Moraea (Homeria) collina

Mary Sue Ittner
Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:32:32 PST
Dear Jim,

How tall a plant can be depends to some degree on the growing 
conditions. I have a lot of Moraea, Homeria subgroup, growing in my 
garden. In the ground they generally don't bloom until spring (April, 
May). Sometimes in a pot they may bloom sooner. Many of them have 
very long leaves that can trail on the ground or be somewhat upright 
so perhaps they are measuring the length, not the height of the 
leaves when they describe the foliage. They bloom for me for months 
and months. In my cooler climate the blooms generally last two days, 
but in a warmer climate lasted only a day with new ones appearing all 
the time. Since they offset almost too well, once they start blooming 
there is almost always one or another in bloom. The ones in the 
ground are much taller than 6 to 8 inches. I've found they bloom 
better in the ground, but some have appeared in container grown 
plants I have (like a limequat) and I haven't figured out a good way 
to extract them. I try to deadhead every year, but I'm sure I miss 
some of the seeds.

I would always have ones to share with the BX except they can't be 
sent out of California. We've talked about this before. Some of them 
are supposed to be toxic to animals and I can't ever remember if that 
is the reason they are not supposed to be imported to the USA or if 
it is the weed potential or both. I wouldn't think they would survive 
in the ground in very cold climates.

If you have pictures of your plants, why don't you send them to me 
privately so I can see how close they resemble the plants I grow. I 
can't imagine how you could have a dozen corms in a 4 inch pot. The 
corms in my experience aren't that small.

Mary Sue

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