Freesia Simple Mix

The Mixed Single Freesia represents a collection of some of the most beautiful single-flowered cultivars with infinite colours. From white to very dark red, the flowers come in almost all the colours of the rainbow in a pastel, vibrant, or theatrical palette. This bulbous plant is not very hardy, but its flowering, carried by gracefully arching stems, is as dazzling as it is delightfully fragrant. In a cold to moderate climate, it is essential to plant the corms in a pot in spring, and the flowers will bloom in the sun for most of the summer. In mild climates, the flowering will be in spring.

The Freesia, also known as Cape Lily-of-the-Valley, is a plant from the Iridaceae family native to East Africa, from Kenya to South Africa. The Danish botanist Ecklon, a specialist in South African flora, named it in honour of one of his brightest students, Doctor Freese, a physician, pharmacist, and botanist. This beautiful Iridaceae is already naturalised in some regions of southern France. Its flower spikes give it a rather spread-out and highly branched habit.

The Freesia develops deciduous foliage, a very vertical tender green shaped like a sword with a sharp tip. Both leaves and flower spikes reach the same height, about 35 cm (14in). The inflorescence develops from May to July at the terminal part of a convex flower spike. This unilateral flowering consists of 8 to 10 cup-shaped flowers, 2 to 3 cm (1in) in size. They are actinomorphic, meaning they are radially symmetrical. Each corm will produce 4 to 5 spikes. The Freesia has a sweet fragrance reminiscent of jasmine, and some keen observers detect notes of neroli with spicy and honeyed hints. The Freesia is often referred to as a bulbous plant. More precisely, it is a corm, an underground organ storing nutrients for the plant. Unlike true bulbs, the corm exhausts all its reserves during each seasonal cycle and is replaced by a new one each time. The Freesia corm is conical and measures about 1 to 2 cm (0 to 1in) at its base. It should be planted with the apex facing upwards at a depth of 5 cm (2in). From there, the new shoots will emerge more easily. At the end of the season, once the leaves have turned yellow, the corms enter dormancy, indicating that they should be overwintered above ground and protected from frost. The plant replenishes its reserves for the following year as long as the foliage remains green.

The Freesia is a frost-sensitive plant that cannot tolerate temperatures below -3 °C (26.6°F). To see it grow in the ground, ensure the last frosts are over before planting it. Then, find a sunny location from morning to evening. It likes cool, well-drained, sandy to rocky soils but does not appreciate limestone. It can be paired with orange, yellow, or red Crocosmia in rock gardens or borders. The Freesia, in the ground or a pot, can be combined with other exotic or precious bulbous plants, such as agapanthus, tuberoses, Crinum, or scented varieties. The Freesia is currently very trendy in elaborate floral compositions alongside grass foliage. When the first flowers open, you can trim the spike and place it in a vase; the flowers will last about three weeks in a bouquet.