Moraea MM 20-176

Seed parent: MM 15-73a (villosa x Homeria species)

Pollen parent: MM 13-41a 'Bonnie' (villosa selection with very nice blue eye)

MM 20-176a. There are absolutely awesome blue eyes on this plant, and a nice clean yellow cup. I wish the tepals had a darker color.

Moraea MM 20-167

Seed parent: Unknown

Pollen parent: Unknown

Well, darn, this cross is a Glad according to my records, but this plant is clearly a Moraea. Hopefully I will eventually sort out what happened.

MM 20-167a. A pretty flower.

Moraea MM 20-127

Seed parent: MM 17-33b ((M. aristata x villosa) x belendenii) X (tripetala x villosa)

Pollen parent: MM 17-19 (M. lurida x (aristata x villosa)) X (tripetala x villosa)

Moraea MM 20-118

Seed parent: MM 17-26d (M. lurida x villosa) X (lurida x (aristata x villosa))

Pollen parent: MM 17-63c (M. atropunctata x (atropunctata x calcicola)) X (M. atropunctata x (atropunctata x calcicola))

MM 20-118a

Moraea MM 20-102

Seed parent: MM 17-26d (M. lurida x villosa) X (lurida x (aristata x villosa))

Pollen parent: MM 15-89b ((villosa x tulbaghensis) X villosa)

MM 20-102a. Interesting. The seed parent is a very natty lurida hybrid, while the pollen parent is a speckled yellow flower with blue eyes. Their offspring has black eyes and spots clustered toward the outer edges of the tepals. I feel like this hybrid is trying to tell me something, but I'm not sure what.

Moraea MM 20-48

Seed parent: MM 17-33b ((M. aristata x villosa) x belendenii) X (tripetala x villosa)

Pollen parent: MM 15-108c (longiaristata form a X neopavonia 'Summerfield')

MM 20-48a. Very interesting spotted eyes on this one.

Moraea MM 20-27

Seed parent: MM 17-26e (M. lurida x villosa) X (lurida x (aristata x villosa))

Pollen parent: MM 17-63b (atropunctata? x (atropunctata x calcicola)) X (atropunctata? x (atropunctata x calcicola))

MM 20-27a. The pollen parent is a vivid orange flower with dark spots, but this hybrid looks very much like the seed parent. I suspect possible self-pollination.

Moraea MM 20-12

Seed parent: MM 17-26 (M. lurida x villosa) X (lurida x (aristata x villosa))

Pollen parent: MM 13-134b (gigandra X villosa)

The pollen parent is a deep vivid purple color, which I hoped to combine with the nice form and interesting markings of the seed parent. But their offspring is sadly bland.

Moraea MM 20-08

Seed parent: MM 17-26d (M. lurida x villosa) X (lurida x (aristata x villosa))

Pollen parent: MM 16-85a (aristata x gigandra) X (villosa x tulbaghensis)

MM 20-08a. In this cross I mixed a very handsome lurida hybrid with one of my biggest hybrids, hoping for a large and handsome lurida-type flower. Instead I got a normal-sized and less handsome lurida-type flower. Oh well.

Moraea MM 19-162

Seed parent: Moraea longiaristata form b

Pollen parent: Moraea villosa form d

MM 19-162a. It took six years for this one to bloom, and he result was a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping for flowers with streaks on them, like the seed parent. But the streaks appear to be recessive, which is usually the case with spots as well. What's worse, none of the crosses I made in 2025 with this plant set seeds, so it may be sterile. Darn!

When they first open, the flowers have a light purple tinge, but that fades.

Moraea MM 19-147

Seed parent: Moraea loubseri

Pollen parent: Moraea villosa form o

MM 19-147a. It has mostly the color pattern of villosa o, but the flower shape is a bit like loubseri.

Moraea MM 19-05

Seed parent: MM 15-23b (M. calcicola X neopavonia 'Summerfield')

Pollen parent: MM 15-24 (M. bellendenii x villosa)

MM 19-05a

Moraea MM 18-225

Seed parent: MM 13-12a ((M. atropunctata x neopavonia) x gigandra) X calcicola

Pollen parent: MM 15-80b (atropunctata x calcicola) X neopavonia 'Summerfield'

Very wide inner tepals.

Moraea MM 18-215

Seed parent: MM 13-191a (M. bellendenii x neopavonia) X (M. bellendenii x neopavonia)

Pollen parent: MM 13-134b (gigandra X villosa)

MM 18-215a

Moraea 18-133

Seed parent: MM 13-45a ((M. aropunctata x calcicola) X villosa)

Pollen parent: MM 13-89g (M. villosa x tulbaghensis) X villosa)

MM 18-133a. This is a nice flower. The eyes are very intense, and I'm intrigued by the purple tepals that fade to orange at the edges.

Moraea MM 15-111

Seed parent: Moraea neopavonia with slate-colored eye

Pollen parent: Moraea longiaristata form A with blue spots

As usual, the spots are recessive.

MM 15-111a

Gladiolus MM 21-500

Seed parent: Gladiolus gracilis

Pollen parent: MM 14-105d (G. watsonius x patersoniae)

By crossing a red flower onto a blue species, I think I was hoping to get a magenta version of the bright red pollen parent.

MM 21-500a. The color is what I expected (a general rule in Gladiolus breeding appears to be: red x blue = magenta). Unfortunately, these flowers are narrower than the nicely wide pollen parent.

MM 21-500b. Interesting, this one is much more bluish.

