How To Plant Freesia Flower Bulbs Indoors For Beautiful Winter Blooms

Freesia is a group of over a dozen species of perennials that bloom in a wide variety of colors, peppering your landscape with tall flowers that attract more birds to your garden — butterflies and bees, too. While you can certainly enjoy their fragrance and beauty throughout the summer when the flowers are in full bloom, it doesn't have to end there. You can plant freesia bulbs ( aka corms) in pots indoors and add them to your list of flowers perfect for a vibrant winter garden. Since they require bright indirect light, the blooms can extend the visual aspect of your outdoor landscape, making you feel like maybe summer isn't that far away. To enjoy their blooms, you will have to force the flowering bulbs, which simply means you provide the conditions they need to bloom at a time that falls outside their regular norms.

If you already have freesia planted outside, you could bring the plant's corms inside to force them to flower in the winter. But, if you want to keep your garden intact, simply buy more for your indoor garden. Propagating more corms from your freesia flowers by division is also a choice, but note that those cormels won't produce flowers for a few years. So, buying fresh is best for this purpose. Once you have your corms, gather a pot with drainage holes and some soil to get started.

Pick a place in your home that will give your plant bright light but not direct sunlight. Next, fill your pot with potting soil and plant your freesia 1 or 2 inches below the surface with the point up. Make sure there is a little space between your corms — at least 2 inches. You want the flowers close but not crowded. While some bulbs need refrigeration or soaking before planting to force them to bloom, freesia do not. They can go right into the soil. Once your corms are neatly tucked into place, water them and keep the soil moist but not soggy. It will take your freesia two to three months to blossom, so time the planting accordingly for when you want to enjoy your blooms.

Keep in mind that freesia also belongs to a category of flowers that are perfect for hanging pots. So, if you don't have the counter space, suspending your pot from the ceiling in a macrame hanger would allow you to still show off these colorful flowers. Note that while your freesia grows, they will lean toward the light to gather as much light as possible for photosynthesis. To encourage them to grow straight, rotate your pot of freesia regularly.

When your blooms are spent, it's time to let the bulbs sleep. Stop watering the flowers, let the foliage turn brown, and cut them back. Then, remove the bulbs from the soil and store them for a few months before forcing them again or planting them in your garden.