Over the years, I have killed more Phalaenopsis orchids than I can count. I have never had one live more than a year or so, let alone bloom again. A neighbor once took pity on me and repotted my collection of ratty Phalaenopsis orchids, fertilized them, instructed me in their care and feeding, all to no avail. Now, I treat these beautiful plants almost like a bouquet of flowers: once the blooms have faded, into the green waste they go. For some reason, two plants that I have had for a couple of years have remained alive and now live in a north facing window with plenty of light, despite the fact that Bobo chomps on the leaves every once in a while. A few weeks ago I noticed an emerging stem that I first thought was an air root. But, I was wrong. MY Phalaenopsis has actually produced buds. A couple of days ago, one began to open. Finally, emergence!
Because I wanted to show the entire stem of buds with the flower in focus, this shot is comprised of 11 individual photos, merged and blended in Photoshop to make one. I’ve done focus stacking in other blog posts and this was the perfect time to use it again. But I applied a new trick I learned at my Camera Club meeting the other evening. One of the members made a brief presentation on blending the edges of a selection and I needed to try this technique because when the photos blended in Photoshop, one of the petals appeared smudged where the blending couldn’t match the edges. I applied my new found knowledge and it worked. I didn’t have time to make it perfect but I’m happy with the result.