Gladiolus MM 21-490

Seed parent: MM 17-95c (G. violaceo-lineatus x priorii) X (violaceo-lineatus x priorii)

Pollen parent: MM 17-28b (violaceo-lineatus x priorii) X ((gracilis x priorii) x violaceo-lineatus)

MM 21-490. I think this one is quite attractive.

Gladiolus MM 21-479

Seed parent: MM 17-95c (G. violaceo-lineatus x priorii) X (violaceo-lineatus x priorii)

Pollen parent: MM 17-48f (G. violaceo-lineatus x (priorii x gracilis)) X unknown

MM 21-479a. Very interesting. Two of the tepals are heavily marked, while the others are nearly white.

Gladiolus MM 21-455

Seed parent: MM 17-94d ((G. priorii x gracilis) x carinatus) X unknown

Pollen parent: Gladiolus odoratus

MM 21-455a

MM 21-455b

Gladiolus MM 21-357

Seed parent: MM 15-36e (G. gracilis x priorii) X (gracilis x priorii)

Pollen parent: MM 15-83f (gracilis x priorii) X patersoniae

I crossed two hybrids that are flushed with red on the lower tepals, hoping to reinforce that characteristic. Nothing doing so far.

Gladiolus MM 21-292

Seed parent: Gladiolus debilis

Pollen parent: Gladiolus aureus

I was hoping for a yellow flower with heavy spots from G. debilis. I didn't get that, but the flowers are a lovely pastel peach color.

Gladiolus MM 21-152

Seed parent: MM 17-62a ((G. tristis x (gracilis x priorii)) x carinatus) X ((gracilis x priorii) x violaceo-lineatus)

Pollen parent: MM 15-38c (violaceo-lineatus x (gracilis x priorii)) X ((gracilis x priorii) x violaceo-lineatus)

The seed parent has a high bud count and nice markings, and the pollen parent has lotsa' dots. Their offspring is nice but not all that unusual.

Gladiolus MM 21-26

Seed parent: MM 17-48a (G. violaceo-lineatus x (priorii x gracilis)) X unknown

Pollen parent: MM 15-38c (G. violaceo-lineatus x (gracilis x priorii)) X ((gracilis x priorii) x violaceo-lineatus)

MM 21-26a. Nice patterns. Check out the pollen parent, which also has nice patterns, but in dark purple, and with narrower tepals. I am happy about the wider tepals, and the mix of purple and magenta is nice.

Gladiolus MM 20-381

Seed parent: MM 17-29a ((G. tristis x (gracilis x priorii)) x venustus) X ((gracilis x priorii) x violaceo-lineatus)

Pollen parent: MM 16-46b (gracilis x priorii) X ((gracilis x priorii) x violaceo-lineatus )

A nice stripey flower crossed with another stripey one. We're not getting much magic this time.

Gladiolus MM 20-361

Seed parent: MM 14-104b (G. priorii x odoratus) X (carinatus x tristis)

Pollen parent: MM 14-104c (G. priorii x odoratus) X (carinatus x tristis)

Gladiolus MM 20-349

Seed parent: MM 15-38b (G. violaceo-lineatus x (gracilis x priorii) X ((gracilis x priorii) x violaceo-lineatus)

Pollen parent: MM 15-38c (G. violaceo-lineatus x (gracilis x priorii) X ((gracilis x priorii) x violaceo-lineatus)

MM 20-349a

Gladiolus MM 20-320

Seed parent: MM 11-21f (G. gracilis x priorii) X unknown)

Pollen parent: MM 15-36b ((G. gracilis x priorii) x carinatus) X ((G. gracilis x priorii) x carinatus)

MM 20-320a

MM 20-320b

Gladiolus MM 20-265

Seed parent: Gladiolus unknown

Pollen parent: Gladiolus unknown

I put the wrong cross number on this photo. I'll see if I can straighten out the confusion in future years. Nice flower, though.

MM 20-265a

Gladiolus MM 20-54

Seed parent: Gladiolus bonaspei

Pollen parent: MM 15-83f  (G. gracilis x priorii) X patersoniae

I am really enjoying what G. bonaspei does in hybrids. It's a stunning red and yellow species, and its offspring often keep that color scheme but add dots and stripes. Case in point...

MM 20-54a

Calochortus MM 21-240

Seed parent: MM 15-129 (C. luteus x superbus?)

Pollen parent: Calochortus venustus with red central stripe

This should have come out with intensely red petals, considering the parents. No such luck.

Calochortus MM 21-74

Seed parent: MM 15-126 (C. luteus X superbus pink)

Pollen parent: MM 15-126 (C. luteus X superbus pink)

I like the intensity of the color in this hybrid, and it made a stem bulbil this year, so I should be able to gradually get more of them.

MM 21-74a

Calochortus MM 20-403

Seed parent: MM 15-127 (C. luteus x superbus?) X superbus? 

Pollen parent: C. argillosus with nice markings

The nicest C. argillosus have very pretty markings on the petals that look a bit like flames, red at the center with an extended streak of yellow above. That didn't really come across in these hybrids.

MM 20-403a

MM 20-403b

MM 20-403c

Calochortus MM 20-402

Seed parent: MM 15-129b (C. luteus x superbus?)

Pollen parent: MM 15-127a (C. luteus x superbus?) X superbus?

I keep hoping that by backcrossing these hybrids I'll get a big difference in color, but they're all the basic yellow tinged in red.

MM 20-402a