Coelogyne cristata care and growing tips
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- Here's a video about my coelogyne cristata, and tips on how to grow this orchid and get it to rebloom. This will also be my tribute and goodbye to this amazing orchid I love so much, because she's going to a new home. I explain why in the video. I also included in the video some photos of this orchid in bloom. More info about this orchid and care instructions in the information text below the video (click "show more" to see the rest of the text, if this paragraph is all you can see).
I bought this beautiful orchid some years ago from the German orchid nursery Currlin Orchideen.
Coelogyne cristata is a species originally from the Himalayas, and as you can guess from this, it is a cold growing. In fact, in nature it blooms in the spring, before even the snow has began to melt.
To successfully grow this orchid, it needs to be watered profusely during the summer, while the pseudobulbs are growing, and it benefits from direct sunlight at the end of the summer, when the sun is not too hot anymore. In nature this orchid is used to heavy monsoon weather during its growing season. So it needs a lot of water. Its bulbs should be very plump and firm.
When the winter comes, watering should be gradually diminished, and the plant should be exposed to low temperatures. The bulbs will shrivel quite a lot, but this is quite normal and expected.
Coelogyne cristata will bloom early in the spring, or at the turn of the winter and spring. It makes cascades of showy, pure white blooms, with a yellow throat.
Here are some pictures of my plant, when it was blooming.
This orchid make large blooms, up to 8 centimeters (3 inches) in diameter. The petals get curly within a few days after opening. Sometimes they can be fragrant. Mine doesn't seem to have any smell.
After the blooming time is over, this orchid needs a cold and dry winter rest. It shouldn't be watered at all unless the bulbs shrivel too much. In Finland, we water it during its winter rest by giving it a light cover of fresh snow, in case the bulbs start to shrivel too much. In its original habitat in the Himalayas, this orchid is well adapted for such a thing and benefits from it. The snow doesn't damage the bulbs nor the thin leaves.
Think of the harsh climate of the Himalayas and you will understand how this makes a lot of sense.
This orchid is a fast grower, and if you get a blooming size one, in a couple of years it might turn into a large specimen size, with a large amount of bulbs, and an amazing display of flowers in the spring. The downside to this is that the pot will become very, very heavy. Mine has 15 adult bulbs and 9 more bulbs are developing this summer. This orchid needs to be hanged because it makes pendant flower spikes, and because of that, I chose a very light media, composed of styrofoam, pieces of cork, charcoal, large pieces of bark, and a top dressing of sphagnum moss. Even with this extremely light media, the plant itself is large and heavy, and the basket weights a good deal. When the 9 new pseudobulbs that are forming now develop to their full size, this basket fill weight a lot. Care must be taken when hanging this, to be sure it won't fall down.
This orchid absolutely hates to have its roots disturbed, and after repotted, it might not bloom for a few years. So a good way to repot it is to simply place the smaller pot inside a larger pot, and add fresh media around it.
This causes no disturbance. Or as an alternative, carefully remove the plant from its pot and place in a larger pot without disturbing the roots at all.
I'm making this video to you now, in the summer, even though the plant will only bloom in the spring. There is a reason for this. Though I love this plant very much, I decided to find a new home for her. So she won't be here when the blooming time comes, and this will be my last video about her. I have two reasons for this. The first, is that at my balcony now at the end of summer the sun only shines on her until 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and that isn't enough for her. At least here in Finland, with the short summers we have, it needs quite a lot of sun at the end of summer in order for the new bulbs to fully develop. Otherwise it might not bloom. We have had cold summers, so in my environment it might not get all the sun it needs. The second reason why I'm selling her, is that this plant grows too much and too fast. It's becoming too large and heavy.
I found an excellent new home for her, and the person who is buying this orchid for me lives in a house, with a backyard where this plant will get a lot more sunlight than here at my balcony. She also has other coelogynes and they are all large and beautiful. So I'm sure my plant will be happier there.
I thank my coelogyne cristata for all the joy it has given me and the beautiful blooms, and I hope it will continue to grow a lot and bloom a lot more in her new home.
I hope you will enjoy this video!
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what a beautiful prayer you offered your companion plant
It's so refreshing to know that a favorite, prized orchid will have a new home and be well-maintained by someone who will love it as you love it.
