Freesia are beautifully scented flowers used in wedding bouquets and bath products. Discover how to grow your own with this simple guide.
One of the most beautifully fragrant flowers, freesias also seduce with their big funnel-like petals that come in purple, white, yellow and pink.Pleasing on their own and easily mixed with other flowers in bouquets, freesias are one of the go-to flowers for weddings and other special occasions, offering bang for the buck with multiple blooms on a single stem.Combining beauty with fragrance, they have become one of the most popular cut flowers.
How to grow freesias
It you want to grow your own in a garden, here’s a simple guide:
- Find a location where the soil drains well, or add peat moss, compost, ground bark, or the like to improve drainage. Freesias don’t like to be soggy.
- Freesias do love sunlight, so make sure the spot gets lots of it.
- Plant the bulbs in holes approximately 50 mm (2 inches) deep and 75 mm (3 inches) apart. The point end of the bulbs should be facing up.
- Water well right after planting and then water as needed during the growing season.
- After blooming has finished for the season, don’t cut off the foliage right away. The leaves will gather sunlight, create food through photosynthesis, and strengthen the bulb for the future.
As the flowers bloom, feel free to cut the fragrant flowers for your bouquets and sweeten your home.
Freesia facts
In case you're curious about freesias, they:
- Were named by Dr. Freese (1785–1876), a native of Kiel, Germany.
- Have a light, sweet floral scent that has made its way into soaps, lotions, perfumes, scented oils, and other bath products.
- Represent innocence.
- Grow from a corm (a solid bulb).
- Sport sword-shaped leaves and grow up to 30 cm high (about one foot).
- Have flowers that start as loose, one-sided spikes.
Mix and match
At weddings, freesia bouquets are prized for their versatility. They can stand on their own, as with an all-white bouquet, in subtle concert with other flowers (just add white roses), or as part of an explosion of colour. Imagine yellow freesias with hot-pink and red roses, or with mango calla lilies.Or if you prefer regal, how about royal purple freesias with white orchids?
