Over the past year I have been delighted to provide many members with splits from my Coelogyne cristata mother plant which I obtained back in 2007. I wanted to share with you some photos of what to expect when it flowers (see attached). The display this year has been magnificent, and the primrose scent something special. The plant is very tolerant and even frost-hardy in a cold greenhouse but it will flower better if given warmer day temperatures during the winter (about 16C) with nights dropping down as low as 8-10C. During the summer, the plant should be watered frequently (about twice a week) when the plants can take bright sunshine or moderate shade. It will grow very little until about August when the new pseudobulbs will begin swelling and so at this time it is vital to maintain heavy watering and feeding until the pseudobulbs look like fat gooseberries (which is usually by the end of October)-this emulates the monsoon season the orchid experiences in its native himalayan regions. During the winter, only water fortnightly or when the bulbs show signs of wrinkling.
I hope this stunning orchid will give you years of pleasure each spring.
In my opinion it is also the best beginners orchid species and one of my all-time top ten favourites.