+John Benedict ORCHIDS Thank you, John! It was a hard decision, but it will be best for the plant. At her place it will get a lot more sunshine than at my balcony. And she has some beautiful and big coelogynes, and they bloom well for her. My plant will like to live there. :)
By the way you talk about your beloved orchid, I sense that you are a very sensitive person. It makes me happy to listen to someone who feels, respects and honors the living creatures that bring so much joy to life. I am sure that your orchid will be happy in her new home and keep doing your great videos, they are very enjoyable ^^
+Antonia Orchids Thank you, Diana! You're very observant! I guess I am a sensitive person. I love plants and animals, I love nurturing them and caring for them. I always worry a lot if they are not doing well. Our weather has been bad in the last years. We used to have warmer summers, but now, the beginning of the summer is only rain, rain and more rain. This coelogyne has grown too slowly because of the cloudy and dark weather. Without enough sunshine, it won't bloom. So I decided to sell it to a woman who has a backyard, where the orchid can get more sunshine than at my balcony, because at my balcony now in August/September the sun only shines until 3 pm. The bulbs need more sunlight to develop. Her coelogynes have developed faster. I'm sure my plant will be happier there. I'm glad you enjoy my videos! I love your videos too! :)
You made me almost cry :) but i really appreciate the video and your experience, I realized, even she has such beautiful flowers, this is one plant that I have to stay away from at least in the conditions I have right now.
+fifi fifi It was kind of sad to let her go, but in my conditions it has been hard to provide her with enough sunshine such that the bulbs would grow enough. It would be easier if our summers had not been cooler than before. It's a demanding orchid. I liked her very much. But in her new home she will grow much better. :)
Beautiful plant, beautiful video. Beautiful soul.
Thank you, Andrea! J have the flowers the first time!!!
Your video is very helpful! Looking forward to seeing more of them.
+Jayne Scanzano Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!
Thank you for sharing this information and also your love for this plant with us - I have just bought one at my orchid society meeting and did not know anything about the plant I was buying -only that i like her. Fortunately I will be able to give her the sunlight and cold conditions you have said needed here in south africa in the summer rainfall area. I will just have to leave her outside under a tree and not in the greenhouse. Mine is Coelogyne Unchained Melody .
I'm glad my video was helpful! :) It's so nice you found a Coelogyne Unchained Melody. I have read it's a very good cross. I'm sure it will enjoy your climate. I like coelogynes a lot, but our summers have been so rainy and cool lately, and without a place where they can get more sunlight, the bulbs don't grow to their full potential and then they might not bloom. Now I only have one coleogyne, a cross of coel. usitana x coel. salmonicolor, and it's an easy cross. Thank you, and have a great weekend! :)
Thanks ,hope your weekend is filled with enjoying the flowers. I'm going to an open day at one of our orchid growers (Plantae) tomorrow so I'll probably not be able to resist buying more orchids ,they're so beautiful - oh but I am giving myself such a heap of work with them - I try to follow Danny's (Miss Orchid girl) advice and repot all orchids that come in. In the last few weeks I repotted all my cymbidiums (old ones) and still have cattleyas oncidiums and various others to do in the next few weeks as they have now all finished blooming and are putting out new growth. Happy days from Melenè
Great video!
Looks good in that basket!
Thank you, Rachel! I chose it because it is reinforced with wire, so it can support the weight of this orchid. The new owner of this orchid appreciated it. It will be happier there, because at her place it will get lots more sunlight than here. I will miss it, but it's for the best.
This is such a wonderful video, and I am so sorry you have to give up your plant. I got a little weepy for you! Thank you for sharing.
+annaiskicking Thank you! It was a hard decision. I liked so much this plant, and I love the flowers. But our summers have been cloudier and cooler than normally, so the bulb growth is late. I decided to find her a new home quickly, such that it will have a chance to grow to maturity and flower in the spring. The new owner has already some other coelogynes and they look amazing. She has also a coelogyne cristata hololeuca, that kind that makes completely white flowers, and she was looking for one like mine. I'm sure my coelogyne went to a good home. :)
Ceologeny cristata is such a BEAUTY of a Orchid :-) such amazing informative information you have shared about this beauty :-) and WOW! the flowers are so sensational too, Thats wonderful that you are re homing her to another Orchid lover where she will get more sunshine and who will love it as much as you do :-) I can understand how you feel with the low sunshine as I have the same problem here in wet Ireland especially after our Summer this year LOL! Thanks so much for sharing Andrea and sending you and Hugo tons of love from Ireland to Finland for a wonderful day XXXXX
+heartfullofhappiness Thank you! :) Yes, it's such a pity I can't provide her with enough sun. Our summers used to be better, but the last years the beginning of the summer has been cloudy, rainy and cold, and it takes a lot of time for the summer to finally start, so this year the bulbs developed very slowly. The same thing happened last year, so it didn't bloom. But I decided to sell it to a woman who can provide it much more sunlight, because at her backyard the sun shines all the time, while at my balcony the sun moves behind the wall at 3 pm. At least at her places the bulbs will be able to fully develop and it will bloom in the Spring. It was a difficult decision, but it was for the best, in the best interest of the plant. :) A wonderful week to you!
