I am surprised to find that we have never featured this large flowered coelogyne on 365 days – it is long overdue.

Coelogyne lawrenceana is a warm growing species from the Himalayas through to Vietnam. We have seen related species in Laos as terrestrials and epiphytes usually growing in shade with luch green leaves and large pseudobulbs. The 10cm wide flowers are produces successively on spikes from the top of the bulbs giving months of flowering. The lip of the species is particularly beautiful with unusual raised crests and nobbles.

We grow the species in our Warm Asia section and find that the secret to good flowering is feeding and watering plants very well during the summer. If plants are kept too dry. they produce smaller bulbs that do not flower.