I cheated and purchased this one with the bloom stems already formed. I've tried starting it from bulbs before but I've found them to be very difficult to force. Has anyone here had luck growing them from bulbs?
Now the blooms are open and oooooooooh what a lovely scent.
This message was edited Apr 18, 2006 11:08 PM
I tried indoors and out, and had no luck at all with them, too bad, because the scent is intoxicating - one of my favourites!
I hope someone will come along then and help us 2zeus.......I really want to be able to grow this one again next year!
Me too, I just am crazy about freesia, but end up buying them from the flower shop at insane prices just to get that incredible fragrance.
Yep. ;(
Somebody please HELP us!!! :)
I won't be much help, but I planted them outside once and I only got one come up, I seem to remember they survived a winter outside before they flowered. I had planted them in the spring in part shade, which is probably why only one came up. I bought them sold to be planted in the fall(odd???) but I never got round to it so they spent their first winter in the fridge.
Steve
Thanks.......gotta go out now (you've given me something to think about. :)
Glad I could help :)
Steve
Hi re freesas I planted them in potting soil with a lot of sand and in one large pot ( all of them) and kept them in a sunny spot and they all came up and bloomed just tied a srtring around them to keep them upright.....don't give up... thet are worth it!! Ps I come from Moose Jaw too
Hey Missurrey it's sure good to see you (and a Moose Javian to boot ;)!!!! Did you grow up here?
BTW you are in good company in BC.....most of our members there were born on the prairies.
This message was edited Apr 19, 2006 6:56 PM
p.s. thank you for the additional growing tips!!!!! Ü
hello again do they still have Algoma street and King George School ?
Still present and accounted for missurrey :)
King George School.....it's had extensive and expensive renovations done to it (as have all the gorgeous old schools in this city).
This message was edited Apr 20, 2006 1:58 PM
I'm sure you're are also aware of our New Years Day fire that took our beloved Joyner's: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/412953/
The first pic in this link we had taken the day before the fire to send to weeds (Connie) in Florida:
http://downtownpride.moosejaw.net/p1.html
2zeus here's more information http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/593642/ re the forcing of freesia bulbs. Genericgardener (Steve) also added an informative link to the above thread.
I just thought I should add that when I planted mine in the spring(after being in the fridge all winter) they sprouted a bit that summer but didn't flower till the next summer.
Steve :)
So it sounds like mid winter planting, thus giving the plant enough time to have good root formation, would be the only way we'd get blooms the next growing season. I'm thinking I should let frost zap mine, dig them up for a short rest and then replant them in early to mid winter.
This message was edited Apr 20, 2006 3:47 PM
Thats sounds pretty good to me, but maybe you should plant them back out late winter since you're a few zones colder then me? I wouldn't want them to die for some reason cause of what I said. I think I'd like to try them again this fall.....Yet another plant going on to my list.......
LOLOL that list gets does indeed get mighty long when hanging around this place. ;)
Okay I'll get them started in mid February then.
Yeah, doesn't it? I seem to be adding more and more plants and seeds to it each day as I hang around here..... :D
I love it!!!
Steve
Thought I'd jump in here with my most recent experiences with freesia. I planted some bulbs in the late fall of 2004. Nothing happened in the spring of '05 and I pretty much gave up on them by July :-( In the fall of '05 some, but by no means all, of them started coming up just a little - about 3 or 4 inches of foliage only. I'm waiting to see if anything else happens with them this year.
--Ginny
Reading what you just posted above Ginny makes me wonder if the packaged bulbs, available to the home gardener, are somewhat smaller than what they should be (for mature growth)?
Ginny thats very similar of what happened with my freesia. If it is then they should come up and flower this summer. You could be right Lilypon, that would explain why they never flower the first year.....cause we're getting ripped off!!! :D
Steve
I'm keeping my fingers crossed Steve that that's exactly what will happen.
I too believe you might be right about the size of the bulbs Pam. They sure are little tiny things when you buy them. I might just be tempted, if any come up and flower this year, to dig one up in the fall and measure it to see just how big they should be for mature growth. Then I'll have something to use as a comparison the next time I try for new freesia bulbs.
--Ginny
Good idea Ginny........if we remember it would be nice to measure them and post a pic.
Thats a real good idea Ginny! I bet there will be quite some difference in size too. It's funny how they survive our winters even though they're not rated for our zones at all....It's such fun stretching zones :D
Steve
Yeah - ain't life grand :-)
Ursula also give some handy tips under the gardener's notes in this link: http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2721/index.html.