What an excellent video! How nice that your plant will be going where there is lots more sunshine and space! So sorry that you are not getting much of a summer.😒. She is sure a beautiful plant!
+MouseLilly Thank you! I decided to find her a new home quickly, so that those new bulbs still have a chance to develop to maturity. If it stayed here at my balcony, their growth is late and they wouldn't grow enough to flower. Our summers used to be better, but I don't know what is going on. I hope it isn't a permanent climate change from global warming. It seems that while the south of Europe is getting way too hot, our summers get cold and rainy, because the centers of low and high pressure don't mix up as they would normally do. Our winters have been also unusual. It rains a lot in the beginning of winter, instead of snowing. We have much more slush than snow. It isn't normal.
thank you for making this video, helping me so much.......
I'm glad you enjoyed the video and found it useful. :) Thanks for watching!
Hi,I totally liked it!! There are not many info about this beauty so thanks much for sharing!!
Love,
Puja
+teetir1981 Thank you! :) I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
great video full of information,'m sorry for you had to let her go, but you found her a great home!
Thank you! I heard she is doing much better at her new home. :)
Thats great, You know she is doing good and you can focus more on the plants that do well in your environment! Happy growing
Hi,
I collect this orchid from Eastern Himalayas. Please guide me about caring of this orchid.
Lastly a lot of thanks for making a so beautiful video.
Beautiful video, full of emotion an (eternal) love for the plant. I wanted to know if you can help me with my Coelogyne Flaccida, which is low temperature demanding too and perhaps from the same kind. Now she is in rest, I bought it 3 months ago, and she does NOTHING at all which is strange for me since it´s the only one with that characteristics that I have. Some of the old leaves are getting yellow... is it normal? But mainly I wanted to ask you about how little to wet her: once every....? I´m used to shorten waterings in orchids but I don´t have any other with a period of rest; this is the first one.
In the end, I must tell you that I live in Argentina, and we´ve got very hot days in summer (with very long days obviously) and very cool winters, as this one, with about 5 degrees Celsius some days and nearly zero today. Anyway it can raise up to 10 or 12 in a few days. (Now I have it in my laundry room, with enough 40/ 50% of light up to the days become a little bit warmer). So, I think it can be a very good climate for her, according to what you say in the video: a lot of direct? sun in summer and a high drop in winter. My question then was about the WATERING in winter, if you´re so kind. Thanks a lot in advance.
thank
u
I'm glad you like it. :)
Your video is helpful! Thank you very much! My C.Cristata is only growing slowly...
Thank you, Natalia! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. When the summer comes, give them plenty of water, and a little fertilizer with every watering. Then the next pseudobulbs will be big and plump before the winter. :) It likes a lot of light too. Happy Holidays!
Hurraaa! J have flowers!!! The first time!!! Thank you!!!
I not only enjoyed this video...I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!! You were so thorough in telling us all about this beautiful ice queen...and indeed I learned so much...and although she warms my heart with her magnificent blooms I am saddened to discover that she too would not thrive well in my Florida climate either...so sad...I did have my eyes set on her....Thank you so much for sharing this very informative video on such an interesting orchids....it was awesome and your voice set to the music was so perfect...so mysterious and suspenseful!!! LOVED IT!!! :)
+PictureMaria1 It's so nice to know the video was useful and you enjoyed it. It's a beautiful coelogyne. Fortunately there are other coelogynes we could try to grow that would adapt better to our environments. Coelogyne mooreana is also very beautiful, and doesn't need such a rigid winter rest. I hope someday I will find a hybrid of coelogyne mooreana and usitana. It's not too common at the moment, but makes beautiful flowers, and are easy to cultivate. At the moment the only coelogyne I have is coelogyne Orchideengarten Joachim, a hybrid of coel. usitana x coel. salmonicolor. Very easy to grow, it blooms almost every time a new bulb is developing.
