As requested, here are a couple of pics of my very young Vanilla planifolia that I am attempting to grow in my bathroom window. It gets daily light from a northeastern window and I regulate the levels by adjusting the blinds. I also have a cool-air allergen-filtering humidifier in the tiny little room for evening hours to keep the humidity up near the ultra-high levels that Vanilla like.
I bought a rooted 4" cutting from Logee's online, and when it arrived it was tiny and two of the three leaves were brownish and spotted. I planted it immediately in a small container with some medium orchid bark mix and then went about my business. In the last 3 to 4 months since then, it has tripled in length and developed many healthy leaves and air roots, but I have sadly just discovered my near-fatal error with this plant.
When I planted it, I did not remove all of the old potting material that it was shipped with. As a result, I noticed today that the poor little dear has begun to rot from the base, and I may or may not be able to save it. It was shipped with a rotting foam core around the one root and a lot of rotting moss around it. I should have immediately removed it, but I was too green to know that. Now that I have cleaned and pruned it and repotted it in some 3-1-1 fertilized orchid bark mix, I am praying for the best. I spritz it in the mornings with a weak fertilized purified water solution, and it should now be getting sufficient air flow to the one little root. I will try to keep this post updated, because the Vanilla orchid is somewhat underrepresented in the forums, from what I can tell. this was my second orchid ever, and I really am attached to it.
And now, some tiny pictures of my tiny Vanilla orchid! The final pic includes one of my Phal's, which absolutely loves hanging out with my Vanilla.
-Jen
For Swamper - My young Vanilla Planifolia
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