# Habenaria radiata UPDATE 9/26/06



## PHRAG (Jul 17, 2006)

Habenaria radiata

These are called Sagi-Sou in Japan, “sagi” meaning egret and “sou” meaning plant. Google them and you will know immediately why these are called the egret plant. These are orchids that grow in bogs and are becoming endangered due to the loss of wetlands and rice fields in Japan. In recent years, several cultivars have been seed propagated and sold including a variegated variety. I was going to wait and post photographs of these in bloom, but I think now is a good time. They may not bloom for me this year.

I have tried growing these for the past two years. The first year, they sprouted but failed to grow past a couple of inches. I had them planted in sphag which was too loose to provide enough moisture to the roots and I failed to give them enough light as well. This year I started the sprouts in a wet paper towel. Sixth grade science taught me something! After they sprouted, I planted them in African Violet potting soil, which has excellent moisture retention and is slightly acidic. 

In the winter, these need a cold dry chill. Last year, I kept them in the refrigerator wrapped in slightly damp sphag. I don’t know if this was the best method, as some of the tubers failed to sprout this year. Can anyone suggest a better solution?








This is the tuber straight out of the refrigerator. I find it humorous that they are shaped like little eggs and bloom out looking like birds. 









A week or so after being placed in a folded, wet paper towel in a warm environment, the tubers sprout.








I planted them sprout side up in the soil, about two inches deep. These little guys appeared a week later.









Here are the orchids about two weeks after poking through the top of the soil.

















Here they are today, about two and a half months later.


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## adiaphane (Jul 17, 2006)

John, this post is beautiful... I love the progression photographs, especially of the sprouting seeds.


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## PHRAG (Jul 17, 2006)

Thanks Tien. In case it is confusing, the Habenaria are in the green ceramic planter in the middle of the bottom two photographs. I also have a few growing in a S/H pot to the rear and left of the green pot in the photos. I just wanted to experiment a little. The plants in the S/H pot were planted much later than the plants in the green pot. But they seem to be growing much faster.


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## Heather (Jul 17, 2006)

I am so excited to see them bloom! 
They are such lovely, elegant flowers. Please keep us updated.


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## SlipperFan (Jul 17, 2006)

Cool. Keep us posted.


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## kentuckiense (Jul 17, 2006)

Looking good. If they are planning on blooming, when would that occur?


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## PHRAG (Jul 17, 2006)

Well, I am giving them an artificial climate, so they are growing well. The photos I have seen put them somewhere in between 8" and 12" before they bloom. (The blooms average an inch long from what I hear, that's how I came up with this figure).

The spike is of course much taller than that. So I don't know.


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## Marco (Jul 17, 2006)

I just googled the plant john and the flowers are totally amazing. Get those bad boy blooming! I wanna see pictures. Then you have to tell us how you grew them so we can follow in your footsteps oke: 

Btw - what is that you have in the fifth picture bottom right?


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## PHRAG (Jul 17, 2006)

The plant in the bottom right, picture five is a dwarf form of Sedirea japonica called 'Seigyoku Maru' purchased from OL. It bloomed this year and then put out a new leaf.


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## Marco (Jul 17, 2006)

Sweet thanks. John. The tiny plants are always catching my eye. =)


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## PHRAG (Aug 30, 2006)

Spike-watch Update:

The buds have started to develop! 








The plants have reached about a foot in height. And all the tubers I planted have sprouted.








The buds are beginning to develop on the tallest plants, about six so far between the two pots.


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## littlefrog (Aug 30, 2006)

How are the ones you potted in S/H doing?


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## Heather (Aug 30, 2006)

They look great, John! I can't wait to see them blooming.


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## PHRAG (Aug 30, 2006)

littlefrog said:


> How are the ones you potted in S/H doing?


 
Well, I didn't actually plant them in s/h. Or maybe I did, I am still hazy on what the definition of s/h is. The pot you see above has two inches of prime agra in the bottom and the rest of the pot is filled with acidic, african violet potting soil. I water until the reservoir is full and then stop. So if that counts, then yes I am growing them in s/h.

The ten or so I planted in the s/h pot have grown twice as fast and much thicker than the regular pot. The roots have started poking out of the soil and wrapping around the inside wall of the pot. Very neat roots, similiar to Neofinetia in texture. They don't taste the same though.  

