If you look around almost any floristry shop, you’ll notice that freesias feature strongly. There’s no denying that they’re beautiful blooms, but why do we love freesias so much?
All About Freesias
What is a freesia?
Herbaceous perennials, freesias are native to the eastern side of southern Africa. They were discovered by western botanist Christian Friedrich Ecklon in 1866, who named them after the German botanist and medical practitioner, Friedrich Freese. Since then, they’ve become popular garden plants around the world.
The plants are characterised by ‘sessile inflorescence’, which basically means groups of blooms all in a row. The flowers have a distinctive tubular shape, are extremely graceful and come in a wide variety of colours. From whites and ivories to pinks, purples, yellows, oranges and reds. This is partly what makes them so loved by florists. The other reason is the freesia’s sublime scent.
The symbolism
Along with roses, freesias are also loved for their romantic symbolism. A sign of unconditional love, each of the different coloured blooms have a slightly different meaning.
- White and ivory freesias are popular with brides for their association with purity.
- Pink freesias are associated with motherly love.
- Yellow freesias and multicoloured bouquets symbolise friendship
- And as with almost all flowers, red freesias indicate passion.
How to care for freesias
One of the other reasons why freesias are so loved by florists is because they last around three weeks once cut. There are plenty of techniques you can employ to enhance the longevity of cut flowers. But the best way to keep freesias blooming is to keep them in fresh water with flower food, or a sugar and white wine vinegar solution.
Some other things you might not know about freesias
- Freesias are one of the top ten bestselling cut flowers worldwide.
- Freesia come as single and double flowers.
- No one really knows how many freesia hybrids there are, but some people believe that there are more than 300, spread across about 16 species.
- Freesias are commonly given by couples celebrating a 7th wedding anniversary.
- The flower of the ‘ballerina’ freesia looks like the silhouette of a dancing ballerina (no prizes where the name comes from!).
- The freesia is a member of the iris family and related to both the crocus and gladioli.
- Freesias don’t like being cut and are thought to lose a flower each time the stem is cut. So, the freesia is one of the few cut flowers that doesn’t benefit from being trimmed.
Freesias are among our most loved flowers because they are beautiful. They look incredible and smell even better. And that makes them a wonderful choice when selecting a flower arrangement to give for any occasion.
Are you looking to send freesias to a loved one? Take a look at the arrangements that Blue Florist has available.