Sparaxis MM 20-68

Seed parent: Sparaxis elegans

Pollen parent: Sparaxis maculata

MM 20-68a

Moraea GK 2172

Seed parent: GK 1699 MX_37 (parents unknown)

Pollen parent: GK 1699 MX_25 (parents unknown)

Cross made by Garry Knipe.

GK 2172_1

GK 2172_2

Moraea GK 2162

Seed parent: GK 1699 MX_35 (parents unknown)

Pollen parent: GK 1699 MX_17 (parents unknown)

GK 2162

GK 2162a

Moraea GK 2145

Seed parent: GK 1699 MX_36 (parents unknown)

Pollen parent: GK 1699 MX_30 (parents unknown)

GK 2145

Moraea GK 2140

Seed parent: GK 1699 MX_17 (parents unknown)

Pollen parent: GK 1699 MX_30 (parents unknown)

A cross made by Garry Knipe.

GK 2140a. This is a superior flower, with its overlapping tepals, clear colors, and dot pattern.

Moraea GK 2139

Seed parent: GK 1699 MX_28 (parents unknown)

Pollen parent: GK 1699 MX_30 (parents unknown)

A cross by Garry Knipe.

GK 2139_1. Grown in Garry's garden.

GK 2139a. Grown in Mike's garden.

Moraea GK 2136

Seed parent: MM 18-312b ((M. atropunctata x calcicola) x (villosa x tulbaghensis)) X (villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa form d

Pollen parent: GK 1699 MX_30 (parents unknown)

A cross made and grown by Gary Knipe.

GK 2136_2

Moraea GK 1316

Seed parent: MM 10-02b (villosa X tulbaghensis)

Pollen parent: M. villosa form d

Bred by Garry Knipe, and photos by him.

GK 1316_1

GK 1316_3

Moraea GK 2111

Seed parent: MM 15-80a (atropunctata x calcicola) X neopavonia

Pollen parent: MM 18-308a (((atropunctata x calcicola) x sibling) x neopavonia 'Summerfield') X villosa o

A cross by Garry Knipe. It's led to a lot of nice pastel-colored flowers.

GK 2111_6

GK 2111_12. I like the pale brown specks on the backs of the tepals.

GK 2111_14

GK 2111_15

GK 2111_16. Very nice dot pattern in the center of the flower.

GK 2118_18

Here's a sibling...

Moraea GK 1976

Seed parent: MM 15-80b (M. atropunctata x calcicola) X neopavonia

Pollen parent: GK 1699 MX_19 (parents unknown)

Cross by Garry Knipe. Equivalent to my cross MM 19-95, which unfortunately hasn't bloomed. It's lucky Garry grew this too, because it's a special flower. I love the orange inner tepals.

GK 1976_1

Moraea algoensis

This is a small but cute plant. This particular individual blooms in late winter (the end of January at my San Jose, California home), although other individuals reportedly bloom during the following two months. According to iNaturalist, the range of the species spreads from the summer-dry area of South Africa into areas that get at least some rain all year, which might account for its diversity of bloom time.

Perhaps in the future this species will help us breed Moraea hybrids that have a longer blooming period.

This one bloomed the first time at my house only recently, so I've just started hybridizing with it. Its pollen has fathered two pods as of this writing (late 2025), so it's at least partly compatible with the rest of subgenus Vieussieuxia. But I have no idea yet what its offspring will look like.

Meanwhile, the species itself is fun to look at. I love the intricacy of the markings in and around the eye, and the way the style crests and inner tepals stretch upward like grasping fingers.

Moraea MM 22-284

Seed parent: MM 19-15a ('Zoe' x neopavonia 'Summerfield') X villosa o

Pollen parent: MM 18-249a ((neopavonia 'Summerfield' x (atropunctata x calcicola) x (atropunctata x calcicola)) X villosa o

 A cross made at my house by Garry Knipe.