GREAT NEWS! I am hoping to that I find a perfect hybrid that can tolerate our Florida heat...but until then alas I will have to be ever so cautious not to be tempted by these beauties! LOL! ...and just so you know this video was one of my fave orchid videos! You did a bang up job my dear! :)
PS...do you have videos of your other Coleogyne orchids...I would love to see them! :)
PictureMaria1 Thank you, Maria! After i sold my coelogyne cristata, I only have one coelogyne now, the hybrid between usitana and salmonicolor. I will make a video about it when it's blooming. It's making a bud right now. :) I'm glad you enjoyed my video about the coelogyne cristata. It was my goodbye video to that orchid. I wish I could have kept it, but with my southeast facing balcony it didn't get enough sunlight in the afternoons. It's a demanding orchid.
...indeed you were selfless in your sacrifice...and I am sure the beautiful Ice Queen will do magnificent in her new Queendom! :)
wow. great orchid. really great informative video.... You can send it to me Indiana,U
+Bret Furgason Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video! :)
lovely video about ur Ceologeny. could n't you keep a little division of it? Anyway thanks for sharing ur growing tips for ceologeny cristata. I have a seedling of ceologeny lawrensonii, I wonder if they do share the same care ?
+MaryG Orchids Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I didn't want to keep a division, because coelogyne cristata resents repotting and dividing, and it could take years before it would bloom again. For this kind of coelogyne, it's recommended that divisions have at least 5 bulbs. In 2 years, a division like that would be almost the same size as it is now, and before it bloomed again, I would be faced with the same problems because of which I decided to sell the plant. It grows too fast and becomes too big and heavy. And because our summers have been cold lately, the plant doesn't develop fully before the winter comes, and then it can't bloom in the Spring. The problem is that I don't have a garden, and my balcony faces the Southeast direction, so the sun shines there only for some time during the day, but it doesn't seem to be enough for the pseudobulbs to develop fully. It's a pity. :( It needs to be in a place where it can take as much sunlight as possible at the end of summer. Otherwise it doesn't bloom in the spring. You asked me about coelogyne lawrenceana. The care is a little different, and it seems to be an easier orchid than coel. cristata. Here's a link to care information: coelogynes.com/Species%20Coel%20lawrenceana.html I hope it helps! :)
beautiful video!! i was curious how you incorporate the needs for cold growing of ceologyne in a windowsill type set up?
Hello Andrea, although I am not a fan of my own Coelogyne cristata, I loved your video. The background music caused such a mystical, winterly, dreamy atmosphere. At 4:46 there are two large pseudobulbs, 2-3 new growths and a tiny pseudobulb. Is that little pseudobulb at its final size? I hope you haven't mentioned it and I missed it.
+Bumblebee I'm glad you liked the video and the background music. :) That little pseudobulb was still growing. At the time of the video, it was the size of an olive, and growing. I sold my coelogyne cristata a little after making this video, but I believe that little bulb is probably by now of the same size as the older ones. :)
Thank you very much, that's good to know. Then there is still hope for my tiny pseudobulbs. The biggest one has the size of a nice green olive at the moment. :D
If you like come and watch my first video. :)
whar fertilizer or orchid food do u use?
Hi Andrea, I need your advise about this orchid.
I got one from one of my orchid Society member in September, and I have it outside since then( it was kept outside). When should I bring it back? We are going to have morning freezes starting in the next week, so I am worried to leave it outside any longer.
After I bring it back, do I place it in a warm place or in a cold room?
How should I water it? How about fertiliser? It has some now, very diluted, at every watering.
I want to do right by it, although it has not so nice big, round psb, than yours had, it is promised to have strong fragrance, and I do not want to loose it or mistreat it and miss the blooms. As I can see, many of them from different nurseries do not have fragrance, so I could not replace it with a fragrant one easily.
Did you follow up on yours since you gave her away? How is she doing in her new home?
