Re: SPEC: Moreaea polystachya
From: "Patterson, Dallas" <nye@mail.fidalgo.net>
Yes, the landscapers in Southern California have really latched on to the
Dietes iridoides for its foilage. They're turning up in parking lot
landscaping all over the place. Note, the nomenclature for these plants
is rather confused. What is often sold at the nursery as Moraea bicolor
is reportedly Dietes bicolor. The Dietes vegeta we purchased at a nursery
here is supposedly the synonymous Dietes iridoides...and so on.
Some sources are saying the lower temperature range for these plants are
20 degrees F. and others say 25 degrees, so their hardiness here may be
rather marginal. However, we're giving it a try to see if we can succeed
anyway. Monrovia Nurseries is one of the big producers of these landscape
plants, and I suspect they are being produced in the San Gabriel Valley,
Los Angeles County, where we used to live. I know that I'm still seeing
their labels on these plants even up here in Washington.
Being South African natives, Dietes and Moraea prefer a cool-warm
environment with adequate moisture. Provided you can protect them from
sub-20s weather, they should do well in the desert. Our potted plants
performed fair to middlin', so it took planting them into the ground to
see them perform properly (in Southern California). Here in Washington,
the plant only half-heartedly produced occassional blooms while in the
pot. If it survives this winter in the ground, we expect the plant will
produce a profusion of bloom next year.
Provided this first experiment succeeds, we'll have to find a source for
some of those other Moraea, like Moraea fugax <g>.
Dallas Patterson
nye@fidalgo.net
USDA Zone 8
Skagit County, Washington
Slc.Dennis Bishop wrote:
>
> From: starlord@QNET.COM (Slc.Dennis Bishop)
>
> >From: "Patterson, Dallas" <nye@mail.fidalgo.net>
> >
> >Dietes bicolor / Moraea bicolor and Dietes iridoides
>
> I picked up oth of these (I hope) this last summer. the tags on them
> said hardy down to 25F, I'm in zone 8, high desert of calif. and i've
> seen the moraea one used as an everygreen around here around uildings.
> i picked up a 'utterfly' iris which i think is the dietes icolor, ut i
> did ring it inside as it wasn't in a ig pot. I also pulled in my
> walking iris too.
>
> The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond.
>
>
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