Greg, My freesia bulbs have just finished blooming, and they are fragrant. I have mostly yellow and white flowers coming up with just a few other colors. The fragrance does waft. Perhaps heat has something to do with how much they waft? Also, I wonder if some colors are more fragrant than other colors. I've heard that the yellow is the most fragrant, but I haven't done a smell test to test this theory.

Thanks for your answer, Clare. I LOVE the yellow...the color is so intense that all other yellows pale, so to speak. Maybe it's just my sniffer but it could have to do with heat, soil conditions, initial bulb quality...who knows? I think I'll try again this fall with brand new mail-order bulbs, say, from Breck's, instead of Home Depot specials. Freesia are definitely worth it! Where do you buy yours?

Greg, I bought mine at Costco a few years ago, and they come back each year. They came in a box which included mostly whites and yellows, but there are a couple reds and purples too. Here is a picture of them from last year. I didn't take many freesia pictures this year because it rained so much:

{{gwi:785877}}

What a gorgeous show, Clare! Thanks for sharing them. I love how you used their natural tendency to fall over to such an excellent "cascade" effect.

The first year mine came up, I had some bulbs at the front of a bed with nothing to hold them up; I had no idea about their growth habit. So when I planted more last year, I stuck them behind a miniature rose hedge which is a beautiful natural support...enjoy the photo.

Here is a link that might be useful: Purple Freesia Cluster

It could be a genetic thing. some people are unable to smell
the fresia scent. I cann't even when a friend is sniffing the same flower at the same time and says it wonderful.
diggerb

Desert_Son, dont give up. Keep them for another season and see what happens. Maybe they are still not very mature. I have planted so many Polyanthus Tuberose and seem to find only a faint fragrance, if any. But I'm not giving up! Now if I could just get more fragrant violets in my garden, I'd be in heaven! Freesias, Polyanthus & violets! Ahhh....

Clare, I have hunted for freesia bulbs here in Fort Lauderdale with no luck. Was in San Francisco a while back and my poor daughter was the driver from one nursery to another to hunt them down. Returned home with a couple of dozen bulbs and happily, most are blooming with their amazing fragrance. Your clump is absolutely beautiful. Only the white and yellow ones have flowered here. Dont know what will happen when the tropical rains come however! Probably lose all of them to rot! What a magnificant fragrance!

Joanmary, I'm glad you were able to find some. Once they finish flowering, they will die back. I keep the ones in baskets dry and put them out of sight until they come alive again next spring. The ones in the ground will die back also, but they will stay in the ground and get watered with everything else daily and will do fine until I see them again next spring.

Ah Clare, I would be very unhappy to lose these bulbs. The flowers are so wonderfully fragrant and the colours so vibrant. Wish all of them flowered though! The majority did leaf out, but not all flowered. I wonder if thats due to maturity of the bulb? Thanks for the reassurance. I think I'll put some goodies up for exchange and see if I am lucky enough to get some freesia bulbs for them.