Freesia

Freesia plant (Freesia), or freesia - bulbous perennial from the Iris family. This genus includes about 20 different species. In the garden culture, in this case, you can most often find a hybrid freesia obtained about a century ago by crossing natural species. The name of the plant was given in honor of the German botanist F. Frese, a famous doctor and researcher of the plant world.

The homeland of the plant is the south of Africa. There, these flowers live in damp coastal corners or among thickets of bushes. Because of its origin, freesia is also known as Cape lily of the valley. This is due to the delicate scent of flowers, reminiscent of a lily of the valley smell. Thanks to him, freesia is also used in perfumery to create new subtle aromas.

Today freesias are considered one of the most spectacular and popular flowers for bouquets. The Netherlands is the leader in the cultivation of these flowers. The distribution of freesias as cut flowers is associated with a number of their peculiarities. The main one is high decorativeness and a wide palette of colors, which allows you to choose a suitable delicate flower for any composition. Freesias are especially often used in wedding bouquets. In addition, such flowers retain their appearance for a long time and do not fade.

But freesia is no less popular in landscape design, although caring for such flowers has a number of features. It is noteworthy that any kind and variety of freesia can be grown both in the garden and at home in a pot. In both cases, the bushes can easily decorate the surrounding space.

Description of freesia

The root system of freesia is a corm, the surface of which is covered with thin scales. With each season, it is completely renewed, being replaced by a fresh one. The size of the bushes can be up to 1 meter. They include a bare branched stem and thin leaves about 20 cm long. Their width is about 1.5 cm. Flowers are located only on one side of the inflorescences and have a pleasant aroma. Their size is about 4 cm. The color of freesias is very diverse. It includes shades of red and pink, white, yellow and orange, purple and blue. The flower pharynx is often colored differently. It is noteworthy that freesias with red-yellow flowers develop more actively than others. The structure of flowers, depending on the variety, can be simple or double. After flowering, lasting up to 1.5 months, seeds are formed.

Certain conditions will be required for the successful cultivation of freesia. Although the ideal environment for a flower can only be created in a greenhouse, you can provide the plant with sufficient care under normal conditions if you wish. But in the middle lane, the bulbs will not be able to overwinter, so in the fall they will have to be dug up and transferred to a more suitable place.Freesias can also be grown in a pot at home. Most often, their flowering is timed to coincide with the winter months.

Brief rules for growing freesia

The table shows short rules for growing freesia in the open field.

Planting freesia in open ground

Preparing for landing

Before planting freesia bulbs in the beds, they should be slightly grown. At the beginning of spring, dry scales are removed from them, and then the bulbs are kept in a solution of foundationol (0.2%) for about half an hour. This will insure future plantings against fungal infections. Prepared bulbs can be planted in loose and fertile soil by filling peat pots with it. Each bulb is buried by about 5 cm. The seedlings are placed in a sufficiently warm and bright place and kept there until they are planted in the beds.

You can also grow freesia using seeds that are tied after the flowers wither. But this method requires special work, seedlings do not always appear, and the resulting plants may not retain their maternal characteristics. Seeds are placed on the surface of moist soil and sprinkled with a layer of earth up to 2 cm thick. It is also important to provide the seedlings with a good drainage layer. The container is covered with foil or glass and placed in the light. Seedlings appear within 3 weeks. When the height of the shoots reaches 2-3 cm, the film is removed, and the weak seedlings are thinned out. By May, you can carefully make a dive. Seedlings are transferred to the ground not earlier than mid-May.

Landing rules

Planting freesia in open ground should be done when the frost is likely to remain behind - around the end of May. The size of the planting holes should provide a depth of about 3-6 cm. The distance between the bushes will depend on the size of the bulbs. Between the small ones, a distance of 3 cm is maintained, between the large ones - from 5 cm.About 15 cm is left between the rows. The distance between the bushes is calculated based on the size of the bush. Narrow foliage and small flowers allow plants to be planted a little more densely. Spreading varieties with wide foliage require more space.

After planting is complete, the surface of the garden bed should be leveled and covered with coniferous soil.You can also use peat. This mulching will protect against overheating of the bulbs. By the end of summer, each bush should form up to 3 peduncles. Flowering can continue until mid-autumn.

Freesia care in the garden

Watering

Regardless of the type of flower and how it is grown, the basic rules for freesia care will be the same. Plants need to be watered according to a certain scheme. The bushes are watered most abundantly during their development and flowering. During this period, the soil in the beds should remain moist. After flowering, watering is gradually reduced until it stops completely.

