Re: [Aroid-l] Off the wall question from a newbie. preserving the

From: "Elizabeth Campbell" <desinadora at mail2designer.com> on 2009.01.17 at 15:38:42 Walter - the heat generated by the curing of the epoxy or other resin normally kills off whatever enzymes would be working to break down the bloom inside its casting. Also, if you do this correctly you end up with an anaerobic environment inside the casting, and no oxygen = no deterioration. However, if you mess up and there is one tiny hole, you will eventually be left with a casting full of spores and whatnot. Which is why I say things like "practise makes perfect." I normally use the process to preserve orchids, and have never tried to preserve an Aroid inflorescence in this manner, but the process and science of it is sound. I'll be interested to hear how Chris does with it, and will also experiment on my own now that the idea has been raised. It seems a better way to deal with the preservation of inflorescences and other plant matter vis a vis herbarium specimens, since the process preserves the natural colour and shape of the plant. For orchids, I have ones prese rved in this manner that my grandmother made in the 1960s that still look fresh today. I tend to sell these as soon as they cure, and I don't have any photos at the moment; I lost the lot in a large computer crash, much to my chagrin. The next time I do a set I will definitely post photos to the group; certainly if I can successfully preserve an inflorescence I will publish the method here. Beth ---------- Message: 5 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:48:22 +0100 From: "Walter Turner" <wvturner@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Off the wall question from a newbie. preserving the blooms To: "Discussion of aroids" <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com> Message-ID: <f6b1a43a0901161248o239d778euf1d57b722dd8a9b1@mail.gmail.com>

Note: this is a very old post, so no reply function is available.