Thanks all. :-) I think the right one is "The Hulk", green and bulky. ;-)

Tracy, btw, the dioscoreas are D. elephantipes. And yes, they will go dormant when they feel like it. ;-) Some begin to grow in the autumn and during the winter, others leaf out in the spring. You never know.

Brutus and Popeye! I love it! Please reconsider the names Martin. These are too good to pass up.

Also shown in the second Grow Out Log, but here's the video of an ultra fast adenium husk removal. ;-) No nursing. The seed/seedling is removed from the soil and off goes the husk. Pretty easy. I virtually never kill seedlings by this procedure...

A Short Grow Tent Tour

Got tired of taking photos, and this is the new trend. ;-)

YouTube

As you can see, my touchy adenium hybrid is still trying to bloom. This is the fifth flower, the other four aborted. Hopefully it will open sometime during the next 48 hours...

Btw, the little tree with delicate leaves is an Operculicarya decaryi, "Elephant Tree", grown from a seed myself. The species is native to south-western (if I recall correctly) Madagascar and is a member of the cashew or sumac family, Anacardiaceae. My plant already has some showy roots buried in the soil. ;-)

That is a great video, Martin. Gives a good visual explanation as to how you have it set up.

Rick

Pretty cool Martin! I was waiting to hear some of the Danish commentary but there was none. LOL. Fingers are crossed for that hybrid to bloom.

I use the same method for removing husks when they are wrapped around the caudex of the seed. Otherwise I wait until they are loose enough to remove with a small twist.

I was checking the weight of my seedlings last night to determine if they needed watering. I actually got bitten by one of my P. Saundersii spines! They are so small that you think that they are still flexible. However, OUCH!

We have our first snowfall here today. It is very light but also telling that winter is almost here.

Tracy

Grow Tent Tour II

Thanks both of you. A tour in my second tent - again without Danish commentary: ;-)

Grow Tent Tour II

Tracy, yeah, I know how it feels like being bitten by pachys. ;-) My saundersii is getting bigger and bigger and more aggressive!

And we have our first snowfall today, too! Actually a mini-sized blizzard. :-)

Good stuff indeed my nordic Warrior lol. We got our first snowfall overnight albeit a light dusting but the temperature has stayed freezing (-2 approx)

I feel like I just took a helicopter tour of your Adenium forest! Pretty nice. The arabicums are getting so fat. They all look nice and healthy Martin.

The flower is almost open! The "reality show" with my iPad did the trick. The adenium wants to show off and be famous. I think I need to go outside to cool down a bit...

Thanks, Phil. Being a retired viking (done pillaging), I prefer "norse", though. ;-)

"Stavkirke"/Norse church in Copenhagen:

Martin that looks a bad ass church, has a sinister look to it, like it could be in a horror movie lol

Phil, this was intended. ;-) The photo is a merged image of five seperate photos (High Dynamic Range/HDR) taken with my camera pointing upwards.

Flower Update

Almost open... It's a matter of hours, before midnight with a little luck. :-)

Winter is coming... And Christmas and Sandy Claws! ;-)

Anyone got the adenium Santa Claus cultivar? ;-)

What camera you using there Martin?

Phil, I am a Pentaxian and an avid amateur photographer. ;-)

Wow fabulous composition Martin.

Nice Martin, I got a load of photography stuff a couple of years ago, maybe less, a nikon d3100 with lenses inc a macro lens, I love macro, but had to sell the lot to raise urgent funds when we had to move house sharpish about 9 months or so ago, bummer.

Thanks. :-)

Phil, that's a bummer. :-( I love macro, and especially extreme macro photography taking close-ups of arthropods. This jumping spider was only 0.5-0.7 mm big:

Perfect Martin :-)

Every time I visit Martinsberg, I go straight to the last post, scroll up about three posts then read from there. So I never really know what's been going on but that girl is most definitely gorgeous!

Flower Photo Update

It finally opened, but the colours are nothing special. Dark pink'ish petals with red margins and a yellow throat with nectar guides: :-/

But it could show off with a nice display of flowers. It has several buds on the other branches. I think, I will let it flower - and then prune. ;-)

The saundersii has gotten noticeably fatter and is still quite compact:

2015-11-03:

Still a good bloom and w what it sits on makes it even more special.

Those Pachy's are so great. Love how compact and lush they look.

Great stuff, Martin.

Rick

Martin the bloom is special, don't shortchange yourself. After all of the aborted blooms you have to be smitten with this. I still cannot believe how small this tree is after all these years.

Thank you for the Pachy update! They are definitely putting on some weight. Did I tell you that I successfully germinated a single P. horombense? I Fingers crossed so I do not kill it. I hope mine turns out half as cool as yours.

Tracy

Yay! It's alive!

