Vanilla panifolia : new edition

[Skycat]

Ugh, I accidentally let mine get sunburned all over about half the plant. Hopefully the side that's still green will put out some growth, though I'm guessing it'll take a while.

[lepetitmartien]

Depends where you are… It likes half shade in the tropics, that's full sun in my location.

And in full Paris sun, you have to provide enough water when it's hot/sunny, I use a pot with a water reserve, it helps.

[Serenity83]

Originally Posted by lepetitmartien

I need more light… my planifolia (about 30 m) is right next to the best place I can give (west window) but it's still not enough.

Vanilla are hungry/thirsty when growing, and really DON'T like cold (under 16°) on wet roots = rot.

Never treat them as epiphyte, they will be very sad indeed. Keep them terrestrial (they are hemi-epiphyte).

Lepetitmartien- You mentioned not to treat them as an epiphyte, but as a terrestrial. The one I have is a cutting from a good size mother vine in an orchid nursery. Is there a method i should use for this cutting? I only sprinkled the cut with cinnamon and place it on a piece of driftwood. No soil, no bark mix. It has established aerial roots along its entire length.

Also, I live in SW Florida (Naples). I do not have it in direct sun- it is out on my back porch where it has bright, but indirect light. It has grown at least 2 inches since I brought it home 5 days ago.

[jai_star]

If you are into vanilla orchid perhaps this will be good for you:

[ALToronto]

I have a planifolia in my gecko viv. It's still tiny, and I planted it in constantly wet lava rock. The original roots have likely rotted away, but new ones are forming. The 30 m number really scares me.

[lepetitmartien]

Originally Posted by Serenity83

Lepetitmartien- You mentioned not to treat them as an epiphyte, but as a terrestrial. The one I have is a cutting from a good size mother vine in an orchid nursery. Is there a method i should use for this cutting? I only sprinkled the cut with cinnamon and place it on a piece of driftwood. No soil, no bark mix. It has established aerial roots along its entire length.

Also, I live in SW Florida (Naples). I do not have it in direct sun- it is out on my back porch where it has bright, but indirect light. It has grown at least 2 inches since I brought it home 5 days ago.

I don't do anything special beyond letting the cut dry. For a part going into the pot, I'd go into using charcoal dust instead of cinnamon. Cinnamon is a root growth inibitor so I avoid it anywhere near roots, especially where I can't see what it's doing. A cut left will make a callus in one or two days, just don't leave it in a sunny place meanwhile.

In temperate climates, treated as epiphyte, Vanillas will grow slow and small. And it's not what is seeked for flowering.

Under the tropic, wild Vanilla start usually as terrestrial, and eventually turn epiphyte (it's hemi-epiphytism), but the amount of moisture and feeding helps the transition to be productive but it's less than what the plants can do in plantations. In commercial plantations, planifolia and x tahitensis are grown as terrestrials, with the trunk being rooted in the cultivation soil (depends the local habit) every ~4 meters (~2m going up, ~2m going down). They thrive this way. Mind that in plantations, they use cuts of 1 meter or a little bit more, and they can flower a year later… (it makes our pathetic efforts rather pathetic…)

I can't guarantee your bit will thrive to flowering size and flower. Now you did a good job making it rooting, and by selecting the place it is. Let's see where it goes.

30 meters is BIG. And I've seen bigger in Geneva at the botanical garden. I'm happy the latest growths of my planifolia have an even larger trunk than before. ('bout my small finger diameter, it's not that small Geneva vanillas have twice that diameter.

[Serenity83]

lepetitmartien,
I do not necessarily wish to keep it small. I want to watch it grow! Is there a way to go about this, other than putting it on a tree? I am willing to make a fresh cut above the original cut and place it in a soil mixture, so that it can be hemi-epiphyte, as you stated is its natural state if it will improve the quality of the vine.

I appreciate all of your input and time.

[lepetitmartien]

The issue when we make them grow, is that it goes heavy. I'm dreading moving my planifolia… And you have to think about the kind of support (bamboo cannes, dead wood, a pole -wood or cement, some metal grill). Of course, some are also very heavy. I'm using Bamboo, but I'm touching the limits, large planifolia break bamboo at one point by cheer weight.

The Geneva botanical garden uses large wood poles (beam size) or 4 meter in the winter garden, and the Vanilla are HUGE.

The MNHN in Paris uses for public display the metal grills that are used to protect T8 long tubes. It's not practical for home use.

What you must keep in mind is that if it's growing fast, you'll have to handle growths of 50 cm to a meter per month or more. It can colonize a tree or anything it can creep on fast. It's a good way to invade a GH. Bamboos are easy to use as a tripod and make large rings with regular rooting of the liana. Some let the liana go as it likes and only put a pot with mix once in a while to help the liana grow bigger.

If there's a choice to make it is do you want to be able to move it later or not, and from there choose the support and how you'll be able to help it feed.

[voyager]

I'm getting close to creating a space in my yard for some vanilla orchids.
I've been doing a little checking into them in preparation.
I ran across this:
http://www.kauainursery.com/images/vanilla%20book.pdf

It is aimed at commercial growers.
It contains lot of good information from growing to making your own vanilla.
The growing info is good enough that one could use it to adapt their situation to what the plant wants.

I had offers for plants to be given to me.
After reading this, I have put off taking any in for now.
I have too many projects going at the moment.
I have to finish a couple before I can start on this one.

[lepetitmartien]

Especially as you are in a tropical area, you'll have to supervise them, to behave themselves…

You can cultivate them "à la tahitienne", with mounds of empty coco husks left to rot. (be careful with salt though)