Anomatheca laxa - False Freesia

Anomatheca laxa, (synonym Freesia or Lapeirousia laxa), is a small bulbous plant, or more precisely a corm, that flowers in the dunes and coastal rockeries of southern Africa. Still rare in cultivation, it is a tender species appreciated by collectors for its fragrant and delicate flowering. The flowers are often red in colour, less commonly white or pale blue, but they always have beautiful dark red spots on the three lower petals. Outside of our mildest coastal regions, it is essential to plant the corms in spring, in pots or in the ground, and store them dry in winter.

Anomatheca laxa is a plant from the iris family native to western Kenya and the Cape Province in South Africa. The genus Anomatheca has now merged with the genus Freesia. It was the Danish botanist Ecklon, a specialist in South African flora, who named it in honour of one of his most brilliant students, Doctor Freese, who was also a physician, pharmacist, and botanist.

This False Freesia develops light green foliage, composed of 6 to 9 thin, linear, upright leaves with sharp tips. The foliage is deciduous after flowering, when the bulb enters dormancy. The inflorescence develops from May to July, at the terminal part of an unbranched cylindrical flower stalk measuring 30cm (12in) in height. Each corm will produce several flower stalks. The tubular-based flowers, 2 to 3cm (1in) wide, are red or pink, sometimes white or pale blue, and composed of six star-shaped tepals. Dark red spots are present at the base of the three lower tepals. The fruit is a globular to oblong capsule, initially green and becoming brown when ripe. Each capsule contains several bright red seeds.

Freesia is often referred to as a bulbous plant. It is more precisely a corm, an underground organ that stores nutrients for the plant. Unlike true bulbs, the corm depletes all of its reserves during each seasonal cycle and each time it is replaced by a new one. The Freesia corm is conical and measures about 1 to 2cm at its base. It should be planted apex facing upwards at a depth of 5cm (2in). This will facilitate the emergence of new shoots. At the end of the season, once the leaves have turned yellow, the corms enter dormancy, signaling the need to overwinter them above ground and protected from frost. As long as the foliage remains green, the plant replenishes its reserves for the following year.

Anomatheca laxa is a frost-sensitive plant that cannot tolerate temperatures below -3°C. If you want to see it grow in the ground, make sure that the last frosts have passed before planting. Then find a sunny location for it. It prefers cool, well-drained sandy to rocky soils with a tendency to be humiferous. It can be associated with orange, yellow, or red Crocosmia in rockeries or border plantings. Freesia, whether in the ground or in a pot, can be paired with other exotic or precious bulbous plants, such as scented or unscented Agapanthus, Tuberose, Crinum, or Moraea.