no longer.
Gladiolus bulbs stored in bins should be turned every few days, especially after February, as this tends to prevent sprouting. They should not be kept in too warm and dry a place. It is best to keep them quite cool, the thermometer running as low as forty degrees Fahrenheit at times, and in an atmosphere of the ordinary cellar, which usually has some moisture. If they become troubled with green fly, sprinkle them with tobacco dust once a week.
Gladiolus bulbs stored in racks have been kept in good condition by close covering of double or triple thickness of newspapers, the bulbs being levelled off and the newspapers laid closely over the racks and kept close to the bulbs by loose strips of wood laid over them. Others have kept gladiolus bulbs in very good shape in old paper flour sacks, which contain half a bushel or three pecks of the bulbs (the bulbs being, of course, thoroughly dried out when tied in the bags). The natural moisture of the bulbs seems, by some kind of paper protection as mentioned above, to be conserved, while full and continued exposure to dry air seems to provoke scab as well as hardening of the outer skin of the bulbs.
It requires a good sized bulb of America to throw a first class spike and second size bulbs produce, when forced, a considerably smaller spike than the first size bulbs. The America requires a longergrowing season than most other gladioli and continues its growth well up to severe frosts. Growers who wish to harvest the largest possible number of first size bulbs allow these to grow as late as possible, and then leave the plants on their sides for 36 or 48 hours, during which time the sap from the stalks seems to go into the bulbs, making them more firm and putting them into better keeping condition for the winter. This latter suggestion probably applies to all gladioli and not alone to America, as it is practiced by a good many of the best growers.
Growers differ a good deal as to the depth of the planting and width of rows. One very successful Ohio grower plants his bulblets and small bulbs fully six inches deep and in rows only two feet apart, pressing the dirt down very firmly over the bulbs. Such deep planting, he claims, secures cooler soil for the working roots and insures a better crop in case of dry weather. The same grower in planting hard shelled bulblets sows one pint to about three feet of row, making them very thick in the row, as he believes that the hard shelled bulblets, in germinating so close together, cause the hard shells of most of them to rot. There is convenience also in digging the crop which may be lifted in a mass. They also grow up so closely together in the row that they seem to choke out the weeds, thus saving hand labor.
[A]P. S. The Addenda includes some good advice for the commercial grower.[B]Note: Authority is not lacking to show that Glad"-i-o'-lus, strongest accent on first syllable, is the best, as it certainly is the most agreeable pronunciation. This puts it in line with He"-li-an'-thus, and many other four syllabled words used in botany. Glad"-i-o'-luses as the plural is increasingly used in literature but not in speech.[C]Page59.
[A]P. S. The Addenda includes some good advice for the commercial grower.
[A]P. S. The Addenda includes some good advice for the commercial grower.
[B]Note: Authority is not lacking to show that Glad"-i-o'-lus, strongest accent on first syllable, is the best, as it certainly is the most agreeable pronunciation. This puts it in line with He"-li-an'-thus, and many other four syllabled words used in botany. Glad"-i-o'-luses as the plural is increasingly used in literature but not in speech.
[B]Note: Authority is not lacking to show that Glad"-i-o'-lus, strongest accent on first syllable, is the best, as it certainly is the most agreeable pronunciation. This puts it in line with He"-li-an'-thus, and many other four syllabled words used in botany. Glad"-i-o'-luses as the plural is increasingly used in literature but not in speech.
[C]Page59.
[C]Page59.