An Unusual Form of Coelogyne speciosa – or is it?
I have several plants of this species, some of which I may have discussed before in previous posts. The plant I discuss today was purchased as the hybrid Coelogyne Pocahontas, but once a flower opened, it was clear that wasn’t what I had bought, and I have since had my money returned from the nursery concerned. The plant is nice and healthy, however, and is not the same as any of the other C. speciosa that I grow and, for that reason, I think it is worth keeping and growing on to specimen size. Coelogyne speciosa seems to grow easily for me (though I’m led to believe that this is true for practically everyone) and it flowers regularly. This particular plant produces lots of new shoots, most of which flower. The flower spikes are nice and short and so, the fragrant flowers are well displayed. Two or three flowers are produced per spike, but no more than that. The foliage is quite slender and upright compared to many other plants that I grow of this species, and stays well out of the way of the flowers. Probably the only criticism I have is that the spikes sometimes get stuck inside the new growths, but I think the plant is probably still acclimatising to my conditions (I don’t consider a plant to be properly settled in until I’ve had it for a year or more).
I gave up on trying to find names for the various forms of this species long ago, so now I’m reduced to ‘green’, ‘yellow’ and other even more imaginative adjectives. If there is a proper system out there for naming these variants, I’d be happy to be taught it. In the meantime, enjoy the picture!