Moraea MM 17-10

Seed parent: MM 13-137c (M. tripetala X calcicola)
Pollen parent: MM 12-139a (M. 'Zoe' X atropunctata)

I was going for interesting markings with this cross. The pollen parent has lots of spots, and M. tripetala has a history of inducing stripes in hybrids. I brought them together and...

Jackpot! I think this is one of my most exciting crosses of the year. The flowers are spectacular, plus they're on very strong stems, plus they bloom for an extremely long time (maybe more than a month), from the start of the season to almost the end.

Lets start with a family portrait, and then we'll look at the individuals. The purple and blue flowers you see in this photo are all from this one cross:

Here are the two stars of the show. Both are heavily spotted, one with purple dots and one with sky blue.

MM 17-10a. Spectacular, very long blooming, and extremely fertile. Almost every cross I made onto these plants set seed, and I made a lot of crosses.

MM 17-10b. Also spectacular and long blooming, but unfortunately pretty much totally sterile. None of the crosses I made on this plant succeeded, and its anthers look like sticks of dried paint. Such a pity.

MM 17-10c. If it weren't for its two gaudy sisters, this would have been a star in its own right. I love how the dark purple dots have little white dots in their centers.

MM 17-10d. Nice, but overwhelmed by its siblings.

MM 17-10e. Doesn't look like much at first, but note the intensely dark purple style crests. I haven't seen anything quite like that before, and it deserves more breeding.