Please help vanilla orchid. I am new.

[Leafmite]

If you are lucky, it will be one of the rare leafless ones. Otherwise, it will grow leaves soon. These are difficult to kill so you should be fine. Good luck!

[Ferns Daddy]

I grow mine in potting soil with moss on the top to help it from drying out, I water it once a week and give it lots of bright light and its growing like a weed, like Leaftmite said there difficult to kill.

[OCRC_Dir_China]

There is leafless variety of vanilla plants like Vanilla aphylla.

Did it ever have leafs?

I have V. siamensis one have more than doubled in size the other had a small problem of root rot but some extra time and care it is starting to take off now. I use a Chinese commercial orchid potting mix it has some bark, rock, leaf, dirt, sand seems to work well.

Vanilla is easy to grow, I am in Northeast China and they grow well inside my home.

You can go to the Social Group and then go to I Love Vanilla it's a chat room for the Vanilla Lovers.
My book about Vanilla is still about two years away, from being done. But I have grown many species and have been around the world learning about them. Don in the chat room has some 24 variety of vanilla growing.
I will even talk to you on Skype you can get me at ocrcdir and try to help you but I have many questions about the plant age and growing conditions.

[shushu45]

How many different varieties Of vanilla r there??

[Poohbie]

It has leaves before. I had it for one month. I think it's a planifolia. When winter came the leaves dropped off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OCRC_Dir_China]

Roughly 110 many are still being taxonomically reviewed; I have been waiting for many DNA results to be published. One off my head being in taxonomic debate is; Vanilla shenzhenica Z. J. Liu & S. C. Chen, a new species of Orchidaceae, is described and illustrated. This is the first new species of Orchidaceae found in Shenzhen, South China. It is akin to Vanilla somai Hayata, from which it differs by having 4-flowered inflorescences, not fully opening flowers with their unlobed lip joined 3/4 of its length to the column, and a retrorse tuft of fimbriate appendage in the upper part of the lip.

---------- Post added at 10:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 AM ----------

I have looked at the photo you posted; it looks like the plat cutting is upside down. The leaf appears to be pointing up it should be down; a classic simple mistake in growing vanilla cuttings. Vanilla plant from the stock the stem goes up then leaf points toward the ground.

---------- Post added at 10:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:36 AM ----------

A good web site that can help you would be
http://www.kauainursery.com/images/Vanilla%20Book.pdf

[shushu45]

Who me??

[OCRC_Dir_China]

No; Poohbie photo is not clear but it could be planted up side down.

[shushu45]

-sigh of relief-
I wouldn't mined reading ur book when it is published. What will be the title when it comes out??

[OCRC_Dir_China]

The World Encyclopedia of Vanilla Orchids; I am over seven years of working on it. I am trying to make it a one stop source of reliable information about all vanilla varietys. I have it up to 570 pages so far and exspect it add another 500.