james mickelso |
05-12-2013 08:49 PM |
When catt flowers start to age they generally just start to dry out and droop. They are quite lovely when fully dried as they become papery but keep some of their colors. When they start to get wet and slimey it is usually some sort of internal damage either from a bacterium or fungal infection. Bugs usually don't do this type damage. I seldom water my bloomers until they are quite dry. In their native environment when an orchid blooms it is during the dry season as this is when their pollinators are flying. During the wet season the pollinators are usually worms or caterpillers. But when the dry comes they pupate and when the flowers open the pollinators hatch out and fly to feed on the nectar. Something like a bacteria or fungal spore got into the rizome or even the single flower stem and attacked the flower. This usually happens as the flowers aren't hatched yet. And that is usually caused by moisture inside the sepals before they open. These flowers were very beautiful. Thanks for sharing them. Here's a pic of a flower (Toshie Aoki) that had dried up and become papery. I have a 16x20 inch black and white print I made of it but can't scan it. I took it with my 4x5 camera and enlarged it in my darkroom.
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