How to grow Vanilla

Prefers a hot, moist climate with frequent rain with an average temperature of 27°C. A short dry period is required to induce flowering. Soils should be light and friable with adequate drainage. A thick layer of humus material or mulch and light shade is also required.
Vanilla orchid starts with a cutting and usually likes to climb on a tree. Once established the vanilla vine will creep up and hold itself unto the host tree with strong clinging roots. When the vine is about 80 inches long it starts branching out at some of the nodes. Once the vanilla orchid reaches 20 to 30 feet long it will be ready to start producing flowers.

This plant should be watered regularly. Do not your vanilla orchid dry out on a regular basis however, the top two or three inches can be let dry out between waterings. When the plant is ready to produce flowers it can be let all dry between waterings for a few weeks. Direct sunlight can damage the plant. Maintain temperatures of 65 to 75 degrees F for cool temperatures. Any temperatures lower than that will adversely affect vanilla orchid plants. The ideal humidity level for these orchids is 85 percent. A week solution of fertilizer should be applied to vanilla orchids on a weekly basis during the growing season. A dry orchid should never be fertilized as severe damage can occur to the roots and leaves.⁴

When growing a vanilla orchid the vine should be guided back to the ground regularly to promote the growth of new roots in the soil. This method provides an ample supply of nutrients and triggers fast vegetative growth.¹

The vanilla orchid will take about two months to get established. It will also take from three to five years to start flowering. When successful the plant will produce seed pods that need to remain in the vine for nine months to develop their distinctive aroma. The process of curing the pods will then take about three months after which time they are ready to be sold.¹

Commercial vanilla is always grown from cuttings taken from healthy vigorous plants. They can be from anywhere on the plant and can be from 30 cm to 3 m long.

Short cuttings may take up to three to fours years to flower, where long cuttings will flower in one to two years. Remove the lower two to three leaves from the stem and push into the humic layer and mulch. The stem should be tied to the support until the aerial roots have taken hold, and the end of the steam draped over the top of the support to hang.

Supports can be a small tree with low branches and light chequered shade or a trellis with partial shade. Some form of wind shelter is also recommended, as plants can be damaged by strong winds.

Fruit is produced only on mature plants, which are generally over 10 ft long. The fruits are 6-9 in long pods. They mature after about five months, at which point they are harvested and cured. Curing ferments and dries the pods while minimizing the loss of essential oils. Vanilla extract is obtained from this portion of the plant.³

Pots must be killed after harvest so they will stop growing. This is usually done by either leaving pods out in the hot sun, or by boiling them.²

These estimates for how long Vanilla takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

Vanilla beans can be placed in a canister with sugar to create vanilla flavored sugar. This will take about one week. This sugar can be used in decoration work on cakes, pastries etc.¹

Vanilla flowers need to be fertilized by hand within twelve hours of opening.⁵

Vanilla orchid, Flat-leaved Vanilla, West Indian Vanilla, Madagascar Vanilla, Madagascar Bourbon, Bourbon, Tahitian vanilla

Vanilla planifolia, Notylia planifolia, Vanilla viridiflora, Vanilla pompona, Notylia pompona, Vanilla sativa, Notylia sativa, Vanilla rubra

Misspellings: Bourboun

fn1: fairchildgarden.org

² Vanilla Review

³ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla-planifolia

⁴ Orchid Made Easy entry on vanilla-orchid

⁵ Orchid Flowers – Wordpress entry on vanilla-plant