From what I've been told the old fasion single white freesia's are the ones with the strongest fragrance. I dont' recall any fragrance in my doubles. But their beauty makes up for it. If you get them in a nice sandy soil they will multiply like rabbits too. I planted a 5 gallon pot of them that I got for free from Lowes, it has quadrupled in size, and I need to thin them out this fall. I need to put them in more places in my garden :) Cause I love em!

I planted a bunch of the colored ones this last fall, I detected no scent from them at all.

Easy

Here is a picture of my Double white Freesia's in bloom from a couple of years ago.

{{gwi:418228}}

Easy

I don't know that I've noticed a difference between my singles and doubles, but my single whites have a wonderful peppery smell that rises above all the others. They're all just wonderful to smell.

Lynn

Good comments, thanks - think I'll stick to the white singles.

Freesia is my favorite flower - my wedding bouquet was white freesia with lavender roses - the scent was beyond awesome. One of the few things I can remember from that night!

That's how I feel about gardenias- but freesias are right up there, and they're tough little suckers, too. I've never had one that didn't smell like pure heaven, although some are more strongly scented than others. You can ignore them completely (not that I recomend it) once they're done blooming and they'll surprise you by coming right back the next year.

That's the great part about bulbs, I think...

Hey Pagancat,

I have freesias all over my yard and they do great and i think single ones have more smell to them but the doubles are so beautiful especially the blue ones.

By the way my tuberose bloomed! The fragnance is heavenly. I have 3-4 stalks on each one of those bulbs. They took about three weeks to bloom after the stalk appeared. I will post pictures soon. I have planted them all over my backyard. Thanks once again for recommending that website. Hope you have better luck with them once the weather cools down.

I just noticed my Freesia from last year have popped up. Isn't it kinda early?

No, not early at all I don't think. This is about the time mine start showing up...and I see they are repeating again this year. They grow slow once it gets colder, and they still won't bloom till this spring.

Easy

Besides liking a sandy soil, what are the light requirements for freesia? These sound like something I would like near my entry but it only gets bright light and some direct sun in the summer.

Sue, I'd say that they probably prefer it with a little more light, but as inexpensive as the bulbs are, I'd go ahead and try it - if you don't get blooms you can always dig them up and put them somewhere else next year. I also had them growing in a pot down in Tucson, so you can always move them.

Paperwhite - good for you! That's great! I'm glad to hear about your tuberroses ... and it gives me hope for mine. I'm convinced that it was just a really awful exposure for them, so I'll dig 'em up when it gets cold and move them. And if they don't do better in their new spot... well.... you might get some more at the next swap!
>smileGT, it does seem early, but if they're happy, who's to argue? I would guess that the blooms won't arrive until spring, like Easy sez.

Okay, I'm thinking single whites and double blues... hmmmm...

Thanks Pagancat. Now when I get down to Tucson I just may have to try some Freesia and like you said I could always put them in pots.

Mine are all coming up, and have been for a month or so, FWIW.

I planted double bloom, multiple colored freesia bulbs in my yard in SE Louisiana about 2 years ago and they produced like crazy. The smells were fantastic. I found that the yellows and burgundy seemed to smell the best to me. Even after Hurricane Katrina's eye hit Slidell and put our first floor under 6 feet of water for 4 or 5 days, this Spring they came up like crazy. We repaired our house and sold it a week ago and the freesia were already enticing the new owners. What a nice way to pass along our happiness from them to this young couple.

Mine opened up today... a wonderful blue color, and the scent was heavenly :)
Brittany

It's so funny that azreno mentioned the scent of white freesias. I planted freesias this year and only two varieties bloomed - one was a double yellow with the typical sweet, gorgeous freesia scent. I was completely disappointed with the scent from the white single that bloomed, although it was very floriferous and beautiful. The scent was completely unlike the double yellow - a distinct peppery smell. I asked one of my friends to smell it, and she also hit on the "pepperyness" right away.

It was beautiful to look at, but if it's going to be a freesia in MY garden, it better smell HEAVENLY - not going to repeat that variety next year.

-Chris

Hey all
This is a wonderful site
I just got 125 freesia bulbs my eyes are bigger then my garden.:))))
All colors doubles singles, in the mail today 4/4/08.
We are Zone 9, should I plant them now. Can I or should I force them. I want to try to plant in pots and in the front yard.
Any and all comments welcome.Thanks everyone.
Mike Hubbard

This is my first year to plant freesia. Of all the bulbs I set out, only one seems to be coming up? I'm using containers with regular potting soil. I set 4-5 bulbs per pot. Should I continue to be patient or chalk this up to experience?