Gladiolus MM 21-496

Seed parent: MM 14-105d (G. watsonius x gracilis)

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

MM 21-496a

MM 21-496b

Gladiolus MM 21-487

Seed parent: MM 17-60b ((G. gracilis x priorii) x unknown) X ((gracilis x priorii) x (gracilis x priorii))

Pollen parent: MM 17-60a ((G. gracilis x priorii) x unknown) X ((gracilis x priorii) x (gracilis x priorii))

MM 21-487a

MM 21-487b

MM 21-487c

Gladiolus MM 21-402

Seed parent: MM 14-105b (G. watsonius x gracilis)

Pollen parent: MM 15-36a (gracilis x priorii) X (gracilis x priorii)

MM 21-402a. Very pretty, kind of a tropical sunset effect.

The flowers open lighter; this was the first day.

Older flowers are lower on the stem.

MM 21-402b

MM 21-402c

MM 21-402d. Wow, what delicate dot patterns.

Gladiolus MM 21-321

Seed parent: MM 16-52a (G. watsonius X ((gracilis x priorii) x unknown))

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

MM 21-321a

Gladiolus MM 21-119

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

Pollen parent: MM 16-52a (G. watsonius X ((gracilis x priorii) x unknown))

MM 21-119a

MM 21-119b

MM 21-119c. Nice dense purple dots!

MM 21-119d

MM 21-119e. This is a really nice flower in person. I like the contrasting dark color of the markings of the lower tepals.

Gladiolus MM 21-364

Seed parent: MM 16-52a (G. watsonius) X ((gracilis x priorii) x unknown)

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

MM 21-364a. The colors are a bit dull, but I like the intricacy of the markings.

MM 21-364b. I wish the yellow were brighter, but zoom in and check out the midlines in the lower tepals. There's a thin line of bright red outlined in purple.

Gladiolus MM 21-47

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

Pollen parent: Gladiolus unknown

This hybrid has a couple of unknown ancestors, which implies to me that the flowers may be self-fertile, since I grow them in screenhouses that keep out most insects.

I say "most" because this particular flower was attacked by something, probably a cutworm. I've learned the hard way that cutworms get into my beds despite my best efforts, and if I'm not on the lookout they will eat the flowering stems of my Glads down to stubs. In this case I spotted the damage when I had half of one bud left. The stripes look promising, but I'll have to wait until next year to see the full flower.

Spraying the bed once a year with an insecticide keeps down the worms, and since the beds are enclosed I don't have to worry about accidently killing beneficial insects. But I often forget to spray at the right time.

MM 21-47a

Moraea MM 22-261

Seed parent: MM 18-340 (M. polystachya x bellendenii)

Pollen parent: MM 18-339 (polystachya x (lurida x villosa))

I have tried scores of times to cross M. polystachya with other Moraea species and hybrids. So far, the only cross that produced a definite hybrid was MM 12-52 (M. polystachya x speciosa). Most of the other crosses didn't produce seeds, but in about 20 cases they did. All of those seedlings, when grown to flowering, have been identical to M. polystachya. I strongly suspect that they are all self-pollinated polystachya clones, but just in case I have been crossing some of the "hybrids" together to see if anything hybrid-like emerges. So far those second-generation crosses have all looked like pure M. polystachya as well.

Case in point...

MM 22-261a. Nothing happening here, move along.

Gladiolus MM 21-497

Seed parent: Gladiolus gracilis

Pollen parent: G. priorii

As usual, crossing red and blue glads produces magenta offspring.

MM 21-497a