Here is another London favourite. Like yesterday’s Cymbidium devonianum, this Coelogyne species is very pendulous in its flowering making it a lovely thing to look at but a real challenge to get to shows in one piece.

Coelogyne velutina has a lot in common with other warm growing species with long pendulous flower stems such as Coelogyne tomentosa, Coelogyne pulverula and Coelogyne swaniana, but is very distinct in the colour of the flowers that turn from creamy-salmon to a deep salmon pink after opening. The Photograph below shows flowers that have been out for two weeks (pink) and two days (cream)

The flowers are relatively long lasting if kept dry and not bruised, and the species is very free flowering and so a dramiatic display is guaranteed. The plant here originally came from Burnham Nurseries and grows in bark compost in a large pot that we hang up at flowering time. We grow the plant in Warm Asia (min 17C) although it could grow a little cooler as the species is native to lower montane forests in Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia from 900-1950m. We find that the species enjoys plenty of water throughout the year.