Propping up freesia

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One of the disadvantages of a plant that flowers profusely is that they tend to tip over. This freesia started with a disadvantage as it was already growing pretty much sideways, toward the south, even before it started to flower. When the first flower appeared, the whole plant tipped over sideways until the flower was almost touching the ground. The solution is a small prop, or crutch, which you can see at the bottom of the picture.

The prop is made of a small twig from the tree, and just trimmed into a crutch shape. One end is pushed into the ground, and the other end holds up the plant towards the bottom. As the alyssum grows in, it will hide this little bit of trickery.

And that's how it's done!

Update 3/28/2012 This little trick didn't last. The flowers got way too tall and top-heavy. The best thing to do is to get some bamboo canes and tie the stalks as discreetly as possible.

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