The Annual Swarming of the Butterflies!

[gixrj18]

Well....these aren't Monarch butterflies, and this isn't Michoacan, Mexico....but the butterflies still swarm here every year.....Psychopsis, that is! This is my giant Pyp. Mariposa, which has the spikes to produce ten blooms simultaneously. I have only got the blooms to coincide enough for nine at the same time, but I'll keep trying. Right now, it has seven blooms....it was almost eight, but the eighth one dropped yesterday.. At any rate, it rests all winter, then puts on this show all summer long! My alba is blooming also, but it only has two blooms.

[dounoharm]

what a great show that is! good growing!

[UKCat]

Most impressive

[RosieC]

Cool, love those shots.

[tuvoc]

Well done, Jasen! Fantastic!

Kim

[thakshila smith]

Jasen,
its wonderful. How did you get the black background?
First time when I saw them I thought they are some insects.

[gixrj18]

Originally Posted by thakshila smith

Jasen,
its wonderful. How did you get the black background?
First time when I saw them I thought they are some insects.

It's just a large piece of black cloth that I use for photographing my flowers. This is why I insist upon mounting all my Psychopsis. When they are mounted, they grow as they do in nature, creating the very real illusion of an insect fluttering in the breeze. With a slight wind, they will all bob in unison like a swarm of insects. Plus, anytime I grew them in a pot, the vertical growth of the spike always caused water to settle in the brachts on the spike. This would always cause buds to blast, and eventually rotting of the spike. I never have that problem with a horizontal spike. Besdides, if it gets too long, I just turn the plant. Since the spikes grow towards the light, they just zig-zag back and forth.

[nenella]

Fabulous! hope you beat your record! Great pics

[peeweelovesbooks]

Congratulations! It looks awesome.

[Leisurely]

Quite a nice show Jasen. I have a very large plant but have never been able to get more than two flowers at once.