Klaus07

To get a photo of annoyingly tiny flower, place a 10x objective in front of a point and shoot camera lens, focus as usual, and click. I got some acceptable photos of hydra that way. If you are really industrious take several photos using a tripod with slightly different focus points and then use helicon focus to merge the photos together.

Zapins

CombineZM also does focus stacking very well and it is free.

asukawashere

Thanks for the tips! I'm nowhere near un-lazy enough to merge photos with a bunch of different foci, but I'll give the lens thing a shot if I can dig one up. And then glare at the Micranthemum for making my life so difficult in the first place LOL.

In other news, today I finally had enough simultaneous Limnophila sp. 'Vietnam' blooms to give artificial pollination a shot, so I got out one of my detail brushes (one of the benefits of being an artist is that brushes are readily available) and had at it. Hopefully it will be successful.

Meanwhile, my Limnophila rugosa specimen is budding, hopefully to bloom in the next few days. Observe:

asukawashere

And the L. rugosa has bloomed! And my hand is really shaky today, so all the pics are blurred! Also, it did not help my cause that the flower was at such an angle that I was forced to tip the pot on it's side and hold said flower up...






This flower has a really unique hue to it that didn't quite translate to the screen - in person, it's more of a mauve color.

wabisabi

Nice!

asukawashere

Thanks!

While I've been cooped up today with a virus, I went and took a couple more photos. First up is a nicer shot of the Limnophila rugosa:


Persicaria sp. 'Kawagoeanum' is an easy-to-flower, fast-growing weed:

(See also Poaeceae sp. 'Purple Bamboo' stems in the background). The P. 'Kawagoeanum' blooms frequently throughout the year, especially if I don't trim it for awhile...

And a non-aquatic treat from my accidental tree frog's current habitat (long story), Masdevallia 'Angel Fling'

This is a hybrid orchid I picked up at J & L Orchids, a well-known grower that happens to be just a few minutes down the road. This particular hybrid is one they created themselves, from a cross of M. 'Angel Frost' and M. 'Highland Fling'

asukawashere

My new job is eating my life. Srsly. But I managed to find a few minutes yesterday for messing around with macro lenses. So, better quality photos this time! And some new species to look at! Also a ton of Limnophila spp. shots that are sharper than the last bunch!

Staurogyne repens:


Limnophila rugosa:


Limnophila sp. 'Vietnam'


Limnophila sp. 'Sulawesi'
Bud:

Wilting flower:

(this is what happens when jobs eat your life - you don't always get to take photos right when the flower blooms. Woe is me.)

Limnophila aromatica:

(unlike the rest of its genus, L. aromatica has flowers that are big enough to get decent artsy shots of...)

And my favorite of this latest batch, Nesaea pedicellata 'Golden'

(This plant has yellow and orange leaves, red stems, and hot purple flowers. It's like an entire warm color palette puked in my plant tub or something.... I love it!)

asukawashere

Finally got my (non-wilted) Limnophila sp. 'Sulawesi' flower this past weekend! Behold:

These flowers are roughly the same size as those of my L. aromatica (i.e. about 1cm wide) but shaped a bit more like those of the L. sp. 'Vietnam' or L. rugosa. Overall, I think the aromatica is the showiest bloomer of the Limno species in my posession.

Also, a favorite of mine from over the summer, my Lindernia grandiflora is back in bloom:



The blooms are slightly larger than L. rotundifolia, L. sp. 'India' or L. dubia, and they're very intensely colored - the deep, royal purple really pops against the white background.

cableguy69846

Those plants all look great. I wish I could get flowers like that. Keep it up man.

asukawashere

Thanks for the compliments!
Flowering plants varies in difficulty from species to species, but generally I've found that if you give the plants plenty of light, plenty of nutrients, and time, they'll eventually bloom.

The real problem is the species that bloom for a short period, go to seed, and then promptly die off. -_-'