Thanks,
Maria
My coel. cristata had very plump bulbs, but most of the others I have seen have smaller bulbs, and that's quite normal too. When we buy one from a nursery that has been grown from a seedling, the bulbs are more round. But older plants have less plump bulbs, and plants grown from divisions often that more elongated or slightly shriveled bulbs, but that's how they most often look like. :) I would bring it indoors before the morning freezes. Coel. cristata can take some freezing temperatures as long as the media is dry, otherwise it could get root or pseudobulb rot. I used to keep mine at the balcony until the temperatures were around +5C or something like that. It's better to keep it then in a cold room, if you have one.
I wouldn't give fertilizer anymore, unless if the new bulbs are not mature yet and still growing. If they are mature, I would keep it on the dry side, with only a little cold water sometimes if the bulbs start to shrivel too much. Coel. cristatas can be kept completely dry for a long time in the winter. But if the room is warm, they might need water sometimes.
In the winter is enough to just spray the surface of the pot. I used to put snow on the pot during the winter - I got this advise from an experienced grower. This way the plant doesn't think that spring is coming already and doesn't start making new pseudobulbs. It has to feel that now it's winter, so it will stay dormant and will start blooming in the spring. I only started to water it normally after it had bloomed, when it started to make new growths.
I hope this helps. :)
I haven't been in contact with the woman who bought my coelogyne cristata, but I think it must be doing well at her care. She already had a coelogyne cristata hololeuca, and she was looking for one like mine, and she had a backyard and more space for orchids than I have, so I think the plant is probably very happy at her place. :)
Thank you a million times, I will bring it back next week to the cold room and start to reduce the watering (and stop feeding it). There are some growths maturing, but I think they will finish during autumn.
I hope I will meet the guy I bought it from at the Show and ask him, although always very busy selling the orchids.
It is good to know you left your orchid with a person who will take good care of it.
I will keep you updated, if you are interested! :)
Thank you again!
(I hope you will go and make a vid about that huge C.cristata in the Helsinki Bot. Garden when it will flower next spring. :))
You're welcome :) It's a great plant. It also grows very fast and become so heavy. I was surprised at how fast it grew. Let me know how your plant is doing. :) It's nice that you found a fragrant one. Most don't have much of a fragrance.
In the spring I will film again the coelogyne cristatas at the botanical garden. It's so amazing to see them all blooming at the same time, with so many flowers. :)
Agars & Orchids Hei! Kuinka teidan C.cristata nyt? Onko se kukkinut?
Olisi kiva tiedä...minun vain kasvaa hitaasti...
hello i have a question... in winter time can i put outside (temperatures will go until -15 ºc)??? thanks
+Vitor Marques I think -15 C degrees is too cold for it. It can endure a few degrees below zero for a short time, but it's better to keep it above +5 C degrees. This page here has details about the temperature this orchid is used to in its habitat: www.orchidculture.com/COD/FREE/Coel_Art.html We can see that the lowest temperature in January is an average of +2,2 C degrees. It also says Record extreme temeratures are 91°F (33°C) and 21°F (-6°C). I hope this helps. :)
Hello, thank you i will receive tomorrow my first :) i will keep indoors it's better ;)
Hi! I need you advice for my cristata... I kind of made a bubu with her. I managed to broke her spike: ( Now I'm confused. Is she able to produce another spike from the same psb or not? my cristata is really not that big, I have only one psb that have been produced this year... A hand with some experience would be needed here: D Thanks a lot!
+Ana Maria Clapon Hi Ana, I'm sorry to hear about the spike. The bulbs produce usually one flower spike, and 1 to 2 new growths, but they might have more dormant eyes and they might grow if something happens to the others. I don't know if it can make a new flower spike from the same bulb, after one is broken, but it will start to produce a new pseudobulb or two in the Spring, :) Your plant is small now, but it grows vigorously and in just a few years it will become a specimen size. :)
Orchids & a Dutchy Its ok, I did it with my own hands: ) Quite interesting is that just at the base of the spike was a sort of nubbin, a bump. From this nubbin I can already see an eye starting to grow: ) Thank you for the advice: ) There is really no much information about this orchid on internet: )
+Ana Maria Clapon Mine also grew this kind of bump at the base of the spike, but they didn't develop. I don't know what their function is. I wonder if it starts growing if the spike is damaged. Or maybe it will just make another growth.
Orchids & a Dutchy hmm, curious: ) Mine is plumping out an eye from that bump