Evening star., 1945-10-21

corrns of the gladiolus. AS soon as gil
pair of tin ships works well. Now d
place. A dry garage floor that re-t
ceives sun for part OF the day serves
very well.
AS soon as the bulbs have dried
thoroughly, clean them by removing
the old corms, roots and loose husks,
To help safeguard them against
thrip damage, store them in paper
sacks with about one ounce Of nap
thalene fakes to so to 100 corms.
Do not try to put more than 100
corms in a single sack. The sacks
should be tightly closed and kept in
a warm room for about four weeks.
The corms Should then be stored in
boxes in cool, dry place until time
to plant comes round again. A
rack holding light. trays made with
wire bottoms is especially satisfac-
tory. Trays may be divided to hold
large or small quantities.
Plant in Rows.
Some growers like to plant all
cormels, the tiny bulblets which
are attached to the corms, in the
fall Plant them in rows much as
you would garden peas and mulch
with leaf mold. The covering of the
cormels is so hard that they are
slow to germinate, so If planted in
the fall they have more time to
make good growth before hot, dry
weather in the spring.
If, in digging gladiolus, corms evil
dence of basal rot Is found, some
thing will need to be done about 1t.
If only few diseased corms are
found, it will be better to destroy
them and buy new ones in the
spring, but If you wish to safeguard
all your stock, soak them in solu-
ton Of bichloride of mercury d.
l000) for an hour or more. Dry the
chorms thoroughly before storing.
Many gardeners use this treatment
in the spring just before planting,
as a safeguard.
After dahlias are cut down by
frost, remove their tops within a
day or two and then let them stand
for a week or more to mature before
digging the roots. If properly ma
tured, they will keep much better.
Permanent Labelling.
Winter storage for dahlias is the
same as for potatoes-a cool, fairly
dry room. They may be stored in
peat moss and sand If no such room
is available. and If often is not.
Some growers use cellophane bags.
Others wash the tubers and either
wax or parrafine them.
One Of the real problems that
every dahlia grower must solve is
the satisfactory marking of va
rieties. One way to insure perma-
nent labelling is to write the va
riety name or a key number on
the tubers with an indelible pencil
after they have been carefully
washed. Marked in this way, the
name will remain plain after sew
eral seasons of planting and stor-
ing. Ordinary wooden labels often
are lost or the markings on them
may fade after only one season of
storage in peat moss.
Gamma tubers do not store we'll
in peat moss, but do fairly well in
ashes and sand. 1t will be well to
examine them several times during
the winter to make sure that they
are neither too dry nor too moist.
The Isomene lily or Peruvian DAFT
fodil requires a very warm place.
After they are dug and cut back,
put them into ventilated boxes or
sacks and store them in a spot near
the furnace
The fairly lily fzephryranthes)
should be dry and stored like
gladiolus.
1t sometimes becomes necessary
to rework the perennial border. One
may expedite this job by digging
existing perennials and setting them
to one side. Dig them with a ball of
soil and place a piece of burlap
or canvas; cover with the burlay and
moisten. They will keep safely and
you may work unhampered.
Burn dahlia stalks if you have
been troubled with the borer And,
If course, this goes for dead branches
from the borer- infested trees and
lilacs.