Coelogyne incrassata

This species is from Borneo. I have had this plant for about 2 years now and it is a very slow grower in my care. Recently in October, it produced several flowers. The flowers appear sequentially 2 or 3 times a year on spikes that continue to flower over a long period of time, going dormant over several months before producing flowers again. Please visit this link (click) for the larger size.


There are two small clumps mounted on this piece of tree fern. The larger is from Sarawak while the other smaller clump (not pictured) is from Sabah. I don’t remember if I ever took photos of the blooms on the Sabah plant. The shiny bronze-colored leaves in the latest photo above have gone dull and colonized by moss.


This is how the leaf looks like when shiny new. I have a small plant so the leaf is only about 12 cm long.


The flower has no fragrance and lasts for only a few days.


Here is a flower photographed in Mulu National Park when I was there a few months ago. Note that band on the lip is different and more V or W shaped than my plant in the first photo.


And here is the Mulu plant growing in its natural habitat, under moderate shade in a kerangas forest.

I grow my plant in a dark shady spot hanging under other orchids and fertilize with only natural fertilizers (seaweed extract and goat pellets) once every  3 or 4 months. I seldom water as we get a lot of rain. Only in the dry months do I water my orchids that are grown outside. I know I should give it food more often and treat it with anti-fungals but as long as the plant isn’t dying off, I’d rather not use chemicals or too much fertilizers.

For more photos of this species, please head to my Flickr and search for Coelogyne incrassata.