Ina wrote: >> Can anyone enlighten me that they have actually seen the flower and that it is worth growing? I received this species two years ago from a friend, and am still learning exactly how to treat it. At this point I'd call it a rewarding although not spectacular Moraea, and I'm puzzled that you're having trouble with it. A couple of thoughts... --The plants I've grown will bloom for a long period of time: several months starting in spring and extending into summer. To me, that is their biggest advantage. Just as the other Moraeas are winding down, these start blooming, and they keep going. After almost all of my other Moraeas had dried up and gone dormant this year, these were still in bloom. I think if I'd been more diligent about keeping the pots moist, they would have bloomed even longer. --Alberto's right, yours should be blooming in ~December-January in your climate. Your bulbs may be confused, and I wonder if that that might cause erratic flowering. This species is widespread but comes mostly from parts of South Africa that have low but irregular rainfall. I wonder if maybe your bulbs are getting rain at the wrong time of year, going into growth opportunistically, but then not getting the high temps and light levels they need in order to flower well. You might try giving them a dry summer/autumn and then watering them starting in mid-winter... --The flowers are fairly small compared to other Moraeas, but there were often multiple flowers open on a single day. They make a nice blue cluster. According to Goldblatt's book, if they get more water they'll grow bigger. --This is one of the Moraea species whose flowers last only a single day. In the morning, you'll see buds getting ready to open. By midday they are generally open, and then they close into little wrinkled nubs after the sun leaves them. One thing to check, Ian, is how much sun your plants get, and what time of day they're in sun. Mine are in full blazing sun all day, so the flowers are open for a pretty long time. I've noticed that with some of the single-day flowering bulbs, as soon as they get any shade or even just a reduction in sunlight they decide the sun is going down and they terminate the flower fast. If your plants are in part shade, you might try them in full sun -- especially with strong afternoon sun -- before you give up on them. Hope this helps, Mike San Jose CA (zone 9, min temp 20F / -6C)