Coelogyne mooreana Sander

Coelogyne mooreana, a native of Vietnam, grows best under 1,500 to 2,500 footcandles or the low end of the light level for cattleyas or oncidiums. Strong air movement at all times is critically important. In their native habitat, the summers are characterized by heavy cloud cover indicating that shading is beneficial from spring to fall, but light should be as high as the plant can tolerate, short of burning the leaves. In this species' native habitat, winter is the brightest season.

Summer days should average in the upper 70's to the low 80'sF and nights in the low 60's are ideal. A temperature differential of 10-15F between day and night temperatures is essential for good growth and flower production. During the winter rest period, nights may drop routinely into the low 50's with an increase in the day/night differential up to 25F.

Coelogyne mooreana is a moderately sized sympodial epiphyte that grows 12-18 inches tall with two glossy green, heavily textured leaves per growth. The erect inflorescence is 15-20 inches tall and emerges from between the leaves of new growths before the pseudobulbs have formed. Three to eight large, fragrant flowers up to 3-4 inches (7-10cm) are produced per inflorescence. They open simultaneously and are well-spaced along the inflorescence. The floral segments are snow white except for a golden yellow blotch on the midlobe of the lip. The flowers last in excellent condition for four to six weeks if the plants are kept cool, somewhat on the dry side and in relatively low light.

This spectacular species, one of the easiest in the genus to grow, has only recently begun to be commonly available in cultivation again. For many years only divisions and mericlones of the clone 'Brockhurst' had limited availability. As plant material from Vietnam has recently become more readily available, additional clones of this species have appeared in cultivation and seedling populations are now also available.

Ron McHatton, April 2009