Anyone growing vanilla orchids?

[TheWaterbug]

Does a vanilla pod qualify as a tropical fruit? I see only one reference to anyone growing this, so here's reference #2. Vanilla Planifolia 'Variegata', for the search feature.

I bought two of these 5" hanging pots from Hirts via amazon.com, and when I received the USPS box I was doubtful that I'd find two plants in 5' pots in such a small box. But there they were, crammed into the box with lots of newspaper and loose soil everywhere! They looked like they'd just been repotted for shipment.

So I was skeptical, but I untangled all the vines, dumped the soil back in, tamped it down a bit, straightened out the plastic hanger/hook thingy, and hung them over my kitchen sink. 3 months later, and both plants are doing well. They've each put on 3-4" of growth on each of their 4-5 vines, and they look lush and green.

During the first 2-3 weeks I just watered them thoroughly about once a week. After that I noticed that the aerial roots were shriveling up, so I've taken to misting the plants any time I'm standing in front of the kitchen sink. They seem to like that.

The vines droop down from their little pot and then try to turn back up into the sunlight, and sometimes the aerial roots will adhere to a leaf from above. So I just tease them off and pull the vines straight back down so they hang:



I repotted the near one into a container with a redwood post in the middle, in the hopes that it would climb. It doesn't by itself. I've tried tying it up against the post, but the roots don't try attaching themselves to it. It's growing, but one of my cats likes to chew on it and sleep on it, so it's struggling against that.

The other one is still in its original pot, and most of it's doing well. There is one vine that took a big step backwards when I shot several flies off of it with my Bug-a-Salt. As it turns out, most plants don't like having salt injected into their leaves at high velocity. The base of the vine was dying, so I just pinched it off and pushed the healthier part back into the dirt. We'll see how it does.

Has anyone here grown these successfully? Has anyone gotten flowers or pods yet? Am I doing anything horribly wrong, other than letting the cat get to it?

[Cookie Monster]

Given the right conditions, they can grow fairly rapidly. Mine has flowered but has never produced pods. I understand that we lack a pollinator or something.

Yah, salt and plants don't generally make good friends :-).

[TheWaterbug]

Given the right conditions, they can grow fairly rapidly. Mine has flowered but has never produced pods. I understand that we lack a pollinator or something.

Yah, salt and plants don't generally make good friends :-).

Yes, vanilla outside of its native region requires hand pollination. The proper technique was discovered by a 12 year old slave! Modern instructions are here.

How old is your vine, and how often does it flower?

Now that you know how to pollinate them, maybe we'll see some pods from you soon.

[From the sea]

i grow it outside, and i have noticed snails love it.  but once i got them under control it started to grow like crazy

[KarenRei]

I've had bad luck with them - they have really sensitive roots. You need to be careful about what type of potting mix you grow them in.

[Mark in Texas]

Years ago during my orchid growing days I grew vanilla.  Wrapped it around the greenhouse, grew like a weed.  Never could pollinate it.

Cheaper to buy top quality Madagascar beans for less than a buck a bean.  Quality is excellent - https://www.beanilla.com/sale

[Cookie Monster]

How do you process the beans?

I just chuck a piece of vine under a shady mango tree, and it starts growing :-). No potting mix required here :-).

Years ago during my orchid growing days I grew vanilla.  Wrapped it around the greenhouse, grew like a weed.  Never could pollinate it.

Cheaper to buy top quality Madagascar beans for less than a buck a bean.  Quality is excellent - https://www.beanilla.com/sale

[TheWaterbug]

I've had bad luck with them - they have really sensitive roots. You need to be careful about what type of potting mix you grow them in.

So what potting mixes have you tried? So I know what to avoid

I think Los Angeles is far too arid to grow vanilla outdoors, unless I can put a mister near it.  This site (probably not too definitive) suggests 80% humidity.

[Don]

It will grow best if you tie it to a good piece of timber with the bark still on it but make sure its not a tall tree as they like climbing once they have started setting their roots in to the bark. Hand pollination is easy, its the curing of the pods that takes alot of time and mucking about.

[TheWaterbug]

Will a piece of pine work? Every year I cut the branches off my Christmas tree and throw the trunk into a corner for some future, unknown use.

I could replace the redwood 4x4 in my current setup with a 6' Christmas tree trunk. It'd be dead and dried, but it would have bark and some texture. Or I could wait a few more months and have a Christmas tree trunk that's dead but not so dried.

It would make a heck of a conversation piece!

[KarenRei]

I've had bad luck with them - they have really sensitive roots. You need to be careful about what type of potting mix you grow them in.

So what potting mixes have you tried? So I know what to avoid

I think Los Angeles is far too arid to grow vanilla outdoors, unless I can put a mister near it.  This site (probably not too definitive) suggests 80% humidity.

Avoid anything that looks like normal soil    I've seen 50% bark 50% peat recommended - if I try again, that's what I'll use.

[Don]

Any piece of tree trunk no matter how dry as long as it wont rot away in a couple of years as it would get tricky trying to put it onto another one once it gets some size about it. They are epiphytic after all so will grow up a brick wall if you let them. Just spray a diluted orchid fertiliser or just some water that has been strained through some compost to feed them and they wont look back.

[Mark in Texas]

How do you process the beans?

Split, drop into a bottle topped up with strong coffee, Everclear, sugar mixture.  Let sit for a month.  Serve your Kahlua over vanilla ice cream or neat.    

[Mark in Texas]

Any piece of tree trunk no matter how dry as long as it wont rot away in a couple of years as it would get tricky trying to put it onto another one once it gets some size about it. They are epiphytic after all so will grow up a brick wall if you let them. Just spray a diluted orchid fertiliser or just some water that has been strained through some compost to feed them and they wont look back.

Yep, that'll do it!  Being that Dyna-Gro foods are complete, they would work well diluted to 1/2 tsp/gallon.

Mark

[TheWaterbug]

Any piece of tree trunk no matter how dry as long as it wont rot away in a couple of years as it would get tricky trying to put it onto another one once it gets some size about it. They are epiphytic after all so will grow up a brick wall if you let them. Just spray a diluted orchid fertiliser or just some water that has been strained through some compost to feed them and they wont look back.

That's what I was hoping, but they won't climb my untreated redwood 4 x 4. It's quite smooth, and the aerial roots probably need some texture to cling to, right?

I won't be able to get to this for another couple of weeks, but I might try that Christmas tree trunk.

[jegpg1]

Keep the wood moist and tie the vanilla stem close to it. It takes time till the roots attach. The texture should not be an issue.

[TheWaterbug]

Keep the wood moist and tie the vanilla stem close to it. It takes time till the roots attach. The texture should not be an issue.

Hmmm. Ok, I'll give this a try. I'll tie the stems closer, so the roots are actually pressed against the wood. I am misting it twice a day with a hand-held spray bottle, but maybe it's time to try a mister on a timer.

[TheWaterbug]

So here's my transplanted vine, in a short, wide pot with a redwood 4x4 post in the middle:

[Don]

That looks the goods there, shouldn't have any troubles with that setup. Shouldn't need to water them too much as we just tie orchids on trees and leave them. They take eventually and go great if you just give them a little fertilizer every 3 or so months.

[luc]

I let mine grow up on a tree and when about 2 meters high guide them on a rope between 2 trees , no need for handpolinating here , I always have lots of pods .
I let them ripen on the vine , when they start splitting open on the tip I remove them and let further ripen inside the house . Then in a glass jar with vodka , works for me .