Gladiola Flowers Withering

Question

I live near Memphis, Tennessee. Our summers are very hot (usually averaging around 92 degrees) and humid from the Gulf. I have tried to grow Gladiolas for the last 2 years. When the flowers bloom, they only last for a couple of days before they start withering. By the time the flower buds in the middle of the stem are open, the ones at the bottom of the stem have withered and died. Each flower on the spike is only lasting for a max of 2 or 3 days. When the last couple of flower buds at the top open, all of the ones below are dead. Is this normal or should they be lasting longer? Am I not watering enough or maybe too much?

Answer 1

Gladiolus flowers bloom from bottom to top so it is normal for the bottom flowers to fade before the top ones. You can simply remove the old faded blooms. To improve your flowering, you can add bone meal to the soil around your plants.