New Moraea Hybrids, 2020

Chances are you came here to see the flowers, so let’s do that first. After the photos I’ll give you background on my breeding program, share my want list of Moraea species, and tell you how you can get free seeds from me. 

My favorite new hybrids of 2020. This year two crosses produced some amazing spotted hybrids. 

MM 17-10a and b The first of these two siblings, form a, is very long-blooming, produces many flowers, and has robust stems that won’t flop over. It’s also very fertile: I made 29 crosses onto this plant, and 23 of them set seeds.

This one, MM 17-10b, is a lovely sky blue color, and blooms vigorously like its sibling. But sadly it’s extremely infertile. I made 17 crosses onto this one; 16 failed totally and one made a very small, iffy pod.

Follow the link above for some other interesting siblings, including one with strangely dark style crests.  

MM 15-122e and f  These are also amazingly spotted flowers. You’d think form E is about the most densely spotted a flower could be…

…but then form F tops it.

If you look closely, these dots are variably colored, and they overlap to make a watercolor painting effect. I think it’s remarkable. Unfortunately, this flower and the one above are almost completely infertile. They didn’t set any seed at all, and only three of the crosses I made with their (very marginal and sparse) pollen set any seeds. Click the link above to see the very interesting siblings of these flowers. Many of them have jagged stripes instead of spots. 

More flowers I liked in 2020 

MM 15-89a  This flower stands out for its combination of colors: big blue eye, orange ring around the eye, and purple spots, all on a clean white background.

MM 13-197e  Moraea lurida continues to produce amazingly weird hybrids. This one has especially large, almost black markings, very prominent veins, and a nice plum color.

MM 14-90e Dang, the jagged lines on this flower. They’re like purple needles.

MM 15-60a  Beautiful tiny spots.

MM 15-118a  Scrumptious! What’s especially nice about this one is the combination of a clear blue eye with lots of streaks and spots. Often the most spotted flowers have dark eyes.

MM 17-24c  Moraea lurida and M. bellendenii both produce weird color patterns in their hybrids. When they’re added together, in this hybrid, the result is a sack full of strange: freckled central orange cup, wide dark inner tepals, weirdly shaped eye with a central yellow dot, and of course veins. Despite all of the strange markings, I think the flower looks symmetrical and pleasing overall.

MM 17-41a  A backcross between two spotted hybrids, this one is even more heavily marked than its parents.

MM 17-63b, c  A few of my hybrids have an eye-burning orange-scarlet color that’s hard to photograph. MM 17-63b has spots as well…

MM 17-63c doesn’t have spots, but the color is even more intense.

 

MM 17-67a  This flower is less spectacular than the ones above, but look at that unearthly blue-yellow-green eye.

MM 17-107a  Pink and orange in the same flower, along with spots. Splendid! You can see another cross with similar coloring here. 

The quest for red flowers 

Here are the latest milestones (if you can call them that) in my campaign to breed red Moraea flowers. 

MM 17-54a  Not red, kind of peach. But I like it.

MM 12-67g  This is a cross from 2012, but I planted more seeds of it later, and they’re still paying dividends. This particular flower isn’t quite as vivid in person as it is in the photo, but definitely there’s a reddish band where the purple and orange overlap. Now if I could do that in a full flower…

And also, here are some other interesting flowers. 

MM 15-112a  An unusual peach color, fading to almost white at the center.

MM 17-33  A very strange shredded eye, and check out all the freckles on the inner tepals.

MM 17-35a  I like the very precise rings of color in this flower.

MM 17-36a  Another flower with a shredded eye. Click the link to see some other weird color patterns in its siblings.

MM 17-38  This one is an intriguing blend of orange and purple, in the shape of M. loubseri.

MM 17-118a  This hybrid has a lot of M. tripetala in it, but check out the three rings of color in the eye.

MM 17-124a  I’ve made a number of other M. lurida crosses, but most of them are pastel shades of purple and cream, or occasionally yellow. This one is a nice warm orange.

MM 17-127a  There’s an interesting yellow field around the eye, with a very jagged black eye. Click the link to see a sibling that’s similar, but in blue and orange.

If you want to see even more flowers, the sidebar at right (on a computer) has links to a post for every new hybrid that bloomed this year. If you're on a smartphone, just keep scrolling down and eventually you'll see everything.

About the hybrids 

If you’ve read my previous yearly updates, you know that I’ve experimented with Moraea hybrids on and off for about 20 years, and more seriously for the last decade. I lucked into the Moraeas – I tried hybridizing a number of other genera, but the Moraeas turned out to have a large number of compatible species, those species are colorful and diverse, and they are relatively easy to breed reliably. 

I’ve found that many people look down on hybridizing – they feel it detracts from the important work of preserving species. Respectfully, I disagree. I do my best to preserve and share the Moraea species in addition to my hybrids, but there’s only so much I can do with the species. I already grow most of the Moraea species I can obtain, and raising bulbs is a lot more fun when I have something new to look at each year. The hybrids scratch my itch for novelty. It’s also fascinating to see the genetic possibilities that are hidden away in this remarkable genus. 

I’m trying to accomplish a couple of things in my breeding. One is that I’d like to breed a truly red Moraea flower. They exist in the wild, and I once visited them in person in South Africa. I was not able to get seeds, and unfortunately they are not available in commerce. My second goal is to see how many exotic color combinations and patterns I can generate. 

So far it’s proving extremely hard to breed a truly red flower, but I’m having a lot of luck with new patterns, especially stripes and dots. I can’t wait to see what these flowers will do for me next. 

I am not a botanist and don’t really know what I’m doing with my hybridization. I welcome suggestions on crosses to try, and any other advice or comments. 

My Moraea wish list 

There are a number of Moraea species that should be compatible with the species I’ve been breeding, but are not available in commerce. I hear they’re privately grown, though. If you know of sources for seed or pollen of any of them, I am very happy to trade or pay. To be clear, I am not soliciting collection from the wild or anything else improper. I’d just like to be in touch with other growers who are willing to share. You can see my wish list here. 

Free seeds 

I am glad to share seeds of Moraea hybrids and species with anyone who’s interested. There’s no charge. Much of my collection was given to me by others, so I am trying to return that generosity. If you’re interested, send me a note at the email address here.

Thank you

As always, I'd like to thank the folks who have helped me build my Moraea collection. I can't remember everyone, but standouts include Paul F. X. Von Stein, Garry Knipe, Jim Duggan, Gordon Summerfield, Cameron and Rhoda McMaster, Rod and Rachel Saunders, Mary Sue Ittner, and the members of the Pacific Bulb Society, International Bulb Society, and the Indigenous Bulb Growers of South Africa. And most of all the Moraea king, Bob Werra. Thank you all.