I let them dry off completely and kept them in the pot. Worked for several years on the trot.

Depends which ones they are - with many, not much point if you want more flowers next year - they need three months of 30 deg C temperatures after lifting, see link below

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=943

Try what Steragram suggested, maybe it'll work.

Mine flowered in very early spring like the wild ones in Portugal. I haven't tried with summer flowering ones - don't know if they are different.

There are only 2 species that are summer rainfall types, and those come from the area close to Mozambique, so they will want to be kept frost-free. Freesia grandiflora and F. laxa. They grow in humus rich soil in deciduous woodlands, so they don't have to be kept very dry - just frost free. The type Steragram mentions that have naturalized in Portugal are already starting to grow. Mine start growing when the rain returns in the fall.

Thank you Wylie - that explains what puzzled me for ages.