Moraea polystachya/Moraea venenata
Mary Sue Ittner (Wed, 08 Oct 2003 21:16:17 PDT)

Dear All,

It is that time of year for Moraea polystachya to bloom in my garden. Like
Paul Tyerman I have had mixed success with this plant in my garden. When it
blooms, it blooms for such a long time and is so pretty that it is a
favorite of mine. But for years with me it has been hit or miss whether it
would bloom. I tried watering more in summer, planting it in different
spots, but never found the magic bullet. Then Dirk Wallace gave me seed he
labeled Moraea venenata. It germinated in less than a month in September
and bloomed the second year in the fall and it has bloomed every year since
(not every corm, but enough to satisfy me). And I really love it. It looks
just like Moraea polystachya however and my attempts to key it out still
made me think that was what it was. Dirk told me he had it from a good
source and we both agreed it was a wonderful plant so I decided it didn't
matter for enjoying the plant but in my mind it remained M. venenata ?

This year when it is blooming again (I have it in a pot) Moraea polystachya
is also blooming in the raised beds I redid last year. So I decided to
gather some confidence and tackle the key and the descriptions of the two
plants in the Moraea book. I believe both plants are Moraea polystachya.
The plant that is supposed to be Moraea venenata is too tall, the outer
tepals are too short (the flowers are supposed to be bigger than Moraea
polystachya and the plant shorter).
Also the seed pods are not long enough. At least this is true of my plants.
If any of you growing this in Australia as M. venenata have plants in seed
please check out your pods. M. venenata is supposed to have pods that are
cylindric and 16-20 mm long and are included in the spathe until nearly
ripe. M . polystachya seeds are 11-16 mm. long and are well exserted from
the spathe. My plants of the suspect plant that have been blooming only
since late September, already have a visible seed pod. To anyone I have
given seed or corms of this plant as Moraea venenata if you are reading
please change your label.

Finally, in the most recent BX my friend Bob Werra offered seed of Moraea
polystachya which he says does very well for him. I've had a couple of
unusual circumstances preventing my growing corms of his even though he has
given some to me. I have seven now from his seed so one of these days I
hope to have blooms. Bob says that his does not start blooming in the fall,
but instead blooms in winter. That would mean it they behaved the same for
me that I could have one group of plants bloom for many months and as they
were ending their cycle a new cycle on the plants from his seed would start.

But I am wondering if the time of bloom could be variable each year. Last
year the Moraea polystachya in the bed I redid bloomed Jan-Mar. This year
the same plant has started to bloom in Oct. So maybe when it blooms is a
function of environmental conditions and not the plant itself. The plant I
grew as Moraea venenata has started blooming reliably each year in the fall
but I have always grown it in a pot. Last year it started blooming in
October and the last blooms were in January. This is a very long time
considering some Moraeas are in bloom for less than a week in my garden.

Does anyone in South Africa grow the real Moraea venenata?

Mary Sue
Mary Sue Ittner
California's North Coast
Wet mild winters with occasional frost
Dry mild summers