Getting Fresias to grow/flower

[roitelet]

Last year I bought some Freesia corms in the spring. Planted them and some grew and flowered. When I turned the pots out in the autumn the corms that hadn't grown were perfectly sound so I re planted all of them and kept them in a cold frame over winter. Again some have grown and the others are as they were when I planted them.

How do I persuade them to do their thing and flower in profusion?

[boatsman]

Firstly, freesias should be planted in autumn to flower in the spring. I have freesia corms in planters that I planted over three years ago. They come up and flower without fail every spring. They also produce offset corms that I leave in position so that every spring I get a profusion of fragrant smelling flowers that last about a week in a vase

[roitelet]

The autumn planted ones did the same as the spring planted ones. Should I leave them and try again. Dry them off or not?

[Snadger]

I love freesias but have never been able to grow them successfully I had similar problems when I tried them so I will follow this thread with interest.

[boatsman]

According to my gardening books, in your area, Normandy, you should probably plant the corms indoors in pots in the autumn so they will flower in the spring. Freesias are native to South Africa so northern Europe would probably be too cold outdoors. The south of France would be completely different and there you would be able to plant the corms outdoors.

[roitelet]

Having read an article in the Telegraph it would seem that you need to buy heat treated bulbs to get them to flower well. I have grown them from seed in the past and they did flower.