How to plant freesia bulbs in Arizona

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Yesterday I planted some freesia bulbs which I had ordered from Easy to Grow Bulbs. I like the attitude of this company, and I like their videos, so I have a lot of confidence in them. Their instructions were to plant them two inches deep and about three inches apart, but I modified that slightly.

I have planted freesia before, and they do well here in the Southwest, but the mistake that I made in the past was to plant them singly. All alone, or *in time out*, as the videos by Yolanda Vanveen say, is a mistake. They grow, but seem so lonely. So this time I have planted them in a dense crowd. Splitting the difference between the advice on the label and what I have been watching on YouTube, I have planted them no more than two inches apart, sometimes closer. I have kept the depth the same. These were sold as a team called Sunset Sisters, which appealed to me, and I want them to bloom together.

Another thing that I am doing this year, which is a little nerdy, is putting out little plastic labels. In the past, I thought it would be fun to just bury bulbs and forget about them, but I found that too often I forgot something was planted there and I accidentally dug them up. My garden is always a *test garden* as I am always trying new things. My memory is poor for my failures, and the successes are right there for me to see, growing in the garden.

Anyway, to plant freesia bulbs, like any other, prepare the soil in advance, add some slow-release fertilizer, and if you have any doubts as to whether the area will be too dry, add some polymer watering crystals, add a generous amount of fresh potting soil, set them in bottom down (pointy-side up), gently cover, water, and then leave them alone. My automatic watering system still has the summertime settings, which is 20 minutes every day, and I will reduce the when the weather cools off. If it ever does! It's still getting up in the nineties these days!

My main interest right now is to get all of that ugly bare ground covered, and these bulbs have a wonderful tropical leaf. Blooms will be a bonus!
Dioon edule, var. palma sola with newly-planted freesia bulbs.


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