Next year, they are all getting planted in the same s/h pot.


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## Darin (Aug 30, 2006)

Hey John, Do you know of a source for these? Looks like something I might be interested in trying.

Darin


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## Marco (Aug 30, 2006)

Darin said:


> Hey John, Do you know of a source for these? Looks like something I might be interested in trying.
> 
> Darin



John actually same here! But first....how big/tall do they get???


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## PHRAG (Aug 30, 2006)

I got mine from Von Bourgondien, www.dutchbulbs.com

I bought the first few in 2005, and more this year, but I didn't see them on the site when I searched just now. You might give them a call and see what they say.

Some of the bulb companies carry things seasonally. So this may be a spring item only. Not sure.


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## PHRAG (Aug 30, 2006)

Mine are pushing past 12" this year. With the spike, I don't know how tall they are going to get. But they are less than a pencil's width wide. They remind me of small bamboo. Each "stalk" has sections seperated by raised rings.


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## PHRAG (Sep 20, 2006)

THE BLOOMING BEGINS!



























The first bud started to break open this morning. I watched for a couple of hours as it slowly started to unfurl. Then, the minute I stopped watching, it popped open! Never fails. This is the first to bloom. The bud was the size of a pencil eraser, and the final bloom is the size of a quarter. The plants measure in between 13 and 17 inches tall. I have about a dozen more buds getting larger by the day, and I will post photos when I have more than one bloom open. I am talking to Troy Myers about sending in seed.


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## kentuckiense (Sep 20, 2006)

That is spectacular and it is quickly becoming a favorite terrestrial of mine.


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## Heather (Sep 20, 2006)

It's wonderful! 
So, you left the house, and it thought "finally, some privacy!" : )

Looking forward to more photos.


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## Marco (Sep 20, 2006)

John that is way to cool!


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## Shadow (Sep 21, 2006)

Congratulations! Very nice flowers! Do they lose leaves during the winter season or spend the winter with leaves?


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## PHRAG (Sep 21, 2006)

During the winter, the plant will die off, and the tubers will go dormant. They will sprout again next spring.


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## Sue (Sep 22, 2006)

Yay! I hadn't read this thread before. Congrats, and thanks for sharing the pics!


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## PHRAG (Sep 26, 2006)

The first bloom died seven days after opening. I think it would have lasted longer, but I touched it a couple of times to feel the fringe. : )

More blooms have opened, and there is quite a bit of difference in sizes and shapes. I keep hoping one will bloom pink or yellow. That would be cool.

Here are some more photos of blooms currently opening. I will post until you are all so sick of these plants you vote me off the island. Enjoy!


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## Heather (Sep 26, 2006)

PHRAG said:


> I will post until you are all so sick of these plants you vote me off the island.



Never!!! 

I love these blooms. How they so closely resemble birds is just amazing to me. I wonder about their pollinator; does anyone know anything about it? 

I really like the last photo, against the more blue background, John. 
What kind of camera do you have?


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## Heather (Sep 26, 2006)

PHRAG said:


> I keep hoping one will bloom pink or yellow. That would be cool.



Are they known for those colors? Can they do that? 

Though, I think I really like the white.


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## PHRAG (Sep 26, 2006)

I would be interested to know what the pollinator is also. 

I have a Canon Powershot. It's the cheapest point and shoot digital I could find at the time. I paid $150 for it on clearance. It has it's quirks, but for an all-around snapshooter, you can't beat it. I think Zach has one too. His photos always look pretty good.

These are not known to be any other color but white. As far as I know.


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## kentuckiense (Sep 26, 2006)

Heather said:


> I wonder about their pollinator; does anyone know anything about it?



From the looks of that huge nectary, I'd imagine the pollinator would be a butterfly or moth. Does it have a very strong scent at night?

Also, could you hook a brother up with the high-res of the second to last shot? May be time for a new desktop.


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## kentuckiense (Sep 26, 2006)

PHRAG said:


> I have a Canon Powershot. It's the cheapest point and shoot digital I could find at the time. I paid $150 for it on clearance. It has it's quirks, but for an all-around snapshooter, you can't beat it. I think Zach has one too. His photos always look pretty good.



