Joe, Another alternative is drying.
Check out this, fairly informative page: http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/hgic1151.htm Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter O'Byrne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Cc: "Joe DiDomenico" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 6:59 AM Subject: [OGD] preserving orchid flowers > Joe DiDomenico asked "Any suggestions on how to preserve an orchid flower? > I've heard alcohol but I'm unsure of the specifics." > > Joe, this is a very straightforward procedure. Place the flower in a > widemouth jar that is slightly larger than the flower. The jar needs a > good, > airtight lid on it. The jar can be either glass or plastic; glass jars > last > longer, but plastic ones don't break if they get bashed. Cover the flower > with one of the following mixtures: > > a) 50-60% alcohol, 40-50 % water. This is the basic preserving mix; easy > to > make, nothing that will raise lumps on your skin. If you live in a warm > climate, use 60% alcohol. 50% alcohol is OK for temperate climates. > > b) 50-55% alcohol, 40-45% water, 5% glycerol. This is a variation on > Recipe > A; adding glycerol helps preserve fine structures such as hairs. > > c) 50% alcohol, 40% water, 5% glycerol, 5% Formalin. This is known as Kew > Mixture. The formalin helps preserve colours (to a limited extent) but you > don't want to get it on your hands, so wear gloves. > > Recipes A and B will completely dissolve any pigments in the flowers, so > you > end up with a colourless preserved specimen. Recipe C dissolves some > pigments completely, and others partially. As long as the lid is > airtight, any one of these recipes will easily preserve flowers for a > decade > without any further action on your part. Every 10 years or so you should > change the preservative because the alcohol slowly disappears, even from > an > air-tight jar. Plastic bottles and lids may need to be changed every 10 > years or so; the plastic becomes brittle and loses its integrity. > > Don't forget to label the jar on the outside, and put a label inside the > jar > with the specimen. Pencil on card is best; avoid using pen because the > inks > will dissolve. > > Cheers, > > Peter O'Byrne > _______________________________________________ > the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) > [email protected] > http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
