Moraea MM 11-42

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

This cross mixed a white flower with blue eye with an orange flower with black eye. The result was a small buff flower with blue eye.

MM 11-42a. This looked pretty promising as it opened: a light yellow flower with big blue eye But the flower quickly faded to a dull cream color.

MM 11-42b. Similar to form a, but the flower was small and a little misshapen. That may be due to a heavy hailstorm we had at about the time it bloomed. We'll see how it does next year.

Moraea MM 11-41

Seed parent: MM 03-98c
Pollen parent: Moraea villosa b

This cross combined a pale violet flower that has dark purple spots on it, with a violet flower that has a blue eye and yellow center. I was hoping for a villosa-like flower with spots, but got something that looks very much like villosa itself.

MM 11-41a. Except for the faint white ring around the eye (which can be seen in the seed parent), I could easily mistake this for Moraea villosa.

Moraea MM 11-37

Seed parent: MM 03-04a (aristata X calcicola)
Pollen parent: MM 99-00a (atropunctata X neopavonia)

This is the offspring of a pale purple flower and a mid-orange one, both of which have dark centers. All of the plants to bloom so far are pretty boring-looking, with off-white tepals and dark centers. But look a bit closer: in a couple of flowers there's a faint white ring around the center, which is interesting. And some of the flowers have yellow-orange on the small inner tepals. Moraea plants usually have similar colors on the inner and outer tepals, so I like the possibility of breeding plants that have contrasting colors.

For similar crosses, see MM 11-30.


MM 11-37a. There's a faint hint of a white ring around the eyes, and some orange in the center. But otherwise this one is fairly uninteresting to me.

MM 11-37b. Similar to form a, but the eye is less distinct and there's a bit more orange in the middle.

MM 11-37c. The center looks more yellow than orange in this one. MM 99-00 seems to carry a yellow gene in it somewhere; it shows up from time to time in hybrids.

MM 11-37d. To me, this is the most promising of the four. The white ring is a bit more prominent, and the orange color extends all the way out to the ends of the inner tepals. If the eye was lighter and the outer tepals darker, we'd have something interesting...

Moraea MM 11-31

Seed parent: Moraea villosa a
Pollen parent: Moraea aristata

Usually crosses between villosa and aristata look like villosa, and this one is no exception. I think it's interesting that the center is yellow (villosa a has an orange center). The blue eye is quite large.

MM 11-31a. I caught this one half-open and then, unfortunately, forgot to photograph it again later.

Moraea MM 11-30

Seed parent: MM 03-04b (M. aristata X calcicola)
Pollen parent: MM 99-00b (M. atropunctata X neopavonia)

This cross is between a pale purple flower with a dark center and an orange flower with a dark center. I was expecting mauve or purple flowers, but instead I got a white one and a bright clear yellow.

You can see a similar cross here: MM 11-37.

MM 11-30a. At first glance it's not a very distinguished flower, kind of a dirty white color with dark eyes. But check out those crazy yellow inner tepals. Where did those come from?

MM 11-30b. Okay, a purple flower and an orange flower produce...yellow? Obviously recessive genes or some other complex genetic mechanism are at work. Whatever the cause, this flower made me very happy. Several years ago, I bred my first yellow Moraea hybrid, MM 09-04a. It was a pretty little thing that set seeds well and had fertile pollen. But all of the corms of it died over the summer. Bad potting soil, maybe, or just bad luck. I've been trying to breed another yellow one ever since, with limited luck until this flower came along. It's bright yellow, and unlike many yellow Moraea hybrids, this one doesn't fade in the sun. Now if I can just do something about that uninteresting black eye...

Moraea MM 11-28

Seed parent: Moraea aristata
Pollen parent: Moraea gigandra

A white flower with blue eye was crossed with a purple flower with narrow blue eye. The result is approximately a midpoint between the two plants. Not very spectacular, but the next-generation hybrids might be more interesting.

MM 11-28a. The streaks in the midline of the outer tepal look promising.

MM 11-28b.

MM 11-28c. The tepals of this one are strongly reflexed (bent back).

11-28d. This one is vivid purple but has a bit of the aristata color scheme in the eye, which I like.

Moraea MM 11-25

Seed parent: Moraea MM 99-00b (atropunctata x neopavonia)
Pollen parent: Moraea tulbaghensis with blue eye

An orange flower with a dark eye was crossed with an orange flower with a blue eye. As you might expect, we got orange flowers with variable eyes.

MM 11-25a. Nice vivid color, and a weird little double dot on the inner tepals (the big petals). Not spectacular, but I like this one for its quirkiness.

MM 11-25b. The flower was small and kind of mangled-looking. I can't remember what color the eye was, but it wasn't spectacular.