Moraea hiemalis seed

J.E. Shields jshields@indy.net
Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:50:53 PST
Hi all,

I looked up Moraea hiemalis in Peter Goldblatt's "The Moraeas of Southern 
Africa" and found it limited in range to central KwaZulu-Natal, at 
elevations from 1000 to 2000 meters.  It should be a summer growing plant, 
given its native habitat.  It produces a single leaf.  It apparently 
flowers in mid-winter, at the end of its growing season, often with no leaf 
left or only a part of the leaf remaining green.

I would suggest growing it in a greenhouse in winter and moving its pot 
outdoors for the summer, in full sun, at least in climates like mine where 
the temperatures go well below freezing in winter.  In my experience, 
certain of the Moraea resent being transplanted, although not as much as 
the Dierama resent it.  So it might be well to sow seeds in the pots where 
you expect to grow them for the first several years.

I'd be interested in hearing what experiences others have had growing 
Moraea hiemalis in the garden or greenhouse.

Best wishes,
Jim Shields
in central Indiana (USA), where the sun has come out and the snow should 
melt off today


*************************************************
Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5             Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92              WWW:    http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344     or      toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA



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