Moraea speciosa

oooOIOooo via pbs pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
Tue, 18 Jan 2022 18:41:11 PST
Hello,

Today flowered for the first time one of my two Moraea speciosa, of Silverhill seed. I believe these are the remaining progeny I described sprouting in this post:
https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbslist/…

The photos are poor; it was too bright out to see my screen, and I had too much potting up to do to bring the plant inside. Perhaps later. But I hoped to show the size of the plant and the flower, and the second plant, which probably won't flower this year.

For many years they were in separate 20-ounce foam cups in builder's sand, which is how I sprout seeds. These cups are about 3" / 7.5cm across and 6" deep. I kept telling myself I needed to pot them up, because this is supposed to be one of the taller desert Moraeas. But I kept forgetting until after they had sprouted. After a few summers of forgetting them outside, rather than bringing them into the house, I realized they survive outside in our summer heat. Each year they emerge and grow strongly with late fall rains or the hose. Finally, two summers ago, I remembered, and potted up one of them to a nominal 1-gallon (3.78 liter) nursery container, in my local decomposed granite soil. I couldn't find the other because the pack rats got the tag. They are distinctive in foliage so when growing I easily recognize them.

This plant seems to have 5 buds. I don't know whether it will be self-fertile. The photos are the 1 gallon pot with plant; a close-up of the flower; and a photo of the other plant. The color on my monitor is very close to my perception of the real flower, but it is slightly more blue. Each of these has made one offset.

Leo Martin
Phoenix Arizona USA
Zone 9?

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