On Aug 3, 2004, Ursula from Santiago (CL) (Zone 9b) wrote:
My zone is 9ish (Mediterranean climate)
Since I have been sharing cormils of my gold-yellow hybrid Freesias with DGardeners, I want to add the following comments:
If you got cormils (baby-corms) from me, the ideal situation is NOT to let them bloom the first year (ie, cut the flower pods) in order to have a stronger adult corm for next year. However, I have never been able to follow such advise LOL.
I recommend you DO NOT let them produce seeds (at least not for the first year) so the energy goes to the corm that will store it. Plants(corms) grown from seeds will revert to the parental sp. which has smaller, creamish-white flowers with some purple markings on the outside of the petals, that are even more scented.
Once they finish blooming, cut the flower stems and let the foliage dry out naturally. This will allow the plant to complete its photosyntesis procedure to store energy in the corm. It will also produce ADDITIONAL cormils, that will come true (yellow flowers).
Corms should not remain in the same soil more than three years. I remove them each other year, once the foliage has fully dried out, clean them and check them carefully. Unhealthy looking corms should be discarded and the other corms should be treated with some fungicide before storing in a cool, dry, dark place. If all corms look healthy, I skip the fungicide. Adult corms will have the form of a teardrop. Baby corms will look like a miniature potato and have diverse forms.
Replant corms in Fall. Plant sepparately the adult corms from the baby-corms, in order to control the blooming show. Adult corms must be planted with the tip on top. Baby corms will self-accomodate.
Freesias are best planted in containers, that you can move over to another place once the flower display is over. This, because the leaves look quite messy while doing their photosyntesis.
This is the way I plant mine:
First I put a layer of sand on the bottom of the container (1/2") to ensure good drainage. Remember that corms (bulbs and rhizomes) rot because of bad drainage.
Then I fill the container with a good soil mix (I use plenty of leaf-compost) that should also contain some sand (river sand, not beach sand).
After this I scatter some bulb-corm-rhizome fertilizer.
This has to be covered with another 1/2" of soil mix.
Now it's time to distribute the corms. As I said, adult corms should be "sitting" on their bottom, separated some 1 1/2 inches from each other.
The corms should be then covered with twice the height of the corms, using the same previous soil-mix .
Again, scatter some fertilizer on top. If your garden is prone to fungus diseases, water the container lightly with a fungicide solution. Do not water until the first leaves emerge.
I love Freesias. In our climate they are sort of Herald of Spring, since they bloom during the last winter-month.
Wow, thanks for that Lilypon. I think I might have trouble with the 'not watering' till they sprout part though! I just picked up some freesia bulbs this afternoon at WM 15 for 3.98. I think I'll try potting them up now and see what happens. They must grow if they're sold this time of year......I guess I'll find out!
Steve
Very nice, Pam! I've always wanted to try some but haven't yet...lol.
:) Donna
I have planted freesia many times without luck untill one fall a few years ago when I was digging the glads I noticed the freesia had just started to grow so I dug them along with a little soil and placed them in a planter and brought them inside where they continued to grow. They did not bloom the first year in the pot so stopped watering them as the foliage died back. I basicly just forgot about them as they were in the basement where I overwinter a few low maintenance plants. The following winter (late fall) I noitced some green sprouts and started watering them and a couple bloomed that winter and they have bloomed every winter for the last three years, still in the same pot.
I have noitced more than once when planted in the garden in spring that they just start to grow in the fall and have come to the conclusion they are cycled for the southern hemisphere, doesn't seem to make sense but I don't know any other way to explain it.
Anyhow it is nice to have some color in the dead of winter. This picture was taken on Feb 27 and they finished blooming about 2 weeks ago.
Ken
So far I have one Freesia sprouting. But I think it's the one that was sprouting in the bag when I bought them....so it doesn't really count.
As for the other ones...I did a little careful checking and found another bulb with nothing coming. It could be making roots though. Lets hope so anyways!
Steve
Ken your picture has given us some hope that it can be accomplished. :)
Steve be careful re: "I did a little careful checking .... " ;)
Wishing you lots of luck!
This message was edited May 2, 2006 9:29 AM
Ok, I'll try not to peak.......I'm REALLY bad at that :D
I'll try though....
Steve
Just an update on my Freesia. They've been sprouting up for the past week or 2 and are still coming. They look like they'll do quite well. I have one big pot and one little pot. I plan on planting the ones in the little pot outside and mulching them really well over the winter and bringing the larger pot in under cover.
Steve
Looking good Steve! :) Crossing fingers and toes here that mine does as well next year.
How is your's doing Pam? Is it still blooming?
I hope I got some good colours like your's in the one's I have :)
Steve