Even garden plants need to be sprayed, especially in dry and hot weather when humidity levels are particularly low. Like watering, spraying is best done in the evening - but not too late. It is important that the water has time to be absorbed or evaporated. Before the start of frost, freesia bulbs are dug out of the ground.

Top dressing

During the development of the aboveground part, the plant will need periodic feeding. The very first is carried out when the bulbs will sprout. A solution of ammonium nitrate (2 g per 1 liter of water) is suitable. Then you can carry out top dressing every 2-4 weeks using potassium salt (2 g per 1 L) and superphosphate and (4 g per 1 L). It is important to remember that an excess of fertilizers will have a bad effect on the health of the flower, therefore they are applied, focusing on the quality of the soil.

The soil

Garden freesias will need timely weeding and loosening of the soil. It is especially important to pay attention to this at the beginning of the season, when the bushes are developing more intensively.

Bloom

Freesia begins to bloom in July and continues to bloom until October. The flowering of different varieties lasts from 3 to 6 weeks, then the watering is reduced. It is better to remove buds that have faded so as not to spoil the decorative appearance.

In order for freesia to bloom as abundantly as possible, in the period before the formation of buds, it needs moderate heat - about 16-18 degrees. In hot weather, the bushes will begin to grow foliage, and the flower stalks may not appear or may be smaller in size. It should be warmer during the flowering period - about 25 degrees.

Pests and diseases

Freesias are capable of attacking the same diseases and pests that gladioli usually suffer from. Spider mites may appear on the bushes, as well as thrips or aphids. Of the diseases, rot types are considered especially common; there is a risk of scab or fusarium.

An insecticide can be used against insects. The sooner a problem is discovered, the easier it will be to deal with it. Plants affected by diseases will have to be removed from the site. To avoid the development of diseases, the bulbs must be processed before storing them. Aging in a pale solution of potassium permanganate or fungicide is suitable. The procedure is repeated before the spring planting.

Another important condition for the health of bushes and bulbs is compliance with the watering regime. Although flowers require a lot of moisture during growth, watering should not lead to stagnation of liquid in the soil.

Some errors in the care of freesia can signal the state of its foliage. If it lays down, the flowers are too hot. Yellow or dry tips of the leaf plates indicate a lack or excess of moisture in the soil or an insufficient level of moisture.

Freesia at home

Planting freesia in a pot

Usually, the freesia bush is grown as a houseplant to admire its flowers at an unusual time for this. Home flowering begins in winter. In the cold season, such a lively bouquet will look especially unusual and attractive, but if desired, distillation can be carried out for any chosen season. It takes about 4 months from planting to flowering. For January flowering, the bulbs are planted at the end of summer. For flowering by March, planting should be carried out at the beginning of winter. For summer flowering, planting is carried out no later than April.

Most often, broken freesia varieties are chosen for forcing.This is due to the more compact size of their peduncles. Before planting, the bulbs should be treated with azotobacterin (0.5 g per bucket of water). Growth stimulants can also be used.

For planting, a container with a diameter of about 15 cm is used. The bottom of the pot must be filled with a layer of drainage, a little charcoal is placed on top, and nutritious soil is poured on top of it. It may include a double part of the turf, as well as humus and sand. A little potassium-phosphorus supplements can be added to the resulting substrate. You can plant 5-6 bulbs in one such pot, deepening them by 5 cm.

The pot with plantings is placed in a bright, but cool enough (10-15 degrees) place. The first time after planting, watering is not carried out. As soon as the planting material sprouts, the pots are transferred to heat (about 20-22 degrees) and the seedlings are watered.

Care features

It is easier to care for freesia in a pot than in a garden or greenhouse. At the same time, caring for home freesia involves observing several basic rules.

Due to the fact that daylight hours are shorter in winter, it is important to make sure that the freesias have enough light. During this period, the plants should be illuminated for at least 12 hours. Flower pots can be kept on the east or west side of the house, or use additional lighting.

Watering is carried out as the top layer of the earth dries up. When freesia blooms, watering should be especially abundant. To prevent the health of flowers from being affected by the operation of heating devices, in winter they are regularly sprayed or transferred away from batteries - for example, to a warm loggia. Until the foliage withers away, the bushes are fertilized twice a month using mineral formulations. To prevent the thin stems of the bush from falling under the weight of the flowers, you should use a support.

Freesia after flowering

Indoor freesia

When the bush in the pot has finally bloomed, after a week all the shoots and leaves are cut off from it. After that, the onion continues to be watered for another 1-1.5 months. This will allow her to form baby bulbs. After this period, the bulb is dug up, disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate, dried for 3-5 days in a warm place, and then tidied up for storage. Some growers dig up the bulbs immediately after cutting the foliage.

