Bloom Event - Coelogyne Memoria Louis Forget

I have always had a soft spot for the big white flowered Coelogyne species such as C. cristata and C. mooreana but I can't easily grow them (or rather I can grow them but can't flower them) as my growing area is too warm. I am very grateful that someone has taken the time to create hybrids such as this one (and a couple of others) that will grow warm. Coelogyne Memoria Louis Forget (Memoria means in memory of) is a very attractive and easy to grow primary hybrid between Coelogyne speciosa (pod parent) and Coelogyne mooreana 'brockhurst' (now more correctly known as C. mooreana 'magnifica'). It seems amenable to growing at a range of temperatures (remember that C. mooreana is a cool grower and doesn't seem to want to bloom at warm temperatures; at least, mine doesn't), thanks to Coelogyne speciosa.

My plant was divided at around Christmas time into three pieces, two of which have now been sold or exchanged, and the third is staying with me. It was in dire need of division as the pseudobulbs were piled on top of each other at some distance from the surface of the growing medium. In case you wondered why the were piled on top of one another, it seems that the pseudobulbs arrange themselves into a spiral and once the new growth has come full circle it grows on top of the oldest backbulbs. I hadn't realized quite how much this had impacted on the plant's growth until I saw how it took off once it had been divided. I divided it just after blooming, as this is the time during which it is producing new roots. I fully expected the new pseudobulb to be on the small side as I had both disturbed the plant and removed backbulbs. Not so. It has produced its largest yet, and has now produced a nice new shoot which is already blooming.

It would appear that I am to get several flowers of this new shoot, too. The only improvement I could think of is that I would have liked more than one new shoot. Maybe next time.

I have read several times and from some excellent sources that Coelogyne resent disturbance. I can honestly say that I have yet to meet one that has complained in the slightest. The only thing I would add is that, as is common with most orchids, they need to be re-potted at the right time. It is not that they will die if you re-pot at the wrong time, but that they will not produce new roots until they reach the right point in their growing cycle, so you might as well wait until then. This is no different at all from repotting Cattleya or any other genus, really.

As you can see, it has inherited some of the sequential blooming habit of its speciosa parent, but it does hold several flowers open at a time and they are quite long lasting, too. There is also a sweet fragrance which must come from the C. mooreana parent, as C. speciosa has only a vague scent that couldn't be described as sweet. Also, note the fairly upright flower spike. All in all, this is a nice hybrid to grow. The only real downside to it is that the plant can get rather large. I don't mind this at all, though if you are short of space you might want to consider smaller species or hybrids.