Japanese Rarity - White Egret Orchid

Behold an awesome sight in the garden or on the patio!

Exquisite, pearly white, fragrant flowers are displayed like a flock of miniature birds hovering gracefully atop slender stems, as each bloom resembles an egret in flight.

Also known as The Dove Plant, this beauty occurs naturally amongst the rice fields of Japan. The stems can reach 30cm (12in) tall, each one parading three or more blooms that will flourish for well over a month. Click to view

It really does look like the Japanese white crane, a symbol of health, long life and fortune, and also used as a mascot of the Japan Airlines.

As the legend describes, during a period of conflict, a girl from the castle of Setagaya (Tokyo) sent a letter to help her lover who was at battle. She gave it to a white egret to deliver to him. However, the egret did not reach him, and where the bird fell to the ground a beautiful flower began to grow. This flower was the White Egret Orchid, known as Sagisoo to the Japanese people, and now the flower mascot of the castle of Setagaya.

Discovered in 1826 by Curt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel (1766-1833), a German botanist and physician. His uncle, Christian Konrad Sprengel (1750-1816), is remembered for his studies in the fertilization of flowers by insects - a subject in which he reached conclusions many years ahead of his time.

This species is quite familiar to the Japanese as a summer flower. The species is stable in its genetics, so only some cultivars are known, particularly those with leaf variegation.

Plants of Habenaria arise from a very small tuber, about the size of a peanut, and they are said to be hardy down to -6C (20F). They should be planted into a humus-rich soil, in a cool house, greenhouse or in patio containers, however do protect from scorching heat.

For best results, plants need plenty of water in order to simulate Asia's monsoon season. In Japanese weather patterns, the bogs are caused by snow melting off mountains rather than by rainfall and they do dry out in winter rather than summer when the mountain snows are no longer melting.

Water plants daily with rainwater throughout the spring and summer as they will thrive in soils that are constantly saturated with water as long as it is not stagnant. This species can form large, showy colonies over time.