Freesia Pictures: Freesia Bouquets

Freesia is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1866 by Chr. Fr. Echlon (1795-1868) and known as after German botanist and doctor Friedrich Freese (1794-1878). It really is native to the eastern area of southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa, most kinds being found in Cape Provinces. Types of the past genus Anomatheca are actually included in Freesia. The plant life often called "freesias", with fragrant funnel-shaped flowers, are cultivated hybrids of a number of Freesia varieties. Some other kinds are also grown up as ornamental plant life.

They are herbaceous plants which expand from a conical corm 1-2.5 cm size, which transmits up a tuft of slim leaves 10-30 cm long, and a sparsely branched stem 10-40 cm large bearing a few leaves and a loose one-sided spike of bouquets with six tepals. Many kinds have fragrant narrowly funnel-shaped bouquets, although those formerly positioned in the genus Anomatheca, such as F. laxa, have smooth flowers. Freesias are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Large Yellowish Underwing.

CULTIVATION AND USES

The crops usually called "freesias" are derived from crosses made in the 19th century between F. refracta and F. leichtlinii. Numerous cultivars have been bred from these varieties and the green- and yellow-flowered varieties of F. corymbosa. Modern tetraploid cultivars have blossoms ranging from white to yellow, pink, red and blue-mauve. They are simply mostly cultivated expertly in holland by about 80 growers.[3] Freesias can be readily increased from seed. Because of the specific and pleasing scent, they are generally used in palm lotions, shampoos, candles, etc.[citation needed], however, the blooms are mainly used in wedding bouquets. They could be planted in the fall season in USDA Hardiness Areas 9-10 (i.e. where the temperature does not land below about -7 ?C (20 ?F)), and in the spring and coil in Zones 4-8.

Freesia laxa (formerly called Lapeirousia laxa or Anomatheca cruenta) is one of the other kinds of the genus which is often cultivated. Smaller than the scented freesia cultivars, they have flat alternatively than cup-shaped blooms. Extensive 'forcing' of this bulb occurs in Half Moon Bay in California where several growers chill the lights in proprietary methods to satisfy chilly dormancy which results in formation of buds in a predicted number of weeks - often 5 weeks at 55 ?F (13 ?C).

Herbaceous vegetation (in botanical use frequently simply herbs) are vegetation which have no continual woody stem above surface. Herbaceous plants may be annuals, biennials or perennials. Annual herbaceous plants expire completely at the end of the growing season or when they may have flowered and fruited, plus they then expand again from seed. Herbaceous perennial and biennial plants may have stems that pass away at the end of the growing season, but elements of the plant endure under or close to the bottom from season to season (for biennials, until the next growing season, when they rose and perish). New progress builds up from living cells staying on or under the bottom, including root base, a caudex (a thickened portion of the stem at ground level) or numerous kinds of underground stems, such as light bulbs, corms, stolons, rhizomes and tubers. Types of herbaceous biennials include carrot, parsnip and common ragwort; herbaceous perennials include potato, peony, hosta, mint, most ferns & most grasses. By contrast, non-herbaceous perennial plants are woody plants that have stems above earth that continue to be alive during the dormant season and increase shoots another time from the above-ground parts - included in these are trees, shrubs and vines.