Sure, it's pink but who cares. You have a blooming tropical plant in Skyrim. That makes it priceless!

Thanks all. :-)

Of course you are right. I should be happy, now that it finally bloomed. It will put on a good show, when more flowers mature.

Tracy, yeah, and it is 10 years old! But it has been stuck in the same small container for 9 years and pruned many times. This certainly restricted growth. But growth has been quite compact - until recently.

After repotting it this summer, it began growing again. Perhaps a bit too fast due to my generous watering regime. It's in a square 13 x 13 cm (5.1 x 5.1 inch) container, and the container is bulging. ;-) I am not sure what to do, when it needs to be repotted again. Finding 6-7 inch square containers could be a problem...

I didn't remember about your horombense. Congrats! :-) When do we get a thread update? ;-)

For larger square pots you might have to look at the fabric pots Martin if you struggle to find plastic ones?

Phil I bought some of the 1 gallon square fabric pots (Smart Pots) the other day, looking forward to trying them out.

Thanks, Martin. I will update my Pachy seedling thread very soon.

Arabicum Photo Update

Some fat arabicums from this years batch:

Somalense Photo

I don't think I have shown you this nice conical-shaped somalense with multiple branches:

This one is getting big, almost 3 inches wide and growing like weed:

Are you repotting yet, Martin? I want to see what it's like under the hood.

Pagan

P.S. How about now? Repot? lol

P.P.S. Now?

Haha, Pagan. No, not now, but I will repot some of them in two weeks or so. ;-) I suspect big roots. The containers are bulging...

Great plants there Martin :-)

Just got a nikon d3300 with 18-55mm kit lens yesterday so happy with that. What's the stitching softwarecalled you used for the above church Martin? Is it easy to use as computers and technical stuff ain't my strong point

Phil, thanks. :-)

And great choice of DSLR camera. This is a good value/beginners' camera.

The best HDR (High Dynamic Range) software is Photomatix Pro. It's fairly easy to use, but I would suggest that you find a Photomatix Pro guide on the internet or in a local library. I bought a booklet in Danish.

Another thing. You need a stable tripod and some sort of trigger device (or a timer on your camera) to make HDR images.

Those are sweet images Martin. Yeah I need to buy a few bits but it will come in the future I think, cash going on Christmas presents for kids just now. I really want 3 decent lenses too in time for macro, landscapes and wildlife, but they won't be cheap so will just have to wait

a rubbish effort of mine when I kept leopard geckos with a Nikon d3100 a while back

Wow Martin, these trees are "beefcakes"! Love the shape on the somalense in your second photograph, it is ready for a repot too. Third pic, this thing is growing like a weed! LOL. I have started repotting my somalense seedlings but have to make room every time I do a repotting session. I called it the shuffle.

I am truly impressed with the images you have captured. I would totally hang the second one on my wall. Quite awesome. Do you ever frame and hang your work?

Cute gecko Phil. Sorry you have some stepping to do after Martin's wow photos. I'm sure with your new setup you will be kicking it up a notch. What better subjects than the lovely blooms to come on your beloved Adeniums?

Tracy

Phil, thanks. :-) About lenses... I know what you mean. I am a photography nerd and use expensive pro lenses, but I don't have children myself, which makes my addiction tolerable. ;-) It really pays off by better sharpness, colours and maximum aperture etc - and quality lenses are a joy to handle in the field!

Reptiles are always showy. No offence, but the colours of your photo look a bit "flat", the white balance is off. I always shoot in RAW and correct white balance, colour saturation, contrast and sharpness among other things in either Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Photoshop. It makes a huge difference! But it can be rather time-consuming...

Have fun with your new camera and do post some photos. :-) Maybe we should start an off-topic photography thread?

Tracy, thank you. :-) No, I have never framed and hung my work. I don't know why. ;-) I shoot every aspect of life, persons, buildings, landscapes/nature or just odd or beautiful things which strike my eye. The last photos, honestly!:

Stunners Martin. Are you self taught. Shame your not in my area as we could have hung out, gone for coffee and you could have taught me a thing or two lol. Yeah let's get a photography thread going lol. Gonna look on the net for reviews as to which decent lenses are good choices to go for without being like £1000 each lol

Any thoughts on decent lenses Martin for me? I know it's am expensive hobby but don't think you always need to buy the most expensive to get great results?

I Need to look see what extras to get also as I don't even have a memory card yet

Phil, thanks. Yes, I am self-taught, but I have a photo nerd friend, read numerious books and articles on photography and I have participated in various public "shoot-outs" in the local area. To no surprise, photography has a lot to do with getting to know your gear in the field (and the limits of a particular setup) and how to use it properly. In my experience, 99% of camera-owners have no idea of the basics. They just point and shoot and hope for the best. ;-) If you know how to set aperture, shutterspeed and ISO and know their implications, you have come a long a way on the road to better photography.

