Evening star., 1946-11-17

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problem with many home gardeners.
Too many bulbs come from winter
storage either shriyeled or decayed
and cannot be expected to produce
the choice flowers that we have a
right to expect. This Is unfortunate,
for many gardeners would grow q
few dahlias or row Of glads II 1t
were not for the storage.
Before the days Of modern fur
naces and basement recreation
rooms most houses had cellar"
where the humidity was high enough
and the temperature low enough to
properly store fruits and vegetables
and the bulbs. Today, with our
hot dry Easements the gardener is
forced to give his roots and bulbs
especial care or they will deteriorate
and give poor results.
Some gardeners have gone to the
trouble to excavate and build bulb
storage space under the porch. 9th
ers have paneled of a corner of the
basement, insulating 1t and put in
ventilators TO supply cold air from
the outside. This is probably less
expensive and provides the necessary
conditions for good storage OF bulbs
as well as of potatoes and apples.
Sunken Barrel Is Effective.
A less expensive and uually effec-
tive storage for dahlia roots can be
provided by sinking barrel or box
In the garden. The dahlia tubers are
placed in the barrel and packed with
peat moss or sawdust. The barrel
is then covered with leaves and soil
to depth of 8 or 10 inches, this can
be increased II very cold weather
seems likely. The main problem,
however, Is to make certain that
water does not seep into the barrel.
Still another method Of storage is
to put the dahlia tubers In q box or
barrel and pack with peat moss. #
the peat moss Is kept slightly moist
the tubers should not shrivel. How
ever. they should be examined fire.
Quently during the winter to make
certain that the peat is neither too
moist nor too dry. II the storage
space is cool enough, this method
works very well.
Several growers have reported
successful storage by dipping the
tubers in parafin after they have
been cut apart--a job that normally
Is taken care Of In the spring when
the eyes are more easily seen. Even
when parafiined the tubers should be
kept in . cool situation.
40 to IS Degrees Il Ideal.
The ideal temperature for storage
OF dahlias and gladioius is between
10 and IS degrees, although they
can be successfully stored where the
temperature Is as low Is IS or as
high as SO. The humidity also can
vary considerably but it should not
be so low as to cause the bulbs to
shrivel. Pans Of water on the floor
In the bulb room help where the
room Is not too dry; moistening the
floor occasionally is also desirable.
The storage Of gladiolus corms Is
not so difficult as that of dahlias,
according to many gardeners, al
though this belief Is open to ques-
tion. Gladiolus corms do not dry
rot as easily but they shrivel and
lose much vitality under unfavor-
able storage. Also, diseases seem
to develop more readily and a. con-
siderable proportion Of the bulbs
fail to grow and flower satisfactorily
when allowed to dry out in q warm
dry room.
Steps In Gladiolus Care.
The winter care Of gladiolus corms
seems to fall into two steps. First,
is the removal. after curing, of the
old CORN, the husks and the stem.
The bulbs are then stored for q few
weeks In tight paper bags with naph-
thalene fakes. This is to control
the gladiolus thrips, the tiny insect
that sucks the sap from the flowers
and ruins them. If the gardener
lprefers to use the soaking method
with mercury or one Of the COM
mercial disinfectants for gladiolus
corms, the cleaning may be limited
to the removal of the old CORN and
the stem. The bulbs are then stored