Growing vanilla... help!! *update*
 

Hello, I'm brand new here!

A bit about me...
I've killed a few orchids, :sorry: , and had some great success.

My new adventure is trying to grow a vanilla orchid!! :biggrin:

It is a Vanilla planifolia and it is about 6 inches long.

I've read through all the vanilla threads that I could find here and got tons of great info... thanks!

I'm growing it in a sun room off of my house. As suggested in the other threads, I planted it in african violet potting mix.
It is in a terra cotta pot that is about 12" across. Would bigger be better?
The sun can be very intense in the sun room, should I shade it?
How about humidity. Should I mist it? Should I mist it with orchid food in the water?

Any other advice? I really want this to work! Some of your pictures are soooo amazing and inspiring!!

I live in northern California, if that makes any difference.

Thanks for your help! keeping my :crossfing !!

Vanilla,

Personally, I think the hardest part in growing Vanilla is finding enough space for it to climb. The pot and mix that the cutting gets placed in is not of the essence, but rather where the vine will establish and what conditions it will be establishing in (because it's hard to move them around!). The bottom portion of the cutting will eventually die off, and only so many roots can grow from the nodules of the cutting. When the cuttings are young, they do prefer to be in a terrestrial mix, which even potting soil would suffice.

Vanilla planifolia is by far the easiest species to grow, but not always the most rewarding. Here's a couple of pics of mine, which I've shown a bazillion times :shock: The higher light levels and warm temperatures needed for blooming and ideal growth should be observed when growing this species. Watering is not as big of a deal, just don't let the small cutting dry out all the time.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...n/S5002099.jpg
Vanilla planifolia

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...n/S5001821.jpg
Rambling on!

-PM

Thanks for the info!! Your vine is huge!!!

Could you suggest a variety that would be more rewarding to grow? My ultimate goal is to cure my own vanilla beans, if that makes any difference.

What do you mean that the bottom dies off???!!?!? :_( I would be terrified if I saw that happening!!:yikes: Does it just survive on the air roots then? Does humidity become more important?

Thanks for your help and your photos are BEAUTIFUL!! :photo:

Vanilla,

Thanks! Since it is growing outside in the Florida heat, it's a real good grower. The vine itself is not all that old either, just ideal conditions for the plant!

If you want to cure your own beans, than Vanilla planifolia is the vine to go, as it is better tasting than other Vanilla species. If you are more into oddity or attractive flowering Vanilla, then I would suggest something like Vanilla hartii, Vanilla beyrichii, Vanilla imperialis, or even the leafless Florida native Vanilla barbellata.

What I mean that the bottom portion of the Vanilla dies off is that after a long while, the entire vine does not live forever, and the bottom-most portion dies off first. Vanilla originally starts its life off on the ground, rambling to find the nearest tree to climb upon. It will climb up the tree, and possibly to the treetop, and the bottom portion (which is the oldest part) will wither away. Completely natural for many of the species in this genus.

Good luck growing!
-Pat

Ooooohhhhhh.... Thanks! That makes sense!

Yes, that happened to my variegated one which was in the ground. It started to wither at the bottom, so I made a fresh cut above the part that was dying and stuck the aerial roots into a pot of fresh potting soil that I hung up on the greenhouse wall, and it took off again. Even branched.

I just bought one of the leafless ones, Vanilla aphylla. Its pretty cool.

Wow, I just looked up a photo, amazing!!

Would it get vanilla beans?

All of the Vanilla species will produce the "beans", but the quality and flavor of the cured pods would differ. There may be some species that may have never been tried, like Vanilla madagascariensis (though I smelled one of the semi-ripened pods of my vine, and it smelled similar to okra and nastiness). :D

-Pat

Do the pods ever smell "good" before they are cured on any variety? I was getting the impression that they don't smell like "vanilla" until they are cured.

Have you cured any of your beans?

Ok, so it has been 6 months.

Want to know how much my vanilla has grown??






Not even the tiniest bit!!!!
Ok, maybe a tiny bit, but really not much. The leading leaf died really quickly and a little tiny nub grew but has done NOTHING. I was looking really closely today and there may be a bit of new growth on this weird little secondary vine that loops around at the bottom.

Honestly, I didn't think a plant could live like this. Either grow, or die, you know?

What gives? Why am I failing this vanilla? Any advice??

:scratchhead: