Coelogyne prolifera

Also known as: The Prolific Coelogyne or Coelogyne flavida Pleione flavida in the subfamily: Epidendroideae

Native to: China Nepal Sikkim - India West Bengal - India

General Information

The Prolific Coelogyne is a cool to warm growing epiphytic orchid belonging to the sub family Epidendroideae native to China, Nepal and India. The name refers to the reblooming inflorescence over several years.

Plant Description

Grows to 0.6-16cm. Each new growth has numerous leathery elliptic, oblong shaped leaves that grow to 1.6-13cm long. Pseudobulbs grow to 1-3.7cm

Flowers

Numerous long lasting blossoms appear

Substrate(s)

• Coarse
• Bark
• Charcoal
• Treefern
• Spaghnum Moss
• Perlite

Care Notes

This orchid goes into a dormancy phase during winter, during this phase it is best not to provide water unless the plant is starting to look thirsty. The lack of water increases the chance of flowering in spring, and also reduces the likelihood of any rot forming. Do not resume watering until new growth has appeared and is growing strongly.

Often a period of intense growth occurs after dormancy. During this time the amount of light, water and fertiliser the plant receives will directly impact the amount of growth that occurs during this time, and in the case of seedlings, will reduce the time required to reach maturity.

It's recommended to heavily reduce the water amount at the middle to end of autumn to trigger dormancy. Leaves on older bulbs will begin to drop during this time while the newer bulbs continue to mature until terminal leaves appear at the tip of the pseudobulbs.

Repotting can be done any time of the year though it's best to do it in early spring when new growth is appearing as this also means new roots will appear to help the plant anchor into the new media and offset any damage to established roots during the repotting process.

 

Climate

Grows at high elevations. Rainfall ranges from 5mm to 259mm per day, heaviest in July and lightest in January. Humidity ranges from 61% to 79%, highest in August and lowest in April. Temperature ranges from 4C to 27C, highest in May (17C to 27C) and lowest in January (4C to 16C).

Fertiliser

dormant-medium-demand-orchid Use balanced fertiliser year round. Apply fertiliser regularly at half strength year round. Use a high Nitrogen fertiliser during Spring and Summer. Use a high Phosphorous fertiliser during Summer.

Potting

These plants are quite forgiving and will do well repotted ever 2-3 years. The mix should be coarse, well draining, and allow space for air to move and for roots to grow. 

Alternatively, these plants will also do well mounted to tree fern or cork slabs, or mounted to trees.

Best time for repotting or mounting the orchids is the end of winter when new growths start to appear. Avoid repotting during hot weather,

This plant does very well in baskets or suspended pots This plant does well mounted to Cork slabs. Repotting is best done annually.