Synonyms: Anomatheca Ker Gawl. Nymanina Kuntze
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Ixioideae
Genus: Freesia
Description:
These flowering beauties will capture your heart! Noted for their fresh sweet fragrance and bright colors, Freesias are usually grown for use as cut flowers. Each stem produces 5-10 trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom in one-sided racemes atop leafless, arching, wiry stems. Many different hybrids are available in single or double blooms and in colors ranging from white, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, lavender and various bicolors.
Hybrid freesia reaches 3.2 ft height, has a bare, strongly branched stem, corm is covered with thin brownish scales. The leaves are thin, with a central vein, the length is 6-8 inches and the width is 0.4-0.6 inch. Fragrant flowers are 1.1-2 inches long and collected in loose one-sided inflorescences. Coloring of flowers can be any – white, red, orange, blue, purple, yellow, cream, pink. Often the flower's throat is of a contrasting color. The fruit of freesia is a capsule.
Temperature: Warm temperatures 80°F/27°C until corms start sprouting, then keep cool 60-65°F/16-18°C while freesia plant is growing and flowering.
How to Grow and Care
Freesia plants are easy to grow. In the fall, acquire good, healthy bulbs from a quality, reliable source. You can also plant them in early spring. Plant Freesia bulbs about two inches deep, and three inches apart. Do not plant them closer, as they will fill in over a couple years.
Tip: Freesia are attractive in pots and containers. If you are growing Freesia in pots or containers, plant bulbs close together, so the arrangement looks full.
Freesia plants like rich, well draining soil. It is most important that the soil is not wet or soggy for extended periods of time.
Water plants only if the soil is dry a few inches below the surface. Add a layer of mulch, to keep the weeds down, and your Freesia will grow almost maintenance free.
Add a general purpose fertilizer after the flowers have died.
After the plants are done flowering, allow them to continue to grow until they
die back naturally for the season.
Then, you can cut the dead plants off at ground level....- Learn more at HOW TO GROW AND CARE Freesia
Species and varieties of freesia:
Hybrid freesia (Freesia hybrida) is mostly used in floriculture. It was obtained by crossing such species as freesia refracta and freesia armstrongii. And these species of freesias gave rise to many other varieties we are going to tell you about.
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