If you want to buy more expensive lenses (or a new more expensive camera in the future), you should definitely visit www.dpreview.com and have a look at the different reviews. Before doing so, you should have an idea of what you aim for. Do you want a "walk-around lens" to capture various situations or a more specialized lens, for instance a macro or wideangle lens?

In my experience, I would say that the enthusiastic and professional line of (expensive) lenses are the best-performing lenses. Generally. But I have used cheap plastic lenses performing fairly well. But top-notch often weather-sealed lenses are high-quality products made of sturdy metal parts and superb optical lens elements reducing the severity of "lens faults" or making them go away alltogether (for instance chromatic aberration, lens flare and vignetting ). Cheaper lenses have cheaper lens elements meaning a higher degree of "lens faults". I admire good workmanship and I like using products that perform well.

I have a small collection of 25-35 year old manual metal lenses, which I still use - on my DSLR. Back then they were "mid-range" products, but they perform well even compared to todays digital lenses:

I want to be taught too! The "self" who has been teaching me has reached the limit of her patience. I want to go on a field trip with a backseat instructor.

In my experience, dpreview is as bad as STC Haworthia. I just end up with a longer wishlist than I did coming in.

Quick link for you Phil. While salivating over macro lenses, you'll be surprised at how much you can do with just these. Then someday, when you get a windfall, you can buy both of us some kickass macros lol

Pagan, nice photo!

I have a fancy expensive macro lens - and my own extreme macro setup. The latter takes photos of insect eyes. 28mm reversed lens (30 years old!) mounted on 125mm extension tubes (no AF), DIY diffuser and Novoflex Flash Grip: ;-)

Phil, I plan to go to either the UK or Ireland sometime in the near future. Do you have a tasty local beer in your area? ;-) I mainly travel to see the countryside and cultural stuff, local beer included. ;-)

Thanks, Martin! I'm relieved you that you consider that an acceptable shot lol And yes, that was a bit of fur from Hodor the cat who likes lying down on my haworthias. Macro photography (and my battle to learn it) is what got me into plants in the first place.

I am a firm believer in splurging on lenses and prioritizing it over a camera body upgrade. Also, other than the fact that my old D60 has extreme sentimental value, the reason I have been successful at talking myself out of getting a d3300 is because I shoot almost exclusively on manual mode anyway and have no use for bells and whistles. Although I could certainly use the 12k ISO with that yummy 25k ISO boost.

I also have this crackpot idea of getting a cheap D3200 and having the block filters removed so I can shoot in UV. I'm told my D60 is so old its IR/UV built-in filters are weak anyway and can probably do this already but I haven't tried. I need to get a UV black filter to test it. And a xenon flash. On and on and on.

Bottom line, it's really the D810 I want. And I just confessed to my real hobby, to which plants are only incidental.

Listen to you photography geeks, no wonder all of your photos look so much better than mine. And Pagan I would take that as a huge compliment coming from Martin, as he can be quite a harsh critic, no offense.

Ok 300 replies is probably the official winner of the longest thread. The quick link is fine and dandy if you are using a desktop browser but it doesn't exist in the mobile app. Martin from Denmark Part 4!? Starring Brutus, Popeye, Scarface, the Cow, the Pig, and hmmmm....

Oh I'm totally taking that as a compliment, Tracy! I was nervous about posting that on this thread, because I know Martin can ID the cheat since he knows I do not use a macro lens lol

That was a focus-stacked composite of about 6 macro shots just using my kit lens with three stacked extension tubes.

What quick link? The embedded URL thing? You must be not on Android, everything works fine. The "jump to end of thread" also works. What doesn't work well is the text field for typing up posts. Not sure if that's Houzz, Firefox for Android or my third party keyboard app.

I say let's take this thread to 400.

Don't be afraid of posting photos here. Photos are welcome, especially stacked photos and HDR photos. ;-)

Tracy, what happens when you press the "Page down" key? On my iPad, I simply use the "jump to end of thread" link or press the on-screen "Page down" arrow.

Tada!:

I want to prune it soon, very soon. ;-)

Wow! Bloomilicious. Nice show Martin. I am impressed by the sheer number of blooms!

I must be dense because I cannot find the button to jump to the last post of the thread on my iPhone. Also no page down button. This is both the browser and the app.

Pagan the pic is super cool. Makes me see Haws in a whole new way .

Tracy

Congratulations, Martin. How warm is it in it's habitat?

Tracy, I have the same problem on my phone.

But I noticed that when you press the "comment" button on the top post of a thread, it'll jump you to the bottom - even on a phone. Hopefully this works for you too, I got really sick of scrolling before I found this trick. I use the mobile website not the app.

Daniel