This magnificent plant is a division of a plant donated to the project 18 years ago and it is a shame that it is at its peak when there are no events where we can share it with the public. Our next event is the Bee and Pollination Festival on 31st August and 1st September at the Bristol University Botanic Garden. Hopefully Coelogyne fragrans will still be in flower.

Coelogyne fragrans is native to Papua New Guinea where it is reported in montane forests from 100 to 2000m which suggests it can thrive in a wide range of temperatures.

We find that plants do best in our Cool Asia section (min 10C) where plants flower profusely from the developing new growths in the summer. We have tried growing plants warmer but plants grow smaller thinner bulbs and have less flowers per stem.

Some related species are sequential with their flowering while this species produces 2-4 large flowers per spike with all the flowers opening together and giving a great display. We find that plants enjoy really heavy watering as the growths develop over the summer.