Thursday, March 8, 2012

Moraea Speciosa

The first time this plant bloomed for me, I got a double flower. Unfortunately, the doubling was just a one-time thing.

Here's a pale form. The tepals look white in photos, but actually they were very pale icy blue.


This one is a little more blue:


This species blooms in mid-winter, when most Moraea species are just starting to show leaves, as you can see in this photo.

This species will hybridize with M. polystachya, but so far not with anything else, alas. I will keep trying.

Moraea speciosa is a difficult plant to grow in my part of California. Some years the bulbs don't sprout at all. Some years they put up a leaf but no flowering stalk. Occasionally they bloom, but I've never been able to figure out what triggers it.

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