Vanilla growing - Orchid Board

aliceinwl · #1 11-04-2019, 12:22 AM

Maybe not one of my better thought out purchases, but I bought a Vanilla chamissonis. Does anyone have any creative strategies for growing (and watering) this one indoors with limited space?

Yes, I do know that it has to be gargantuan before I’ll have a chance of flowers. I’m trying to think up some type of trellising situation where I can start small and enlarge as the plant grows.

katrina · #2 11-04-2019, 06:33 AM

What about starting with a small tomato-like cage/support and then as the plant fills it and you eventually up-pot, you can work up to actual large tomato cages. This way you can wrap the vines as they grow.

There probably isn't a small enough one for now but you could make a similar support with bamboo stakes and twine or green epoxy or rubber coated wire.

camille1585 · #3 11-04-2019, 01:17 PM

I recall some posts here from quite a few years ago where even outdoor Florida growers struggled with the same issues, because even on a patio it needs to be kept to a manageable size. One solution was to use a trellis, and then run the vine around (up and down) as it grows.

You could also get one of those coco fiber covered stakes to do the same thing, the advantage being that it takes up less space horizonally.

If you google Vanilla indoors you'll see some examples of these 2 ways of growing the vine. The examples here (Vanilla Orchid - STHH Plants show vanilla vines wrapped more or less tightly around the coco fiber stakes.

I don't have personal experience growing vanilla, but these are the ideas I had found when I used to think I wanted one. Assuming you can get it larger enough and give enough sun to be capable of flowering, an important trigger for blooming is that the vine must bend at some point to go downwards again.

rbarata · #4 11-04-2019, 01:24 PM

OW makes a mention about this specie: Giant sized.

aliceinwl · #5 11-05-2019, 02:43 AM

Those are good ideas, I do really like the coconut fiber stakes, but it seems like upsizeing might be difficult if I go small.

Mine is V. chamissonis so I don’t know how it stacks up against V. planifolia. It’s supposed to be fragrant, but it sounds like blooms would be an accomplishment in my growing conditions.

Maybe I should just go with the small stake and worry about upsizing if/when it’s necessary...

camille1585 · #6 11-05-2019, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

Those are good ideas, I do really like the coconut fiber stakes, but it seems like upsizeing might be difficult if I go small.

It's not necessarily a problem. I got a Scindapsus aureus (Pothos) some years ago, and started out with a small coco fiber stake. When it grew too large for that, I bought a larger stake which I stuck in the pot next to the first. I would have gone for an xxl stake next, but then I decided to let it grow across the headboard of our bed...

DirtyCoconuts · #7 11-06-2019, 12:29 AM

What I have done is use the tubular tomato cages that are like three concentric circle on some vertical supports. As it goes you train it up and around the trellis and it’s like 12’ of linear growing space and you can then add a large steak in the middle of the pot after all that and grow as tall as you want