When I bought my vanilla vine it was about 1 foot long and it was rooted in bark in a plastic pot. At first I kept the vine underneath a neighbor's ficus tree on a fence and I didn't want the vine to grow up into the tree. That's when I bought two 2 x 2 foot trellises and fastened them together with nylon straps and put them in a large clay container.
When I moved the vine to my pool deck area I wanted to let the vine grow up the walls, but it would have been difficult to pollinate the blooms. As the vine grew I secured it to the trellis with coated wire until it's roots attached. The end of the vine broke off several times but kept starting again near the break. The last time two vines started which caused it to grow even faster. It gets morning sun and a good breeze out of the SE. It also will get rain.
The vine has completely attached itself to the trellis which is secured in the large clay container with bricks. It is hooked to the column for extra support. It is no longer in the plastic pot, that part has dried up and died. I water and fertilize with the hose and I don't move the container, it's too heavy. If the temperature gets below 40 degrees I cover the vine with a sheet.
I think the buds started in the late winter or early spring. I pollinated the blooms everyday before noon and they would dry up and fall off in a few days. If the blooms weren't pollinated they would fall off the same day. The pods are starting to turn yellow at the bloom end and that's when they should be removed and the process to kill, sweat, and dry begins.
I hope I have answered your questions. I need to buy a heating pad and get the process started. I'll let you know how it goes.
Penny
Do you think one could pull off growing them in side. What's the temperature range they can handle?
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