PLEIONE 2011

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Gorgeous flower !!! Just potted mine up this morning, it's hardly moving so far... 

[SteveC2]

Glad to hear that yours are motionless Luc, mine too!
Two question for David.  What do you use for the background in your photos and do you photoshop them?  I've tried numerous black backgrounds but none appear quite as black as yours.  Is there computer wizadry afoot?

[Slug Killer]

Glad to hear that yours are motionless Luc, mine too!
Two question for David.  What do you use for the background in your photos and do you photoshop them?  I've tried numerous black backgrounds but none appear quite as black as yours.  Is there computer wizadry afoot?

Hi, I just use either a black card or for the humilis I had some black cloth that I think was bought at a curtain place. If you don't want any of the grain/material showing place about a foot behind the image and the background should then be completely out of focus. I do use photoshop but only to adjust white balance to get the correct coloration. There were nine other shots I was not happy with before I got the one I wanted.

David

[Slug Killer]

Gorgeous flower !!! Just potted mine up this morning, it's hardly moving so far... 

Luc, Are they flowering size? Seen plenty for sale as FS but are actually FS-1. Pictures below are what I would class as FS, FS-1, FS-2. Not much difference in the length of the FS and FS-1 but the flowering size tend to be a bit fatter.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

It is in fact a newly acquired pseudobulb David and I believe that sizewise it's inbetween pictures 1 and 2 ...    Time will tell ! 

[Slug Killer]

Seems fair to call it FS then Luc. I noticed that they only flower when the skinny ends have bulked right out the year before like picture one.

There is no guarantee with a newly aquired bulb as you don't know it's true origin or how its been stored. You may be lucky but if not it's a twelve month wait Unfortunately you can't make them flower

[Maren]

Global Warming???

look at this, an advert from the Spalding Bulb Company regarding Pleione Tongariro:    

"These miniature orchids from Tibet are truly fabulous. They will thrive in a sunny, warm, sheltered spot in the garden, but they also make very unusual houseplants." What they don't say is that that sunny, warm spot in the garden should be sheltered by a greenhouse where temperatures don't fall below freezing.

It's the same as ladies tights: built-in obsolescence.

[SteveC2]

After a sudden growth spurt the last few cold  nights seemed to have left this forrestii in suspended animation but at last it's open.  This first flower is three weeks earlier than last year despite the cold.  The timing of the cold was snap was much earlier this year, when the plants wanted to be dormant as oposed to the previous year when they were just thinking about growing.

Note the trademark label in the background.  I really must remove them when I take photographs!

[Maggi Young]

Lovely to enjoy that golden flower in this wet weather, Steve.
Why not get a piece of coloured card to curl behind a flower when photographing? It isolates the bloom and concenrtrates the image beautifully. 
Mid Grey is the "classic" colour for photo colour representation but  black can look lovely too... 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Looks super Steve !
Mine isn't anywhere near flowering at the moment...

[ThomasB]

Really nice P. forrestii. Mine are still in the fridge and don't show any sign of flower buds so far.


Does anyone know whether there are different named forms of P. aurita and especially how different they look?
I've seen P. aurita 'Red Purple' and P. aurita 'Zhejiang' offered (without a pic) and think about getting one of each.

[Peter Maguire]

Why not get a piece of coloured card to curl behind a flower when photographing? It isolates the bloom and concenrtrates the image beautifully. 
Mid Grey is the "classic" colour for photo colour representation but  black can look lovely too...   

Black is very good for bringing out the colour of a vibrantly coloured flower (such as a Plieone!) - black velvet is traditionally recommended as it doesn't reflect light back into the lens if the sun is not shining directly on it. You need to have the background far enough from the plant to be out of focus. I'm sure the ladies in the fabric shop wondered why I wanted a metre of black velvet when I bought mine several years ago. 
Grey is particularly effective with subtly-coloured flowers, but if you use a card with a slight pattern, then make sure the background is out of focus here also, otherwise it looks odd.

[SteveC2]

Whilst I appreciate the photgraphic advice I will admit to being a little reluctant to start using my plants as models!  The forrestii was photgraphed on its very crowded bench without being moved.  The last time I tried to use a piece of card as a background, I sent a pot of Wharfedale Pine Warbler tumbling to the ground, with two broken flowers the result.
To use black card or not to use black card, that is the question!

[Graham Catlow]

Always nice to see a forrestii Steve with or without a photographic background.

I have a forrestii that will be open very shortly whilst the others have just started to wake up. This one is finding a new home at the Dunblane early bulb show on Saturday as it has consistently flowered earlier than the others, and I don't wish to have one waking up on its own every year. I think this one was bought from Jacques Amand whilst the basis of the rest came from Koolplants.
I think someone has suggested in a previous thread that different clones may have their own cycles.

[SteveC2]

All mine originated from Koolplants, albeit in two or three different purchases, (Some given away or swapped with friends at first) and now I have quite a colony, but this one is still at least a week ahead of the rest.  Second to flower caused me a stir this morning.  I thought it had a hole in the middle.  Closer inspection revealed it's a double header; two flowers for the price of one!