Vanilla flower "Life Hack"... does it work?

[ceebees_orchids]

I've been growing Vanilla Planifolia since August 2020 and she's doing fantastically! But I am aware that it will be about 4 years before she can produce flowers and beans. However, one of my friends (who does not own a Vanilla, just Phals) told me there is a way to get your Vanilla to flower & fruit after just one year.
He said to take a small match and smother the growing tip of the vine for a few seconds so it gets a little burnt. Apparently this will trick the orchid into thinking that she is becoming sun burnt after reaching the top of her 'tree' in the 'rainforest' and is ready to produce fruit.
Has anybody tried this? Does it work? I don't think I could ever work up the courage to burn my orchids but for anyone who does want fruit could this help them?

[PaphMadMan]

I'm deeply skeptical this has any chance of working. Vanilla, or any plant, will bloom when it is large, strong or mature enough and gets the right conditions. If vanilla blooms only when it reaches the top of the tree it is because it needed that strong sunlight, not because it got burned. If such a treatment could force a small young vanilla plant to flower, it would endanger the plant that is not actually strong enough to support flowers or fruit. Any burn from a match is probably just going to kill the meristem and set the plant back until it can generate new growth from a lower node rather than accelerate blooming. I'd advise patience and giving the plant the best conditions and care that you can.

[camille1585]

I'm skeptical as well, since I don't think that a physical burn is in any way comparable to high light levels. One well known blooming trigger in Vanilla is that blooming will be induced (on a plant large enough) once the stem reaches the top of it's support and then bends over and hangs. This bend in the stem is one of the blooming triggers, and I'm guessing that this is what would happen naturally once the vine reaches the top of the tree its in.

[estación seca]

As Camille mentioned, a lot of vining or sprawling plants flower when the stem flops over. This is controlled by hormones the plant makes or stops making in response to gravity. Burning isn't the normal trigger and I doubt it could promote flowering.

[RxF]

Two and a bit years down the track I am curious as to how your Vanilla is going - preferably without setting fire to it!
Good life cycle stimulation is important, i.e. growing conditions with some seasonal variation.
To stimulate flower setting I would recommend some youtube clips from Shelley Burich - Vaoala Vanilla as being highly informative.