A Beautiful Coelia Orchid
Coelia bella is a great orchid species, both easy to grow and easy to pronounce. Its charming purple, white, and yellow flowers give off a light marzipan or almond oil fragrance.
To say Coelia, ignore the “o” and say Celia like the woman’s name, SEE-Lee-Ah. The second part of its Latin name, bella, translates as beautiful. In the wild, this species lives from southern Mexico through Central America in rainforests up to 5000 feet (1500 m) in elevation.
In addition to its lovely flowers, this orchid is also known for its distinctive, egg-shaped pseudobulbs (some of them look more like fat tomatoes than eggs!) My plant happily grows outdoors all year in a partly sunny area next to our house. I give it regular water, fertilizer, and a winter dormancy. This variety can handle a wide range of temperatures. It needs extra care during repotting to avoid damage to roots. The last photo below shows two fat pseudobulbs and a flower spike hanging out of the pot, indicating that my plant is overdue for repotting. But that obviously hasn’t slowed down the flower show on this beautiful Coelia.
Explore posts in the same categories: Dormancy, Fragrant Orchids, Intermediate Growers, Photos, Watering
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December 2nd, 2016 at 2:26 pm
Could you tell me the name of the orchid that looks like there is a baby in the center, it looks so nice. Thanks
December 2nd, 2016 at 3:28 pm
I’ve never heard of this orchid description with a baby in the center. The closest I can find are the Anguloa orchids, sometimes called Cradle Orchids because some people think they look like a cradle. You can find a few pictures here – http://www.aboutorchids.com/blog/2012/10/14/tulip-orchids/ – but I don’t see any babies in the flowers.