I noted last year that researching 365 days of orchids has thrown up a few surprises including the habitat of this species. We have come across several Pholidota species (that are closely related to Coelogyne) in Loas, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Some species are small and attractive, others are large and straggly but all have been cool growing. As a result we grew Pholidota leveilleana in our Cool Asia section for five years where the plant grew but didn’t really flourish and this is not surprising as this species is actually a warmer growing lithophyte. The plant is native to Southern China and Vietnam where it grown on mossy rocks in deep shade from 800 to 1800m.

Last year we moved the plant to Warm Asia where it flowered and this year it has started to really grow well and this year is a lovely sight with seven arching spikes of small salmon pink flowers.