Staking freesia

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It's February 15th and I am staking freesia as I see the buds appear. I've had freesia here at The Tropical Paradise for many seasons, and am still learning how to care for it. Actually, it's a lot of trouble - but it's worth it!

When I first started seeing blooms on my freesia, many seasons ago, I was thrilled. Until I saw them tip over with their faces in the mud. That's because the flowers are much too heavy to be held up by the stalks. You can give the blame, or the credit, to the hybridizers who, over the years have developed such a large, and beautiful flower. And did I mention that they smell great, too?

This year I was prepared. I have a bundle of thin bamboo sticks (from my local dollar store) in the garage, and as I see a bud form, I set a stake and tie a bit of ordinary twine around it.

The flower stalks get much taller, and send out offshoots, with even more flowers, so these bamboo stakes have their work cut out for them. And even before they start blooming, freesia have a tendency to tip a bit, so the stakes help prop everything up.

Staked freesia bud about to bloom, February 19th
Freesia starts to bloom here in the Phoenix, Arizona area in late February and March. The flowers bloom in sequence, so once they start blooming, it's important to tend to them constantly. I told you that they were a lot of work!

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