The Peacock

I couldn't find a good quote on rarity.........and I wish I was clever enough to come up with one, but at least tonight the words aren't coming. 

This plant is really hard to photograph, like I shot probably 30 to 40 takes to get a decent photo, I'm not sure exactly what it is, the intricacy of the standards and falls maybe making the focus not want to hit maybe? Those of you who have been around this blog for awhile, know that I've always had a bit of an infatuation with the South African bulb flora and even more so with the irids. I had quite the collection going long ago and that year that we hit 9 degrees in the greenhouse for week straight made sure that I steered way back towards the hardy end of the spectrum as I emptied out pots turned to mush and said goodbye to 7 years of hard work cultivating the collection. But maybe i'm a glutton for punishment or just like to try to push the envelope a bit, but I'm back at it. 

Moraea aristata

This is one of the rarest of the Moraea's, that all too unfortunate tale of habitat loss leading to endangered or imperiled. This one fortunately turns out to be easier to grow in cultivation then it has been to establish protected habitat. Endemic to the Northeastern Cape, but now restricted to a single population critically imperilled through loss of genetic diversity.

I've given it the same treatment as most of the spring blooming winter blooming stuff that I have from Mediteranean climates and it seems to do fine. It does seem to be quite hardy having seen temperatures as low as 20 degrees in a pot.

The sun is back in force! It was wonderfully pleasant today with temperatures into the 60's but boy did the wind blow this afternoon.

Cheers,

Mark