The cooler sections in the school greenhouse are in the midst of their spring peak with several Coelogyne species in flower to remind us of school expeditions to Himalayas.

We have seen this attractive and fragrant Coelogyne on our travels to Sikkim where we found it at around 1200m to 1500m altitude, growing both as an epiphyte in trees and as a lithophyte on steep rocky roadside slopes.

 Coelogyne flaccida in Sikkim

In both habitats it receives very wet, warm summers but dryer cool winter periods. The flowers are intensely fragrant with a scent that reminds me of honey one plant in flower soon fills the Cool Asia section with its scent.

As you can see the flower spikes are very pendulous and so growing the plant in a basket works well so that it can be hung up when in flower. It is a good idea to water very little when in flower as the flowers are damaged by water and of course it flowers in the dry season in Sikkim when the flowers can last for several weeks in good condition.

We also saw several cultivated plants in Sikkim showing what a plant can develop into.