Freesia flowers have the sweetest fragrance of any plant grown indoors—and the basic requirement for success with freesias is a sunny window in a cool room.
Freesias grow from bulbs which should be planted during August or earliest September.
They have graceful iris-like foliage, are members of the iris family, and are native to South Africa.
The plants grow 15” to 24” inches tall. Some varieties are erect, others may need a small trellis in their pot.
Six or eight bulbs may be planted in a 5”-inch pot. In such a grouping, the plants help to support each other.
Planting Freesias In August
They thrive in rich, sandy loam. A soil mixture composed of equal parts good garden loam, clean, sharp sand, peat moss, and compost will grow robust plants.
A tablespoon of steamed bone meal added to each 5-inch pot will help to keep the plants in good condition through the blooming season.
Freesias planted in August begin to bloom before Christmas, and they will continue until March or early April.
Bi-weekly feedings of fish emulsion or other house plant fertilizer will keep them in flowering condition.
They must be kept cool and moist while growing—that is, the air about them must be humid and cool.
A night temperature of 50° degrees Fahrenheit suits them perfectly, with a daytime rise of not more than 15° degrees Fahrenheit. Keep them regularly watered and growing at all times.
By mid-April, buds will cease to appear, and the foliage will begin to yellow and wither.
The bulbs may be stored right in the same pot of soil or shaken out and stored in a mesh bag in a cool place.
Save all bulbs, even the small ones, which will bloom the next season. They multiply rapidly from these offsets. Freesia bulbs are most often sold in a mixture of pastel colors.
Sprays Of Perfumed Flower
The sprays of perfumed flower trumpets come in all shades of yellow, primrose, gold, orange, lavender, mauve, blue, white, soft pink, carmine, and rare tones that remind one of a sunset.
‘Golden Giant’ has large, wide-open yellow flowers with a sturdy growth. The tall, straight stems produce flowers with great lasting qualities.
White Giant’ is a new variety whose stems average 18” to 20” inches long, and the single flowers are often 2/2” inches wide. It blooms early in the season.
In the window garden, at least three pots of them should be planted at intervals of ten or 12 days.
A single bloom permeates the living room with its delicate perfume, but it is so faint as to make one wish for more blossoms to smell-—it is never a cheap odor.
If you have a greenhouse, you should plant at least two flats of freesia. Their pastel colors complement almost anything you may have in bloom.
They commence blooming in mid-December and flower right through the dead of winter when many greenhouses are void of color and fragrance.
Growing From Seeds
Freesias are easy to grow from seeds. However, the flower colors are varied, and the largest of the lot may flower the first year from seeds started in May and June.
References disagree about how long it takes them to produce blooms from seeds. One catalog says, “they produce profuse bloom in six months.”
Another book says, “freesias will mature and bloom in 3 to four years from seeds.” In my own experience, the seeds were planted in September and grown through that season.
Repotting Of Plant
They rested from May until early August, when they were repotted and started to grow. They bloomed well that winter when they were 18 months old.
Fill the container for starting seeds half full of loam. The balance may be filled with screened and moistened leaf mold, vermiculite, or screened sphagnum moss.
Level this mixture with a board, but do not pack it down. Instead, make furrows one-fourth inch deep and sow the seeds at least a half inch apart.
Cover them lightly and keep the mixture moist at all times. Germination will occur from 25 to 30 days.
Good Ventilation
For success, use clean soil that is moist but not wet. Moisture should be uniform: do not let your seed tray dry out while seeds are germinating.
Supply good ventilation—mild air circulation immediately after germination, but not a windy spot.
Once up, freesia seedlings develop fast. When they are 2″ inches high, apply bi-weekly feedings of liquid manure or any good house plant fertilizer. The seeds may be sown almost any time of the year.
Grow Outdoors Too
It is now possible to obtain freesia bulbs in the spring for growing outdoors.
They may be planted about 2” inches deep and 2” inches apart toward the end of April in well-drained, good loamy soil.
Give them a place where they will have plenty of sun until noon. They will flower from mid-July until late summer.
The bulbs are not hardy. Dig and store them for the winter as you would gladiolus.
Three other bulbous plants can be grown in the cool window garden or greenhouse with the same cultural requirements as freesias.
They are the related Babiana, the Lachenalia (a lily), and the Ixia.
44659 by Elvin Mcdonald