Description
Freesia is a greenhouse plant grown for cut flowers. The cultivated forms are hybrids of many freesia species from South Africa. They are perennial, corm-forming plants that are not frost-hardy. They have thickened stems 20–30 cm long and narrow, sword-shaped leaves in the lower part of the stem. The decorative flowers (white, yellow, lilac and others) are bell-shaped, highly fragrant and gathered in one-sided racemes. Cultivated varieties are divided by how they are propagated: from seed or vegetatively.
Requirements
Freesia needs fertile, free-draining compost enriched with nutrients, fresh air and occasional misting.
Propagation
The time from sowing to flowering is very long – 6–9 months. Sow the seeds in trays; when they have germinated (about 3 weeks at 20°C), prick them out, unless you sowed them singly at 4 x 4 cm. The right growing temperature is 18°C; while the flowers are forming it should not exceed 12°C, and during flowering it is raised to 15–18°C.
Care
Cultivation is fairly complicated and depends on the propagation method. Growing from corms makes it possible to have flowers all year round. The best planting time is September to mid-October, and flowering lasts until April; cultivation takes about 4–6 months. After planting the corms, the compost should be at 13–17°C and later 10–13°C. The cycle from seed, by contrast, is limited to spring (March–May) sowing, with flowering from August to March.