Freesia

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Freesia (lat. Freesia) - a flowering fragrant perennial from the Iris family. This plant received its scientific name in honor of G. T. Freez, a German doctor who collected and actively studied the most diverse samples of outlandish South African vegetation.

Description

Freesia is a vibrant bulbous plant that boasts some rather unusual xiphoid leaves and bright decorative flowers with a delicious scent.

The length of the peduncles of this plant usually ranges from ten to thirty centimeters, and simple or double flowers can be painted both in white, bronze or yellow, and in blue, pink, blue or red tones.

There are eleven species in the genus of freesia. At the same time, all these species of plants have become an excellent starting material for the subsequent breeding of countless numbers of a wide variety of hybrids - this phenomenon was especially widespread in Europe in the nineteenth century.

Where grows

Freesia is a visitor from faraway South Africa.

Usage

Freesia is quite actively and very successfully used in ornamental gardening.

Growing and caring

Freesia is very photophilous and is ideal for forcing in greenhouses in early spring, as well as for growing in bright living quarters or greenhouses. In general, it is quite permissible to grow this beauty throughout the year, while the time of its flowering will depend on the timing of its planting. And the planting depth should ideally be about twelve centimeters from the bottom if freesia is planted on light soils, about eight to ten centimeters if it grows on medium soils, and about six centimeters when planted on heavy soils. In this case, the soils must be sufficiently loose and permeable.

For the beauty of freesia, abundant watering is vital (she absolutely does not tolerate drying out of the root ball), and they should be especially abundant during its flowering period. And if pots with beautiful plants are kept in greenhouses or in indoor conditions, then they need to be provided with systematic top dressing with high-quality fertilizers.

When freesia has faded, after a while after that, its aerial parts will gradually fade and die off. However, if the bulbs are left in pots, they can easily bloom again in August. And with the onset of October, freesia must be transferred to the premises.

Despite the fact that freesia does not differ in frost resistance in the light of its tropical origin, if it is successfully located in sunny places reliably protected from too cold winds, it can bloom at the end of summer even if it grows in open ground! By the way, if you plan to plant this plant in open ground, it is best to give preference to areas located in partial shade with well-drained soils and with reliable protection from the winds. At the same time, bulbs are usually planted in open ground at the beginning of May, and the depth of their planting in this case should be less than in all the other aforementioned cases - ideally, it should be only three to six centimeters. It is quite permissible to plant the bulbs in containers, and with the onset of frost, these containers are simply transferred to the room.

As for the reproduction of freesia, it is carried out both vegetatively, with the help of corms, and by seeds. In addition, sometimes this beautiful plant can be affected by aphids or mites, as a result of which its leaves begin to turn yellow, and the plant itself withers.