Finally... Phragmipedium humboltii in spike!

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So I decided to preserve/dry the flowers to see what artistic composition I can create. I often keep dried flowers for fun. And I thought the long petals would be shameful to discard. Better to recycle into something memorable.

Here are the edited art versions of the dried flowers. I guess you either love it or thrash it lol.

First is original, second is vignette and last is B/W.

View attachment 28389View attachment 28388View attachment 28390
I have tried drying and preserving the flowers of my favorite, Schroederae, with no success. If you have any tricks to preserve (I am not artistic so cannot draw or paint to preserve the image) I would appreciate the advice. Thx
 
the bounty watermark is the best!!!!...

no kidding though... these are all pretty cool...

I read up from the bottom and first thought you had pulled off some magic through photoshop to get the flowers and nothing else...

Say more about how you preserved the flowers?
Thanks all for the nice comments.

The following is the method I use to dry flowers:

1. First I let the flowers dry on the inflorescence until that are about to fall off or even fall off in this case. The flowers must be still a little soft but mostly dried, so that you can manipulate the parts without breaking.

2. Then lay the flowers on paper towel (in this case a long piece of Bounty paper as Rich pointed out lol) to soak in the rest of the moisture. Lay them as you would compose them in a painting. Here I put each flower to create the look I wanted ... ie 3 facing each other at different height. A flat surface in a dry room without draft is best. You won't move them until whole process is done.

3. You will need to move floral parts around gently to compressed the jutting parts like the pouch and dorsal sepal. Lay the long petals as straight as possible or in positions you want because once dried they are immovable without breaking (I know because I broke my sanderianum petals years ago).

4. Then when you have compose the 'look', put another piece of bounty over them, making sure the jutting parts is positioned to dry that way. You might need to check twice to make sure it is in position.

5. Then lay a very light cardboard paper or a few envelopes on top of the upper layer of bounty to flatten gently the 'jutting' pieces. Then everyday add a little heavier until flat. This may take 2-5 days to dry flat.

6. Check daily by lifting the paper towel to see if drying well or flatten enough. Within a week, you get the 'art'!

7. The entire paper towel sandwich is stored between two pieces of cardboard (cut to match art piece, bigger about 1-2 cm around the edges) in a dry area like a bookshelf to be enjoyed later. Slide the whole piece gently onto the bottom cardboard while horizontal to prevent falling or bending and ruining the composition. Then cover top with cardboard. Use wide paper clips to hold card close on all sides to keep parts from sliding and moving. This way you can store vertically or on sides.

Hope this makes sense :).

Good luck and have fun!
 
Thanks all for the nice comments.

The following is the method I use to dry flowers:

1. First I let the flowers dry on the inflorescence until that are about to fall off or even fall off in this case. The flowers must be still a little soft but mostly dried, so that you can manipulate the parts without breaking.

2. Then lay the flowers on paper towel (in this case a long piece of Bounty paper as Rich pointed out lol) to soak in the rest of the moisture. Lay them as you would compose them in a painting. Here I put each flower to create the look I wanted ... ie 3 facing each other at different height. A flat surface in a dry room without draft is best. You won't move them until whole process is done.

3. You will need to move floral parts around gently to compressed the jutting parts like the pouch and dorsal sepal. Lay the long petals as straight as possible or in positions you want because once dried they are immovable without breaking (I know because I broke my sanderianum petals years ago).

4. Then when you have compose the 'look', put another piece of bounty over them, making sure the jutting parts is positioned to dry that way. You might need to check twice to make sure it is in position.

5. Then lay a very light cardboard paper or a few envelopes on top of the upper layer of bounty to flatten gently the 'jutting' pieces. Then everyday add a little heavier until flat. This may take 2-5 days to dry flat.

6. Check daily by lifting the paper towel to see if drying well or flatten enough. Within a week, you get the 'art'!

7. The entire paper towel sandwich is stored between two pieces of cardboard (cut to match art piece, bigger about 1-2 cm around the edges) in a dry area like a bookshelf to be enjoyed later. Slide the whole piece gently onto the bottom cardboard while horizontal to prevent falling or bending and ruining the composition. Then cover top with cardboard. Use wide paper clips to hold card close on all sides to keep parts from sliding and moving. This way you can store vertically or on sides.

Hope this makes sense :).

Good luck and have fun!
Thank you. Makes perfect sense.
 
I know of a person that bought a Kovachii hybrid and when it bloomed, turned out to be Kovachii! He was over the moon happy!
 
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