You use the same camera as me? Damn dude. Your photos look great.


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## Heather (Sep 26, 2006)

kentuckiense said:


> You use the same camera as me? Damn dude. Your photos look great.



Damn...same as me too...and my photos always look sucky! 

 

I think we need a "how to take decent photos with a Canon Powershot" thread.


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## PHRAG (Sep 26, 2006)

When you have to make bridezilla look like a princess, you pick up a few things. : )

The blue background that you see is actually the same black folder that I use as the background in the other pics. Except I switched the lighting around and let the sun hit the folder instead of the flower. The camera reads it as blue.


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## cdub (Sep 26, 2006)

The cross-lighting on that last photo with black background really helps sharpen the lines! That's my fav.


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## SlipperFan (Sep 26, 2006)

All I can say is, I want one...


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## PHRAG (Sep 26, 2006)

http://stores.bulbmall.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDetail?storeId=10201&langId=-1&previousView=ProductSearchCriteria&partner=-1&catalogId=10091&catentryId=54105

Von Bourgondien is selling these via the website in their spring catalog preview section. These will not ship until next spring, but this is where I bought mine, and it's the cheapest I have found them.


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## SlipperFan (Sep 27, 2006)

PHRAG said:


> http://stores.bulbmall.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDetail?storeId=10201&langId=-1&previousView=ProductSearchCriteria&partner=-1&catalogId=10091&catentryId=54105
> 
> Von Bourgondien is selling these via the website in their spring catalog preview section. These will not ship until next spring, but this is where I bought mine, and it's the cheapest I have found them.


Thanks for the link. Now I have no excuse...


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## Shadow (Sep 28, 2006)

Unfortunately, they don't ship outside USA.  I haven't seen it for sale in Europe. By the way, it should have strong scent of jasmine at night and I've found information that flower lasts for one month if it isn't pollinated.


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## Shadow (Oct 4, 2006)

I've found this plant in Europe. Even two varieties. Usual habenaria radiata and habenaria radiata variegeted. Does anybody know how the variegeted habenaria radiata looks like?


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## Shadow (Oct 4, 2006)

PHRAG said:


> In the winter, these need a cold dry chill. Last year, I kept them in the refrigerator wrapped in slightly damp sphag. I don’t know if this was the best method, as some of the tubers failed to sprout this year.


Where are you going to keep "the eggs" during this winter? Are you going to take them out of the pot at the end of their vegetation period?


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## PHRAG (Oct 4, 2006)

I used to have a photo of variegated habenaria, but I can't seem to find it now. It looked similiar to the variegated Neofinetia plants, with marginal white coloring. Pretty cool looking.

The blooms are lasting alot longer this time. As long as you don't touch the bloom, they seem to keep growing. I have had dime sized blooms grow into quarter sized blooms over the course of a week. I don't smell any fragrance though.

I am not going to repot them at the end of the growing season. I am going to leave them in the plastic pot and place them in the refrigerator for three months starting in Dec. Same thing with my Poneorchis tubers. I will probably repot them after next years growth.


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## Shadow (Oct 5, 2006)

PHRAG said:


> I used to have a photo of variegated habenaria, but I can't seem to find it now. It looked similiar to the variegated Neofinetia plants, with marginal white coloring.



So is it the leaves that have marginal colouring? Are the flowers the same as on usual plant?

Do you mind if I ask you couple more question? I don't want to kill this rare plant...
Do you keep the soil moist all the time or you let it dry out sometimes? Is there any standing water at the bottom of your S/H pot?


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## PHRAG (Oct 5, 2006)

The leaves were the only thing different on the variegated plants I saw. The flowers looked exactly the same. Tom Velardi grows these, but he doesn't want to join this forum and I lost his email address. 

I don't let the soil dry out on mine at all. I have mine sitting in a sunny, south facing windowsill, and I am watering twice a week. The S/H pot has water in the reservoir as well. 

I found this page which has some good information on Habenaria, and many other Japanese species...

http://homepage3.nifty.com/plantsandjapan/page043.html


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## Shadow (Oct 5, 2006)

Thanks for advices and the link. I'll try to order variegated habenaria.


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