How to grow freesia? Detailed care methods and tips

Freesia has leaves like swords and flowers like golden bells, with a strange and beautiful form and a rich fragrance. It has both the delicate scent of orchids and the sweetness of osmanthus. One pot indoors keeps the air fresh and pleasant. Common varieties include the large white freesia, the goose-yellow freesia, and the red-flowered freesia. It is a flower of the Iris family, genus Freesia, also known as fragrant snow orchid, small iris orchid, small kudzu orchid, small bud orchid, scissors orchid, plain fragrant orchid, wheat orchid, fragrant iris, and foreign tuberose.

Choose corms that are long-ovate or conical, relatively large and plump, with flower stems 30-40 cm long, 7-13 flowers per spike, flowers 4 cm long and 3-4 cm in diameter. When purchasing, the openness should be 1/3, that is, the rear 2-3 flowers of the spike are fully open, the middle 3-5 flowers are just opening, and the front 2-3 flowers are budding. At 15-20°C they can be kept in a vase for 2-3 weeks. In water, cut off a small section of the stem base diagonally with a sharp knife, and immediately insert it into a vase or floral foam. Use ceramic or glass containers for the vase, not metal vases. Soak a new container in water for 12 hours. Before inserting, scald with boiling water for 10 seconds, use cool boiled water or purified water, and remove all leaves and young buds below the water line. During the day, place it in a cool, ventilated spot with scattered light; at night, move it outdoors where there is no wind and there is dew. Indoors, avoid smoking and placing fruit nearby.

Freesia likes warmth and fears cold. The suitable growing temperature is 18-20°C, night temperature 14-16°C, and overwintering temperature 6-7°C. It likes light; short days form flower buds, and long days bring flowering. For pot cultivation, plant from mid-September to early October. Use a 15-18 cm pot and plant 5-7 corms per pot. The potting soil is made by mixing leaf mold, garden soil, compost, and sand in a ratio of 2:5:2:1. Put bone meal, barnyard manure, or cake fertilizer at the bottom of the pot, fill the pot with soil to 4 cm below the rim, water thoroughly, then cover with 2 cm of soil, and place in a cool, ventilated spot. Just after potting, water once every 5-7 days. Seedlings can emerge in 10-15 days. Move the pot to a sunny spot and keep it slightly dry to strengthen the seedlings. As the plant grows, increase the amount and frequency of watering. When it enters the flower bud differentiation stage, apply cake fertilizer water plus 0.5% potassium dihydrogen phosphate once every 10 days, with 8-10 hours of light per day, to promote flower bud differentiation.

During the bud stage of freesia, keep the daytime temperature at 15-20°C and the night temperature around 10°C. Place it on an enclosed balcony and frequently apply dilute cake fertilizer water. After frost, bring it indoors and place it in a sunny spot. Starting from 10°C, gradually raise it to 15-20°C. It can bloom with 10-12 leaves. During flowering, keep the temperature at 16-20°C. During the bud stage, keep the potting soil moist and water appropriately. Apply 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate once every 15 days. Each plant can produce 15-20 flowers. After the inflorescence emerges, stake it promptly and tie it with fine string. Once it enters the flowering period, control water and fertilizer. After flowering, cut off the flower stalk. For dwarfing freesia, soak the bulbs in 70-80 mg/L paclobutrazol for 15-20 hours, remove them, rinse with clean water, and pot them. Plant height can be reduced by 1/3, and leaf width can double.