PlantSowGrow
How to grow Freesia (Single Mixed)
Freesia × hybrida
Arching sprays of richly scented, funnel-shaped flowers in late summer. Grow in pots outdoors or in a conservatory and bring them in before frost.
At a glance: Sow mid April to mid May.
When to sow, plant and harvest
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Freesia (Single Mixed): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water pots in dry spells while in leaf; keep drier when dormant
- Soil
- Well-drained soil or bulb compost
- Spacing
- 5 cm
- Height
- 40 cm
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- High-potash liquid feed every two weeks from when buds show
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 9–11
Step by step
- Mid April – mid May · around the last spring frost
Plant Bulbs
Plant 5 cm, pointy end up deep and 5 cm apart, pointy end up, in well-drained soil or pots. Water in.
- 14–28 days after “Plant Bulbs” · Late April – mid May
Look for Shoots
Green shoots should be showing. Keep pots moist but not wet and watch for slugs on young leaves.
Every year
- AugustIn Flower
Your bulbs should be in flower — a good moment for a journal photo.
- SeptemberDeadhead and Feed
Snap off faded flower heads (not the leaves) and give a high-potash feed to build up the bulb for next year.
- OctoberLet the Leaves Die Back
Leave the foliage for at least six weeks after flowering, until it yellows — don't knot or cut it. Then tidy it away.
- OctoberLift and Store the Corms
Once the leaves yellow, lift the corms, dry them for a few weeks and store in paper bags somewhere cool and frost-free until spring.
