How To Grow Freesias In Pots?


Freesias are among the world’s most popular flowers that grow mainly for cuttings. They have exotic-looking blooms which are loved because of their lovely fragrance and variant solid colors. 

Freesias have a delightful fragrance that fills your house or garden. Flowers are funnel-shaped and produced in the form of clusters on slender stems. The stem may bear a single or double flower on its top and these are available in variant showy and beautiful colors which include yellow, white, orange, cream, pink, purple, and red.  

Freesias

The main purpose of growing them is to display their cuttings to add to the beauty of the house. The trunk can grow a few cm above the leaves. They can be grown in gardens as well as in containers. 

Freesias will increase the beauty of your garden or balcony if they are grown in pots. They can produce flowers after three months of planting, and these flowers then stay long. 

Freesias are native to South Africa. And they are mainly grown from corm or bulbs as they are the resting organs of plants and they store a lot of energy in them.

Growing Freesias:

As these plants are grown from corms, so be selective while choosing corms because the growth, flower size, color, and other texture of the plant largely depends on the corm you select. 

You see a clear difference in plants that grow from two different corms. Larger corms have more stored energy as compared to smaller ones and will give you more stems and more blooms as compared to smaller or weak ones.

Environment for Freesias:

Freesias thrive best in full sun but they can also tolerate a partial shade. But should remember direct light is only needed when the sprouts emerge. Then when plants set their flowers or finish their blooming keep them as cool as possible.

They grow best in temperatures ranging from 55-to 60 Fahrenheit. After planting corms into the container, sprinkle some water on it. But when the sprouts completely emerge water frequently to maintain the moisture. 

And when plants start their growth, increase their nutrient content by adding fertilizers to them. Use liquid fertilizers. (Prefer organic fertilizer. Mix the cow dunk in the water and apply to plants).

Where to Plant Freesia?

Freesias are growing from their resting organs, which need to be planted at the proper time to grow well. The planting season largely depends upon the climatic conditions of your area. 

  • Freesias are hardy in growing zones 9 and 10, meaning they will withstand in winter months in this hot climate. If you live in one of these zones, you should plan to plant your Freesia bulbs in early fall so that they have time to develop roots to grow and get established. After harvesting the flowers, cut the stems (not the leaves) to about 1 inch. Allow the plants to grow until the leaves turn yellow and then cut them very short. The corm can be left or right on the ground. If you expect the soil to be moist during the summer, dig up the corm and keep it in a dry and warm place.
  • If you live in a cold growing zone, such as Zones 1-9, freesias will die in winter if you grow them in fall. After the last cold frost, it’s better to wait until spring. In this way, delicate buds will grow and flourish. Gardeners in zones 1-9 usually treat freesias as annuals and buy fresh corms in each growing season.

Growing Freesias In Pots:

Freesias in pots

You can grow freesias in pots. As their corms are perfect for containers. The only thing you need to be kept in consideration when planting freesias in containers is your climate.

To grow freesia in pots is relatively easy. Freesias prefer nutrient-rich, light, and well-drained soil. A good mix is 2 parts compost to 1 part grit. Then fill your pot with soil and plant bulbs into it. Take care of dimensions while planting as keep them 3 inches apart and 2 inches deep. You can select a pot of any size and by keeping these dimensions in mind place one, two, or more corm per pot.

Planting Bulbs:

Plant the bulbs with the pointy end up and water them well to maintain the soil moisture but be care full in this regard as overwatering can prove harmful. Summertime freesia container care is easy as compared to garden grown, as pots allow you to move your plants to different locations in a different parts of the day. 

Place them in full sun or light shade, but mostly they prefer the full sun. You will probably have to stake the plants to keep them secure from falling over as they grow. You can freely cut some flowers as they bloom.

After the blooming period has ended, do not cut the foliage as you can expect another yield in the upcoming growing season by passing the resting stage. Periodically provide water to your plants and wait for the natural death of foliage, in this corms store an adequate amount of energy.

Use of Fertilizers:

Fertilizers require when corms start germination, so apply fertilizers as sprouts emerge. You can help your plants to get an effective start by feeding them with potash-rich fertilizer, or you can also use natural fertilizer (mix the cow dunk in the water and apply it to plants).

Watering:

As freesias thrive well in full sun so their soil needs more water, as it dries out quickly. So regularly water your pots to maintain the moisture. 

Add water to the base of your plant rather than sprinkling it on the flowers or leaves, as it causes the burning of flowers in the hot sun. Water freesias in the morning so that it gets time to dry out before night because night moisture promotes the growth of molds.

Cutting Of Freesias:

Freesia plants grow continuously even after cutting. So before cutting disinfect your tools like scissors or sharp knives and cut your plant. Then make an oblique cut towards the base of the stem, leaving a few inches of stem intact. 

While cutting your freesias makes a clean cut because they continue to grow after cutting as well. Avoid bringing the entire pot inside because freesias require sunlight to grow and if you bring them in the full shade they will die soon.

Provide Flower Food:

If you provide flower feed to your flowers then they stay fresh longer than the usual. So add some feed in your vessel to encourage the refreshing period. 

Except for this, you can add a teaspoon of sugar syrup to feed the flowers. Each time you change the water adds more food to it, and repeat this phenomenon after a few days regularly.

Use Clean Bouquets For Flowers:

To promote the life of your flowers regularly feed them as well as an important factor in this regard is the use of a clean vessel. Select a vessel without remnants of any previous flower or clean your vessel with Dettol or any other chemical. 

The presence of bacteria can cause flowers to rot more quickly even if they are present in minute concentration. In addition to using a clean bouquet and changing the water every few days, add some teaspoons of bleach into the water when you change it because the bleach kills bacteria and keeps the flowers fresh far longer than when you don’t use it.

Care for Freesias:

When freesias set flowers few important things that you have to do involves, when the flowers attain their maximum size harvest them, and after harvesting regularly keep the soil moist until the foliage turns yellow. 

Stop watering when you see the yellow-colored leaves and move your pot under shade and make sure now you have to allow your soil to dry out. And once the soil gets dry take out corms from it for the purpose of replanting.

How to Store Freesia Corm?

Place the resting organs of the plant (corms) in a dry, cool place or buried them inside the sand until the favorable conditions arrive. Upon the arrival of the germination period replant the buried corms.


Read More:

  1. Best Annuals Flowers For Raised Beds And Pots
  2. What Flowers to Plant in Raised Beds & Containers?

Tips for Growing Freesia:

Freesias flowers
  • If you have proper knowledge about the native area of the plant then you can easily estimate the necessary conditions they need to grow well. Freesias are native to South Africa. Their growing season naturally starts in late autumn when there is mild cold or from the beginning of the rainy season. If you start your bulbs in fall then they will take a few days to germinate and will produce plants in the winter months, and then they produce blooms at the end of winter or at the start of spring. When the plant sets flowering, leaves get wither slowly. Corms enter in resting stage during hot days of summer when soil and climate both get dry.
  • The newly harvested Freesia corms are given a proper hot treatment that mimics their typical summer duration. Even with this treatment, newly formed corms can break down easily and it may take a month or more for them to begin to develop. The maximum time they take to bring flowers to their stacks is 110-120 days after planting.
  • If you want a catchier display then place your plants in the form of groups like a minimum of 7-10 plants together. You can make a group of flowers having the same color or mix the different colors like a rainbow.
  • Freesias need support to keep them straight like other flowers. So provide them support by some means but keep in mind that circular support that surrounds the trunk is ideal for them. Rather than that you can also use stakes or bamboo sticks and then tie them with plants by using thread or cotton.

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