Coelogyne nitida – 365 days of orchids – day 876
The sweet fragrance of Coelogyne nitida is filling the greenhouse this morning.
This is a cool growing species that we have seen abundantly in Sikkim and in Arunachal Pradesh. In our experience it grows in evergreen and semi-evergreen forest from about 1000m up to 2500m mostly on the trunks and lower branches and often with moss and ferns, The photos below show the species flowering in late April near Tawang right in northern Arunachal pradesh.
The Cymbidium growing with the Coelogyne is Cymbidium elegans (an autumn flowering species I am sure we will feature in October)
In cultivation we replicate the species’ cool wet habitat and find it grows best with a minimum of 6C in our Warm Temperate zone and we water well throughout the year.
I bought a Coelogyne nitida from you at the BOC weekend in November 2018. It is growing well and 2 flower spikes have emerged so I’m very pleased. Hope the flowers are as good as in your photo.
I remember seeing this lovely Orchid on Countryfile. I thought it was an absolutely wonderful orchid and found your description of how it originates from the Himalayas, where it was prized for its medicinal qualities to treat fevers and burns, fascinating. One thing you can’t experience on Countryfile is it’s beautiful perfume which is absolutely gorgeous.
I hope my little Coelogyne nitida, in time, grows to be as beautiful as yours!