Leaf Diversity

Day 42: Besides being green, these leaves have something in common which might come as a surprise: they are all Hoyas. Hoya carnosa (the one with the white edge on the right) is most recognizable to the average houseplant enthusiast. It blooms in the spring, flowering at the tips of woody spurs which should never be pruned out. Above it, is Hoya fitchii which has a thinner leaf and sports light coppery-yellow flowers with pale pink centers during the summer. The large leaf in the upper left belongs to Hoya affinis, an "intermittent" bloomer. It comes into flower when it feels like it, although the vine must be at least four feet long before the brilliant red umbels appear. The smaller leaves are (left): Hoya bella, another "intermittent" which bears white flowers with maroon red centers. Bella is one of the most rewarding houseplants I've ever raised; H. cumingiana (center of the three small leaves) is a summer bloomer having pale yellow flowers with maroon centers and H. curtisii whose tiny but wondrously abundant leaves form a dense mat. Its intermittently-occuring flower umbels are pale yellow with just a touch of rose-pink at their centers. I'm always looking to add new Hoyas to my collection!

Hoya Curtisii

Day 270: Hoya curtisii is one of my latest acquisitions. A "miniature" Hoya, it is also a creeper, useful as a groundcover in larger pots, and trailing when grown by itself. In form, it reminds me very strongly of Ceropegia woodii (Rosary Vine). The leaves are not quite as heart-shaped, but they are of a similar size and bear the same silvery mottling. I've only had it for a few weeks, so can't vouch for the flowers, but it seems to be a very vigorous and trouble-free grower, having gone from a few four-inch stems in a 2.5" pot to fully filling a six-inch pot with half a dozen stems dangling a foot over the edge. It is reported to be an intermittent bloomer like Hoya bella, forming clusters of slender-armed, pale yellow stars surmounted by a crown of pink-tipped white beads. I can hardly wait!

Hoya Orb

Day 228: It's been a while since I made an Orb. This is a fun bit of post-processing which is easy to effect with almost any halfway decent graphics software. A certain degree of artistry is involved, but not enough to be intimidating, even for folks who have just graduated from Windows Paint. You'll want to have an assortment of images to play with, if only to learn how to position your subject to get the best results. Flower photos are a great place to begin.

The first action you will take is to "promote the background layer" (Layers menu). Once this is done, crop the image into a square. Do this by changing the settings for "canvas size" (not "image size"). Let's say we're working with a 4320 x 3240 pixel image. Set the canvas size to 3000 x 3000 to give yourself a little "wiggle room." Now because you've promoted the background layer, you'll be able to slide your image around until you have your flower fairly well centered (centering is not a requirement, but until you get used to making Orbs, you'll get a higher percentage of attractive results). Once you have your flower in a good position, "merge" the layers (Layers menu). If you look at the image information at this point, it will tell you that you have an image measuring 3000 x 3000. Save the file.

Here comes the tricky part! Follow the directions exactly, because if you mix up Step 1 and Step 3, the results won't be an Orb. In the Effects menu of your photo processing software, select "Polar Coordinates." It may be a sub-menu under "Distortion" or something with a similar name. I use PaintShopPro, but other software should use similar terms.

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!

1) Convert POLAR to rectangle.
2) Flip the image top to bottom.
3) Convert RECTANGLE to polar.

The most common error in creating an Orb is to start with Rectangle to POLAR because most photo processing software lists it first. You must convert POLAR to rectangle in Step 1, or the Orb will not work out right.

Orbs remind me of those wonderful glass paperweights. Make yourself a whole collection, because this version won't ever need to be dusted!

Comparative Anatomy

Day 199: As I watched the Hoya carnosa's blossom develop, I failed to notice until a few days ago that Hoya bella was also coming into bloom. In this photo, you can observe the differences in the inflorescence of each species. The common and well-known H. carnosa is on the left, its large, elongated oval leaves directly behind it. H. bella is on the right, smaller pointed leaves in the foreground and to the right. Both plants have the typically thick, star-shaped flowers which give rise to the generic common name of "wax plant," but as you can see, they are rather different in form. H. carnosa's blunt-tipped flowers may sometimes be more white than pink, depending on how much sunlight the plant receives. H. bella's little stars are always white.