Israeli Vanilla
 

Hi;

I am from israel. I would like to start growing vanilla in israel. We are very advanced in modern agriculture even though the weather is not the best to grow Vanilla. We hope to "create" the perfect climate for it.

How do I start?

Hi Rosetal,

Vanilla like hot weather, and you have it in Israel :) however, tehy also like high humidity, which you do not have much in Israel (except Ein Gedi or so around the Dead Sea, but then the weather is really too hot!). As you sometimes have quite cold weather and sometimes even snow, the plants should be protected for those events... They like it also with sun, but you also have too much of it... therefore, you would need to use shadow nets, as you usually do with many cultivars in Israel too (this has the advantage of increasing humidity too!). Then, once you have stablished your plants you only need to wait for them to bloom, and start pollinating them manually, in order to have the pods.

hope this helps you :)

Hello kavanaru
Thank you for your reply.

Looks like you know about Israel.

We CAN find hot weather and high humidity in Israel, It would help if you can tell me in numbers what is best as far as temperature and humidity percentage. Also, do we need to have hot and humid in the same time? meaning if it is 50 humid in the morning , noon or evening, what is the best temperature in the same time?

Do you have an email address or Skype?

My name is Amir

I spent one month travelling through Israel a few years ago :)

I cannot tell you exact numbers, but Vanilla come from the NeoTropics, with temps ranging between 25 - 35°C (sometimes a bit higher during the day, however, temps above 32°C is the exception) and humidity above 60%... combine both and you have it for Vanilla :)

Vanilla originated in the foothills of northern Veracruz state in Mexico. Here's an interesting article on the history and growing of it at its place of origin. It is hot, humid and rainy all year, you can check the weather using the city of Papantla, Veracruz, Mexico.

The vanilla orchid grows well here where I live on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. We don't have the pollinating bees so it won't produce pods unless you hand pollinate it. It needs water in our dry season and prefers a sheltered location where the humidity stays higher, bright light but not direct sun and something to climb, it's a vine.

I would say as a general statement that the higher the temperature the higher the humidity should be. Papantla has a season with slightly less rain in the winter but I would assume that the humidity never gets below 60% and was usually closer to 90%. Annual lows are probably in the high 60's F (around 20C) and highs around 95F (35C).

Research the conditions of its native area and you will find the perfect conditions for growth.

Also research the process for producing the vanilla. It is not easy.