365 days of orchids – day 673 – Coelogyne barbata
We are now looking around the greenhouse to spot the plants that will be the stars of the greenhouse visitors to the British Orchid Show this week. Perhaps our most dramatic plant of the moment is our monster Coelogyne Barbata with twenty spikes opening this week.
Barbata means ‘bearded’ and the bearded coelogyne is a truly spectacular thing. This plant has been growing in Cool Asia since 1998 and is rapidly becoming a specimen plant. This year there are eleven spikes each with about ten large flowers. The dark brown ‘beard’ on the lip is probably an evolutionary adaption to limit access to just one species of bee to increase the chances of successful cross pollination.
The plant grows in a large basket and is kept wet in the summer and damp in the winter to reflect the habitat which is wet evergreen monsoon forest from Nepal to Southern China. We haven’t seen this species in Sikkim but we have visited the habitat (1000-1800m) where coelogynes are abundant.
We have lots of seedlings from this plant growing well in the lab and these are the result of a cross made at the last British orchid Congress on Norwich. A congress is a great chance to set seed from the wonderful plants that come together from all of the UKs top growers. We are expecting the orchid hall to be truly spectacular.
Hi Simon please let me know when you have seedling available thanks Chris
We will have plants at orchid Christmas next friday – but too big to post.
Hi Simon its a shame if you had one or two smaller plants to post would be interested thanks Chris
We will have a look 🙂
Thanks Simon much appreciated, wait to hear from you
Hi Simon any luck with Coelogyne Barbata thanks Chris
Hi Simon
Any luck with a small piece of Coelogyne Barbata please.
Hi Christopher we have flowering size plants but they are too big to send. We will have them at our Orchid Christmas open evening here on Dec15th or at the Bournemouth Orchid Show in Feb and RHS orchid Show Wisley in March
Hi
When will more plants and seedlings be available again, never got a Coelogyne Barbata, wait to hear Chris
Hi Chris – good to hear from you – I will be putting plants up for sale on Thursday including Barbata and Cymbidium seedlings.