more moraea pictures

robertwerra@pacific.net robertwerra@pacific.net
Tue, 05 Jul 2005 13:38:29 PDT
Hello, Replying to Mary Sue's request for info on my moraea pictures. I'm hesitant. My wife says there aren't 20 people in the world who care about moraeas and she is always right. Most are fugacious, many are small blossomed, and they aren't easy to get. But for reasons obscure, I love them all along with calochorti. M. neopavonia is a stunner with large blossoms lasting several days, repeats for several weeks, and hand pollinates easily. M. papillionacea  is 5-6 in. tall with fugacious attractive variable yellow, orange, or pink blossoms which repeat for 2 weeks. I find it difficult but worth it. M. unguiculata is 10 -12 in. with small, interesting, white with green blossoms lasting several days, repeats for 3 wks.and pollinates + -. M. serpentina comes from the drier, hotter, sandier area and adapts with narrow coiled leaves. It is 4-6 in. with large for its size very attractive yellow and white fugacious blossoms, that can repeat every 3-6 days for 2 mo. I can't pollinate it, but I think it can be ?stoloniferous. It lives long. I have one that has lasted 14 yrs. M. tortillis is my favorite for its absolute pluckiness. It too comes from the drier sandy area and its leaves are like coiled watch springs. It is dimunitive, 2-5 in. tall, scrawny, and appears attractive solely for its coiled leaf on the ground. Then one day behold- a bud appears and after several days turns into a relatively huge blue blossom that weighs the plant almost to the ground. Fortunately, it is fugacious because the plant could not hold it up for more than a day. You say well done plant, but it isn't done. In 5-7 days out of nowhere it repeats and sometimes does so for over 2 months. Absolutely amazing. However, you can't miss lunch when it performs or you will miss it. It is difficult to pollinate, doesn't spread, but is longlived. Mine have bloomed for 7 yrs.
 





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