Moraea MM 22-275

Seed parent: MM 15-89b ((M. villosa x tulbaghensis) X villosa)

Pollen parent: MM 19-65a (neopavonia X ((atropunctata x calcicola) x villosa form d))

This is a very nice flower, but I was hoping the combination of yellow and intense orange parents might give me an intense yellow-orange. Instead I got soft orange that reminds me of a 50-50 ice cream bar.

Moraea MM 22-243

Seed parent: MM 18-05 (M. tricuspidata X atropunctata)

Pollen parent: MM 19-27a ((atropunctata x calcicola) x neopavonia) X ((atropunctata x calcicola) x villosa d)

MM 22-243a. Roughly similar to the pollen parent, but with almost completely black inner tepals.

Moraea MM 22-229

Seed parent: MM 18-249a (M. neopavonia 'Summerfield' x (atropunctata x calcicola) x (atropunctata x calcicola) X villosa form o

Pollen parent: MM 18-265a ('Zoe' x atropunctata) X villosa o

This is a nice cross that Garry Knipe made at my house.

MM 22-229a

Moraea MM 22-213

Seed parent: MM 17-10c (M. tripetala x calcicola) X ('Zoe' x atropunctata)

Pollen parent: villosa form o

MM 22-213a. This is obviously a nice flower, but look closer at these photos and you'll see intricate stripes and speckles in various shades of blue, magenta, and even red. Very nice! 

Moraea MM 22-211

Seed parent: MM 17-10c (M. tripetala x calcicola) X ('Zoe' x atropunctata)

Pollen parent: MM 13-89a ((villosa x tulbaghensis) X villosa d)

I combined a nice spotty purple flower with a nicely-marked orange flower, and got an explosion of interesting colors and patterns. I need to make more crosses like this!

MM 22-211a

MM 22-211b. The eyes are beautiful, and also check out the beautiful blue tips on the style crests.

MM 22-211c

Moraea MM 22-206

Seed parent: MM 13-41 (villosa b X h)

Pollen parent: MM 13-41a (villosa b X h)

MM 22-206a. This one has a very nice two-tone blue eye.

Moraea MM 22-197

Seed parent: MM 13-33 (M. villosa f X c)

Pollen parent: villosa form b

MM 22-197a. I don't know if these are the same plant, with the upper photo faded by the sun.

Moraea MM 22-162

Seed parent: MM 19-66b ((M. villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa form d) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa form d)

Pollen parent: MM 18-333c ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa d) X (tulbaghensis x villosa h)

MM 22-162a. This one is splendid. The pollen parent has a color pattern similar to this, but in a very cupped flower. I wanted to get the same pattern on a flat flower. For once, I got exactly what I wanted.

22-162b

MM 22-162c

Moraea MM 22-157

Seed parent: MM 19-132a (Moraea unknown X (((atropunctata x calcicola) x gigandra) x (villosa x tulbaghensis))

Pollen parents: MM 18-334a ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa d) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa d)

MM 22-157a. Lovely. Very rich purple color, including the tips of the style crests, and a nice hairy edge to the eye.

Moraea MM 22-146

Seed parent: MM 19-26b ((M. atropunctata x calcicola) x neopavonia) X Moraea unknown

Pollen parent: MM 15-110a (longiaristata form a X thomsiae)

This cross is special in several ways. First, it is the only successful hybrid I've ever made with 15-110a, despite many tries. Second, the pollen parent is an incredible orange and blue spotted hybrid, so I was interested to see what it would do as a parent. And third, hey, look at how cool these flowers are.

MM 22-146a. Very nice streaks that look like watercolor paint.

MM 22-146b. These flowers are mangled, but look at the beautiful blue and purple color patterns.

Moraea MM 22-145

Seed parent: MM 19-26c ((M. atropunctata x calcicola) x neopavonia) X Moraea unknown

Pollen parent: MM 19-65a (M. neopavonia X ((atropunctata x calcicola) x villosa form d))

MM 22-145a. This is a very handsome orange flower, and I am also very happy to see the return of the silver-gray eye color, which first showed up in one of the grandparents of this cross.