Moraea 2022

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Paul (Flowers),
thanks for the moraea pics.
Just be careful with M. setifolia if it sets seed for you - it has a habit of turning up in other pots!
Moraea polystachya is just starting here but we'll have to wait a few months for the spring flowering types,
cheers
fermi

[PaulFlowers]

Maggi - thanks for article link - fascinating! All my lurida are variations on a yellow/black/cream theme and all equally stinky

[Diane Whitehead]

There are certainly a lot of Moraeas. 

I haven't had flowers yet, just incredibly long leaves on pendula, setifolia, spathulata and tripetala.

[MarcR]

Dianne,

These should all be flowering by now, especially the setosa.
You could be giving them too much nitrogen. Try withholding nitrogen fertilizers and you might try light application of 0-10-10.

[Véronique Macrelle]

 this Moraea elegans - chocolate scented tempts me if it ends up in the SRGC 2024/2025 exchange.

sometimes it takes 2 or 3 years before they germinate? as I leave the seedling pots in the greenhouse where it freezes, that explains my failures in this genus.

[Vinny 123]

Moraea germination from dry, especially commercial, seed is very patchy here, verging on zero across quite a few species.

I suspect that they are perhaps worse than so many Iridaceae in that really dry seed is a pain to germinate (fresh-from-the-capsule seed of the few that I have sown (not Moraea)  generally germinate like cress). ID is sketchy for species offered, but one or two Iridaceae (no Moraea) that I have bought from Lifestyle (RSA) soon after they are listed and sown immediately on receipt have given OK or better germination (Lifestyle packets mostly contain 100 seeds, so even just 5-10% germination is fine.) They will germinate out of season, but better than not at all.

Possibly good candidates for potassium nitrate soaking - I am trying this year - nothing to lose (seeds have been waiting a couple of weeks already............... I must find the time......)