Coelogyne speciosa
 

Native to rainforests of Malaysia, Borneo, Java and Sumatra….. grows in intermediate to warm temperatures with partial shade; on the east facing window of my kitchen. I water regularly all year with no winter rest. It is potted in a 4” plastic pot on top of a humidity tray that I provided with a mix of fine fir bark, tree fern fibers, perlite, charcoal, lava rock and clay pellets. I give it fertilizer weekly weakly with Algoflash alternating with seaweed and worm tea mix.
This underwent mite and fungi infestation that I was lucky it gave me a single bloom....I was expecting a spike with a cluster of 10 to 12 buds....oh well....maybe next season

Very cool!

Thank You, Sonya !

Bud, nice Coelogyne but don't hold your breath for 10 or so flowers, speciosa usually puts out 1 to 3 flowers.

oops...Thanks for the heads-up Glen....I thought it would be like my Coelogyne marthae....so this is more likely similar to my Coelogyne ovalis then....

Very nice, I have a huge one of these growing in my highland Nepenthes area, and it's a fave of mine, but they sure do get big. :p

Looks nice in the vase!

Awesome.

Kim

Thank You, Exo!

Thank You, Leafmite !

Thank You, Kim !

Exactly, i was going to say that mine flowers and is quite often sequential, it will have another flower, shortly after another bud and flower....and again. Not a chain of flowers like other coels (unfortunately).

Thank You, Brenda !

Do you use any fertilizer for this?
I bought a rochussinii a while ago and every time I fertilize, the leads die. Happened 3 times. Mature growths are still OK.

I use algoflash alternated with seaweed mix and worm tea mix....I do not wet the leaves....I water by soaking it for five min....fertilizer weekly weakly

Thanks.:)

Awesome, Bud. Very well grown and flowered. YOu certainly do well under your conditions.

Thank You, Ron !

Once I am given a freebie orchid: I panic and research on its culture immediately....I have that constant fear of killing it....that is why it thrives on me well...my secret is also to let it mimic its environment in the wild....and give it to the plant to make it happy....my orchids may live in a Manhattan apartment: but it wont miss its homeland=because I try my best to provide it for them

summer 2013 rebloom
 

this time its bigger flower and with more vivid colors....a single flower per blooming cycle....I hope to grow this as a specimen (I have seen pictures of several blooming flowers) but with a new bulb per year, I might wait for a long time to achieve that....

Coelogyne speciosa, endemic to equatorial areas from Indonesia and Sumatra is warm to hot tolerant but is surprisingly tough and grows at altitudes up to 2000 feet. That is why I don't expose it to frost and I keep it evenly moist and humid.
The name 'speciosa' in common to several plants and is named because the flower is huge and spectacular. Coelogyne speciosa justly deserves its illustrious tag. Fortunately, it is very commonly grown and freely available. This is because it is an attractive, tough, hardy and easy to grow orchid that is popular with both beginners and aficionados.
This has led to much taxonomic debate (as well as discussion among growers) and there is still much more to do. Barbara Gravendeel; in Holland has initiated detailed research into Coelogyne speciosa, backed by extensive DNA analysis. There are about 16 very closely related species in the same taxonomic Coelogyne subgroup (Speciosae) as Coel speciosa. However, the old adage, "a rose is still a rose"; applies to all growers. Just admire them and let the scientists do their work.
Because it comes from monsoonal rain areas, the flowers face downwards to prevent the rain washing the pollen onto its own stigma and causing self-pollination. This may be a clever trick on the part of the plant but it means that the plant should be presented above eye level so that the flowers can be appreciated to their fullest.


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Beauty, but I do wonder why only 1 flower...not followed up by the bud for another .????

Thank You, Brenda!!!!
Its nice to hear from you once again.
I think it blooms only with a new bulb. Since I have 6 old bulbs it should give me 6 new plants that will give me flowers...its strange ....oh well....

sweet plant & flower. I purchased a lawrenciana off ebay that i thought was a goner but now has a growth off each bulb. err both of them. the big one was yellow on delivery & died :(

I guess mine is a "generous" speciosa....I'm used to 2-3 flowers per new growth. Must vary from plant to plant, interesting.

It's a beautiful flower.


BTW -- You'll get better growth and flowering if you move it to higher light. This particular Coel does best in catt light...between 2000-3000 fcs.

Thanks for the visit!

Good luck on your plants....a new growth is exciting.

amazing colors there Bud.

going to my wish list!

Thank You !

You can get this in any orchid seller in your area. This is not a hard orchid plant to find.

thanks, i also meant to mention that I also alternate with worm tea and fish/kelp fertilizers. Everything seems to love it :)

I also use worm tea mix liquid form I get online. I use Mexicrop seaweed mix liquid form which I also get online. I would like to know what is the brand of fish/kelp fertilizer mix you use and is it in liquid form or crystal?

Rebloom December 4, 2013
 

This formed a bigger sized flower on an old leafless bulb= notice a more vivid color and beautiful form than the earlier ones. I see another pointy bud forming on the spike and I guess I am going to have two flowers this time.


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Congratulations! I've been thinking it's finally time for me to get a coelogyne, I've been wanting one only for forever. You really do well with your orchids!

Thank You for the visit and kind words.

This orchid is a no fuss plant. I just leave it on the windowsill, weekly weakly fertilizer and water but in the summer months it gets watered every other day or when the mix gets dry....I make sure the bulbs are plump and never shrivel.... the leaves are thin and sensitive that even if I don't wet it=still gets fungi and fall off. That is one of the major thing I need to discover=how to maintain clean healthy leaves.

Our summers are very low humidity, so I suspect it might not be such a problem, keeping the humidity up high enough is probably a problem. I've seen such beautiful ones in photos, like C. cristata. And, up at Golden Gate Orchids in SF I saw some really fantastic specimens. Should have bought one then, but my partner was not enthusiastic about "more orchids!"

Your environment will allow this plant to be outdoors. Your partner will not notice it at all.

LOL, Bud, I think you're right. There's an orchid open house at a place in the county this coming Monday. Hmmm.....

Awesome, these are completely new to me:-) Love it!

Thank You, Tommy!

These orchid plants are easy to grow and you may find some in an orchid farm near you..

Beautiful fimbration on the lip!

Thank You, Rico !