Existing babies can be neatly separated from the main bulb and stored separately, but in most cases they are separated only before planting - this will allow the children to survive the rest period more successfully. For the summer, daughter bulbs can be planted in a garden bed (or in a separate pot) for growing. Babies will not bloom in the first year, but they will accumulate mass.

Freesia in the garden

Typically, garden freesias bloom by October. When the foliage of the bushes begins to turn yellow, the bulbs are dug out without waiting for the leaves to wither. The aerial part is cut off, and the corm is also cleaned from the earth, dried scales and roots. Then the onion is dipped in a pale solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour (you can use a fungicide instead), and then carefully dried in a ventilated place, where it keeps about 25-28 degrees. Decaying or damaged planting material is discarded. The remaining bulbs are tidied up for storage.

There is a trick that allows you to get the corms out of the soil without fear of damaging or losing them. To do this, in the spring they are planted in trellis boxes, which are dug into the beds. This method makes it easier to plant and remove the onions, as well as to lay a drainage layer on the bottom of the box.

Storing freesia bulbs

For storage, freesia bulbs should be folded into nets and tidied up in a damp (!) And warm place. The humidity level in the room should be at least 70-80%, and the temperature should be about 20-25 degrees. Only under such conditions can freesia flower buds form. If the room where the bulbs will hibernate is too dry, a container of water should be placed under the nets. Otherwise, small bulbs can dry out and disappear.Every few weeks, the bulbs are examined for specimens showing signs of disease. A month before the planting date, freesias are transferred to a cooler (about 10-15 degrees) place.

In some cases, dry peat can be used to store corms. Another option is to keep them in a canvas bag on the side of the battery, also providing a container of water. Leaving freesias outdoors is only possible in warm regions with very mild winters. But even there, planting will require shelter in the form of dry leaves or spruce branches.

Types and varieties of freesia with photos and names

The leader of garden popularity - hybrid freesia was obtained on the basis of Armstrong's freesia and white. Today this hybrid form has many different varieties.

Freesia armstrongii

The bushes reach about 70 cm in height and have long leaves with a slight taper at the end. Freesia armstrongii has panicle-like inflorescences with up to 5 flowers. They are fragrant and colored in tones of red or pink. The tube is white, covered with yellow spots. Flowers appear in late spring or early summer.

• Cardinal - the most spectacular variety. Such plants form bushes up to 70 cm tall. They have simple red flowers with a yellow base, bluish pistil and purple anthers. Each bulb forms about 3 peduncles up to 35 cm long. Each inflorescence contains about 10 flowers.

Freesia hybrid (Freesia hybrida)

The hybrid form of this flower combines all the advantages of the species that served as its basis. Freesia hybrida forms high shrubs that are one meter tall with strong branching of shoots. The cluster inflorescences are composed of large (about 7 cm) flowers. Their color includes a wide variety of shades and combinations. Common varieties:

• Ballerina - the petals of this variety are white in color, with a yellowish base and a corrugated edge. The pharynx is decorated with a yellow stripe. One inflorescence includes up to a dozen fragrant flowers about 6 cm in size. The peduncle reaches 25-30 cm in height.
• Pimperina - the variety forms small peduncles about 15-20 cm in size. One inflorescence includes up to 7 flowers of an average (about 6 cm) size. The petals are slightly corrugated and colored red with a darker border. The lower part of the petals is supplemented with yellow strokes. The smell of flowers is weak.
• Rose Marie - in such plants, flower stalks reach 20-25 cm in height. The inflorescences include up to 7 flowers about 4.5 cm in size. They have a bright crimson color. The underside of the petals is white, complemented by crimson stripes.

Freesia white (Freesia refracta)

Or the freesia is broken, refracted. The species is distinguished by low (up to 40 cm) bushes. Freesia refracta forms thin, branched stems. The inflorescence resembles an ear and includes up to 5 flowers of white or yellowish-orange color. They appear in mid-spring. Known forms:

• Alba ("var. Alba") - differs in large flowers with white petals and a yellow throat, complemented by purple strokes.
• Fragrant ("odorata") - one inflorescence contains from 3 to 7 flowers with an orange base. The flowers are distinguished by a particularly pronounced aroma reminiscent of lily of the valley.

All of the listed freesias can be of varieties with simple or double flowers. The latter have 2 rows of petals or more. In stores, freesias can be sold in separate varieties or in mixtures that allow you to grow flowers of various colors.