Moraea MM 11-24

Seed parent: Moraea villosa a
Pollen parent: Moraea gigandra

Frustration.

These flowers look very intriguing; they are more deeply colored than the typical villosa x gigandra crosses. But the plants were very weak this year, with the flowers wilting as they opened. I don't know if that was a problem with my potting soil or with the plants themselves.

I've had some potting soil problems, so I'll repot these in the summer and see if they do better next year.

In the meantime, check out the possibilities...

MM 11-24a. Intense colors and a bright orange center make this one appealing, of only it'd fully open.

MM 11-24c. Wow, a huge orange center and almost no eye. This might turn out to be a nice flower if I can get it to grow properly.

Moraea MM 11-20

Seed parent: Moraea villosa a
Pollen parent: Moraea tulbaghensis with blue eye

Crossing these two species generally produces orange flowers with colorful eyes. The flowers are usually relatively small and cupped, about halfway between the size and shape of M. villosa and M. tulbaghensis.

This cross is pretty typical, but I like the brightness of the colors.

MM 11-20a. Very nice clear colors, with a large eye.

MM 11-20b. This one is so deeply cupped that I had to hold down one of the tepals for the photo.

MM 11-20c. There are some interesting purple shades in the tepals, but otherwise the colors in this one are a bit dull.

Moraea MM 11-19

Seed parent: Moraea aristata
Pollen parent: Moraea villosa a

The seed parent is white with a two-tone blue eye, while the pollen parent is purple with an orange center and blue eye. The offspring are all basically white with blue eyes, and sometimes interesting patterning around the eye.

MM 11-19a. Yow! Check out the dark eyelashes around the blue eye. I also like the hint of yellow behind them.

MM 11-19b. Look carefully at this photo and the one above it. Not only are the eyelashes much reduced, but there's no black and yellow rim around the eye.

MM 11-19c. More eyelashes, but not as prominent as in form a. Also, the tepals are not as white, and the center is yellower but a bit dirty-looking.

MM 11-19d. This one has a bit of the two-tone Aristata color scheme, with a purplish edge around the eye.

Moraea MM 11-18

Seed parent: Moraea MM 03-07b  ( (M. atropunctata x neopavonia) X villosa)
Pollen parent: Moraea gigandra

The seed parent is a pale orange flower with a huge blue eye, while the pollen parent is purple with a narrow blue eye and dark center. I was hoping that crossing pale orange and purple would give me some crazy reddish color, but instead this flower has pale almost-white tepals, a blue eye, and an orange-yellow center with leopard markings. The tepals are very narrow.

I really enjoy getting surprises like this from the hybrids.

MM 11-18a. Maybe when its siblings bloom, some of them will have more radical colors.

Moraea MM 11-17

Seed parent: Moraea gigandra
Pollen parent: Moraea villosa a

The seed parent has purple tepals, a blue eye, and a clear orange center. The pollen parent is purple with a narrow blue eye and a mottled black center.

Many gigandra x villosa crosses look a lot like villosa, but these are pretty distinctive. There's some black mottling in the center of the flower from M. gigandra, and the tepals look a bit elongated, whereas M. villosa usually has round tepals.

MM 11-17a. This one's my favorite from this cross. Although it's hard to see from the photo, the tepals are bluer than its siblings, and the eye is also a flat, solid blue color. When you see the flower in person, its blueness really stands out compared to the purpleness of the others.

MM 11-17b. The tepals are more purple-y than its sibling above, but I do like the yellow center.

MM 11-17c. This one has an orange center and a more rounded eye.

11-17d. Another yellow center, but the tepals are more rounded than form b.

Moraea MM 11-16

Seed parent: Moraea villosa b
Pollen parent: Moraea MM 03-04b (M. aristata X calcicola)

The seed parent is pale purple with a yellow center and a big blue eye, while the pollen parent is white with a little tinge of blue, and has a dark blue eye,


MM 11-16a looks a lot like M. villosa b, but has purple streaks and dots around the eye. They look a bit like eyelashes. Very intriguing!

MM 11-16b. This one's a bit more conventional looking, but I like the tidiness of the flower, and the wide tepals.

MM 11-16c. Similar to form B, but with a bit of yellow around the eye.

Moraea MM 11-15

Seed parent: Moraea villosa b
Pollen parent: Moraea MM 03-99 (neopavonia X villosa)

The seed parent has pale purple tepals and a big blue eye, while the pollen parent is light orange with a black eye. Combining them gave me several flowers that look like Moraea villosa b, and two that are quite different. The blue eye shows up in every cross, which is nice since I like it better than the black eye.

MM 11-15a. This one is a lot like M. villosa b, but has a stronger yellow ring around the eye.

MM 11-15b. Paler tepals and no yellow ring. In fact, there is no ring around the eye at all, which is very unusual.

When viewed head-on, the eyes in this flower are amazingly big.

MM 11-15c. I really like the vivid colors in this one. It looks to me as if we have purple tepals overlaid on a very large yellow area in the middle. Where the yellow and purple mix the flower has a reddish-mauve color.

MM 11-15d. Pale tepals and a bright yellow ring. This one is kind of eye-catching.

MM 11-15e. Similar to its sibling above, but lighter in color (and also beloved by aphids). Unfortunately, this and several other hybrids I raised this year were floppy and half-wilted when they opened. I do not know if the problem was with the plants, or the soil, or both. That's why you see my fingers on the photo; I had to support the flower so you could see it fully.

MM 11-15f. Just to round out the selection, this flower is bright orange with a blue eye.