Moraea, Homeria subgroup, wiki pictures
Mary Sue Ittner (Tue, 15 Apr 2003 20:12:30 PDT)

Dear All,

I have posted pictures of some of the recent flowers in my garden of the
Homeria subgroup of Moraea that I talked about yesterday. We have discussed
the weediness of these in the past and I reported that they weren't weedy
in my central Valley home, but if not watched they reseed a bit in my
Northern California coastal garden and increase by offsets as well. Still,
I have yet to see one that has strayed beyond my property (1/2 acre). Some
species can be toxic to cattle, but there are no stock in my neighborhood.

They require no care, bloom for a couple of months for me and as soon as
the rains stop their leaves dry relatively quickly and separate easily from
the corm and they have disappeared until the next rainy season. My brother
was able to grow them for a number of years in his Houston, Texas garden,
but eventually his garden got too shady and they disappeared. My mother
loved hers in Midland, Texas, but sometimes there were late frosts that
killed them and eventually they did not come back. So I doubt they are good
for cold gardens. They really do better planted in the ground. My brother
said they reminded him of a candelabra as they would branch as they
continued to bloom. I have given up trying to key these out and they
probably are hybrids, but if anyone who looks at all the different
variations thinks they could be one of the species, please let me know.

http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

I have had less luck getting that gorgeous Moraea elegans to bloom (picture
from last year) and Moraea comptonii was short lived too.

Mary Sue