Moraea hiemalis seed
J.E. Shields (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