Freesia questions - growing from bulbs

15 years ago

Hello everyone!

I planted some Freesia bulbs on tuesday, and this morning I already have my first sprout coming up. They are in containers and were in the garage, but since I have my first sprout - I brought them into my sunroom. I would like advice on how to care for them. I'm in Austin, Texas so we are of course, done with our hot weather for this year (although it got up to 70 yesterday!) Do they need full sun? fertilizer? how much water? etc. I know they will die in a freeze, so can they sit in the sunroom all winter or do they need to be outside but with protection? I have never grown them before so your best advice is greatly appreciated!

Samantha

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Comments (4)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
15 years ago
My temperatures are probably a little different but not much. Mine are in the garden all year and are about a foot high now but no bloom stems yet. I have them in containers which I move into the shade during the summer when they are dormant. They are in the sun now for the winter. Our winters fall into light freezes which does not hurt them. Al
cynthianovak
15 years ago
give them as much sun as you can. They like temps in the 70's so it's no surprise that they are ready to jump out.

I'd water them well weekly. They shouldn't need any fertilizer until after they are done blooming.

They will smell so good in your sunroom! Enjoy
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As you know they are not hardy there you would have to pot them to plant now, which is OK but you have so many, I doubt that is practical. If you want to keep until spring, to try and prevent any further dessication I would store in a container of damp peat or vermiculite in a cool but not freezing area, and hope they do not mold. Al
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Libby, I'm really surprised freesias don't grow for you. They do gangbusters here, and I don't think you're that much colder than we are. They need sun and protection from any soil freeze, though. If you have the right microclimate I don't see why they wouldn't work for you. Sierra has it right that they DON'T like poor drainage, though. They will take being extremely dry in the summer, but they need water starting around October. Mine did take about 2 yrs to bloom, but now they bloom reliably every March-April. They tend to flop, however, so growing them with plant supports really helps. They are one of the very few perennials that has survived the evergreen groundcovers that usually smother other bulbs I've tried. My freesias are already sending up leaves and now are about 2-10" high in various places. The yellow seem the most vigorous, and I understand singles are more fragrant than doubles. These photos are from a couple of years ago: I like the red and purple best, but they struggle to increase. I do feed mine bonemeal and greensand every year, too.
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Hi Tumblingtomatoes! I started Freesia from seed, (T&M) and I came up blank. I got some shoots, but that was it. I don't really have good luck with the bulbs, either. I currently have some leaves that have been around from the summer, and I had some limited flowering. Right now they attract one of my cats. They are tough- not tons of info about them! I think they need cool temps, though. The smell is so incredible!!!
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I can't grow Freesias outside in my climate but I have seen them growing happily out of stone walls in Italy. My reservation about this idea would be that they need entirely different conditions from most vegetables. As socalgal said, they don't want much water and I suspect they don't want rich soil. In your picture is it possible that the Freesias are actually planted in the gravel edge rather than in the beds themselves? Maybe you could grow them in pots and place them around the garden? Perhaps you could contact the guy who does the blog where you found the picture and ask how he does it?
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cynthianovak
15 years ago
I found this on the Van E. website. I guess they like the 60s even better than the 70's I remembered.

Here is a link that might be useful: Freesia
vetivert8
15 years ago
If you are growing the coloured Freesias it could be useful to use some sort of leaf support structure in/around the pot as they have a tendency to flop. (As calistoga said - his are a foot high already and there are flower stems to follow.)

If you can provide shelter such as row covers or plastic cloches - and you can bring in the pots for the heavier frosts - then they would be happy outside in good sun with reliable water and excellent air circulation to avoid any mildew problems. South side of the house with reflected heat from bricks or concrete and with shelter given by the house eaves - and even plunge the pots.

They have a different root system from daffodils. It grows like a semi-transparent carrot root and small offset bulbs form around the bottom of the main bulb. When it's finished growing for the season this long root shrinks and a bulb shape is created again for it to survive the dry season.

In my experience so far, a bigger pot is better than a small one. They resent drying out while in growth and they don't like being crowded. Separating the spawn from the bigger bulbs and growing it on seems to work better than leaving it all together. I think, on balance, I'd opt for a soil-based potting medium than a straight non-soil and I'd probably avoid water crystals (because we usually get good winter rainfall).

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Freesia questions - growing from bulbs

Comments (4)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9

cynthianovak

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