At least it's a coelogyne...

[Silje]

I've always wanted a white coelogyne.

At some stage I bought a small cristata and from the look of it I've been working hard trying to kill it ever since. It is now reduced to a few shrivelled backbulbs tucked away somewhere in the greenhouse, and I think it will require a miracle for any of them to grow new leads.

So when I ended up in a small orchid nursery a coelogyne was one of the first plants I could think of that I really wanted.

Searching through heaps of pots and greenery with very limited labeling one of the nursery employees decided to lend some assistance.

Problem is, I only deal with orchid names in writing and hardly ever talk to somebody about the plants, except people that have even less clue than myself.

Now how do you pronounce 'coelogyne'? *Red face and stuttering* "Eeeeeer...I'm looking for a....eeeeeer....I'mnotsurehowyousaythis orchids".

So after a lot of attempted hits and misses, I finally managed to make the person understand that I was looking for a white coelogyne. I wasn't picky, as long as it was white.

She found me a nice looking plant and in all fairness it could have been anything because I had never seen a coelogyne in my life, except for my dry backbulbs. But she pulled it out of the nursery jungle and promised me that 'this was it'.

I thought 'what the heck! I've got no clue, but at least it is an orchid and a healthy one as well'. So I bought it.

It's been working on this bud for something that feels like an eternity, and I've been thinking that this just does not look like the bud of a white flower. Then, all of a sudden and overnight, it decided it was time to break free from the sheath it was covered in and show it's face to the world.



We can safely say it's not white.

But it IS a coelogyne.

A Coelogyne lawrenceana, I think. And with that one, the whole greenhouse all of a sudden is scented with honey.

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Such a beautiful bloom! Even not white, still awesome!

[Silje]

Originally Posted by TOMMYMIAMI

Such a beautiful bloom! Even not white, still awesome!

And big! I wasn't sure what to expect, but orchidspecies.com writes that the flower is around 10 cm and that looks correct.

Then again, this is apparently the day to be surprised over orchid sizes. I received a Odontocidium Tiger Crow 'Golden Girl' today and I'm sure those tiger crows can eat people. It's the most insane onc pbulbs I've ever seen... And next to it, my first ever neofinetia falcata that was just the tiniest little thing I've ever seen. It makes my aerangis leonis seedling look massive. I had no idea that they were this big, and that small!

[kindrag23]

OMG OMG OMG OMG THAT IS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!

[gnathaniel]

Very nice acquisition! I love Coelogynes though I've killed almost every one I've tried.

I pronounce it See-LODGE-uh-nee, BTW. As far as I was taught 'coe' or 'cae' in botanical Latin is always pronounced like the English 'see'. The most important rule of pronunciation, though, is to say it with confidence!

[TOMMYMIAMI]

truly gorgeous orchids, even Odontocidium Tiger Crow 'Golden Girl'. I love miniatures and small blooms, it gives me opportunity to take some nice macro pics, bu I love huge blooming orchids as well, that's the show! at the balcony when some blooms:-)

[Silje]

Originally Posted by gnathaniel

Very nice acquisition! I love Coelogynes though I've killed almost every one I've tried.

I pronounce it See-LODGE-uh-nee, BTW. As far as I was taught 'coe' or 'cae' in botanical Latin is always pronounced like the English 'see'. The most important rule of pronunciation, though, is to say it with confidence!

So it's a s-sound in the beginning. I was thinking maybe a k... I think she might have said something similar to you though...

[kindrag23]

O and I just saw your orchid or what looks like your orchid online and it looks like it is called Coelogyne asperata.

[Silje]

Originally Posted by kindrag23

O and I just saw your orchid or what looks like your orchid online and it looks like it is called Coelogyne asperata.

Eeeeeer... Mmmmmaybe. At least it's a coelogyne!!

Now you're making me even more confused than I normally am.

[Brooke]

Here are pictures of mine taken two years ago. Coel. lawrenceana 'Ernie' CBM,CCM,CCE,AM/AOS


Coel lawrenceana 'Ernie' CBM,CCM,CCE,AM-AOS LUR_5718 by kentucky4, on Flickr

A picture of a singleton bloom -


Coel lawrenceana 'Ernie' CBM,CCM,CCE,AM-AOS LUR_5719 by kentucky4, on Flickr

To me, it looks like you now have a lawrenceana living with you. Not only is it fragrant but it double blooms from the same spike.

Don't give up on your cristata. I received 5/6 leafless pbulbs which I put in a pot with sphag as the media. I watered when the sphag got bone dry. One day it popped a new growth and is now a very large health plant.

Both of these Coelogynes I grow in Catt light and keep wet year round. My lawrenceana will blast spikes if I don't water it every other day while in spike. Even during the long dark winter it must have water to keep the buds from drying up.

Brooke