Growing and caring for freesia

Freesia is a perennial plant in the Iris family. Its relatives are gladioli, crocuses and irises themselves.

This flower plant propagates by corms, but you can get new plants by sowing seeds.

The popularity of freesia is most evident in bouquets and flower arrangements, it is well worth cutting. Someone really likes the scent of freesia, but for someone it is harsh: it looks like the smell of lilies of the valley.

Growing and caring for freesia begins with the selection of the correct soil. It is advisable for these plants to be planted in loose, drained, well-fertilized soil.

Freesia is a demanding plant in terms of soil temperature. After planting for three weeks, it is necessary that the soil temperature does not drop below +17 degrees. Elevated temperatures lead to delayed flowering and leaf underdevelopment. If the soil is cooler, then freesias grow stunted with small flowers.

Successful cultivation and care of freesia requires constant maintenance of soil moisture, it is better not to allow overdrying.

The stems of this flower are thin, therefore the plants need to provide supports or install a net around the flower bed so that the plants do not break and die from the wind.

To prepare the bulbs for winter storage, wait until the leaves turn yellow. Then freesias stop watering for a month, which leads to the death of the main root.

After that, the leaves can already be cut off, and the bulbs can be dug out. Bulbs should be stored at a temperature of + 28-30 degrees, and to accelerate flowering after wintering, the storage temperature must be reduced to +12 degrees for 2-3 weeks.