Habenaria repens

Water-spider Orchid is a native perennial orchid found in wet areas, blackwater swamps, pools, banks of creeks, rivers, and other riparian areas in North Carolina, south to Florida, west to southeastern Arkansas and Texas and into tropical America.

This plant needs moist to wet conditions with acidic soil in full sun. It can be both terrestrial or aquatic and can form floating mats in stagnant pools. It spreads by stolons and can be vigorous, especially in wet conditions. it will grow 1 to 2 feet tall and spread up to 5 feet wide.

The showy cluster of flowers repeats bloom from summer through fall and emits a strong vanilla fragrance at night to attract moths for pollination. This plant is difficult to transplant, and "nursery-grown" plants are often poached from the wild, so verify that plants are nursery propagated before purchasing. 

It will grow well in a bog among pitcher plants, margins of ponds, streams, lakes or in a container.

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:   Watch for Aphids, mealybugs, scale, spider mites, slugs and snails. Potential diseases include root rot, black spot and black rot.