GLADIOLI

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 July 1939, Page 8

GLADIOLI

INCREASING IN POPULARITY. HINTS FOR THE WOMAN. GARDENER. ' Year after year the popularity of gladioli increases, for few flowers give such satisfaction in the field of decoration for the home. The enormous spikes of bloom in every conceivable colour —pastel tints and rich, deep shades- —make artistry in decoration a certainty, for - they do not need the touch of "green fingers" to achieve an effect of brilliant and glowing beauty. The sense of satisfaction is heightened when the flowers have been grown in one’s own garden. Most seed merchants and nurserymen make a special offer of selected bulbs of named varieties, and these are cheap eftough to warrant the outlay and so provide blooms that will be the admiration of all beholders. Light, rich, well-worked soil suits the gladiolus, but on no account must fresh manure be used. If the soil is poor, well-rotted stable or dairy manure should be dug in well below the surface, also a good dusting of blood and bone. 'This should be thoroughly mixed in, a few weeks before planting the bulbs. ‘

Plant the corms deeply —about four to six inches below the surface of the soil if the soil is free and well worked, less if the soil is stiff and heavy. Plant in groups, using one variety in each group, with a distance of about a foot and a half between the groups. Other bedding plants can be put in between the groups of gladioli (with due consideration to the blending of colours), thus making an effective setting for the lordly spikes of bloom. See that the plants get sufficient water during growth, and be especially liberal with it when the plants reabh the flowering period.

When cutting the blooms, cut the spikes when only a few of the lower flowers are open. The rest will open in water indoors. Remove the withered flowers and change the water every day. This will make them last longer.