THE GLADIOLUS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 150, 27 June 1931, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE GLADIOLUS.

Some interesting experiments were conducted at Cornell University, New York, relative to the flowering date of different varieties and making allowances for differences of climate. It will be interesting to tliose who grow these flowers. One interesting matter which was proved by experiment was the time taken from planting to flowering of the corm and the length of its season. It is curious that with gladioli the variety makes little difference as to the time taken to flower after planting and the duration of its season. Had this not been proved by experiment I should have been disposed to dispute the fact, for varietal differences are very great in most other flowers. Depth of planting, size of corm and locality play their part in the time of flowering and the duration of flowering, as might have been expected, and these figures surely should be of interest to growers who really do not consider that they can make much difference in the dates of flowering of bulbs and corms by the type of their cultural treatment. The average length of time from planting to flowering is found to be 85 days, with slight varietal differences, and the season of flowering was 75 days. This was in the State of New York, but in Ontario the figures show 83 days, with a 59-day season. For a collection of 50 varieties in New York the average season was 60 days, so it will be seen that there is no serious deviation, and it would appear that the corm is one which might bo dealt with on mass production lines, so far as bloom is concerned, for those who are interested. Seasonal differences do not seem to make any difference at all to the length of the season, but they may — and, in fact, do—affect the actual date of flowering. In the tests that were made all over America and Canada as to the effect of locality on the date of flowering, the results showed great consistency with the corm. With two extremes of locality and climate there was only a difference of nine days in date and duration of flowering. A study was made of samples of nine eorms of 14 varieties, with the result that the following data exists upon the influence of the size of corm on the date of flowering. The average periods of days between planting and blooming were for large-size corms 77.77 days, and for the medium sized corms 80.1 days, and for the smallest corms 88 days. Roughly, nine days difference between the largest and the smallest corms. A practice frequently recommended to secure an extended season of bloom is to plant the corms at intervals of ten days. Such a series of plantings show that for a delay of a week in planting there was a subsequent delay of three days, on the average, in the blooming of the plant. The practice offers several difficulties. Special storage is necessary to keep the corms in proper condition for very late planting. When a quantity of corms is to be planted, the practice involves considerable extra work for little gain, as four such plantings will introduce a variation of only 12 days in the subsequent flowering. Experiments of planting at a depth of three, five and eight inches showed that flowering took place in 90, 95 and 97 days respectively, and the quantities of flowering spikes produced at these depths were, at 3in 150 per cent, sin 100 per cent, and Bin 31 per cent. Th© corms that were planted shallowly flowered earlier and produced five times as many spikes of bloom.— ("Nurseryman and Seedsman.")