The vanillas, growing the spice orchid

[ThevanillaGrower]

I grow my vanillas organically. leaf mulch once a year with rainwater and nitrate rich mulch such as raw unsalted peanut shells do extremely well. Also, they seem to have a murderous apatite for reindeer lichen. If you can spice your potting media with it they will love you for it. If you have a fish tank I advise that you pour the waste water onto the vanilla. I got 3 ft growth in one month with this method.

[bil]

Originally Posted by ThevanillaGrower

I grow my vanillas organically. leaf mulch once a year with rainwater and nitrate rich mulch such as raw unsalted peanut shells do extremely well. Also, they seem to have a murderous apatite for reindeer lichen. If you can spice your potting media with it they will love you for it. If you have a fish tank I advise that you pour the waste water onto the vanilla. I got 3 ft growth in one month with this method.

So they like a wet, organic rich substrate? Interestingly my Darwin orchids seem to like a wet rotted base too.

It certainly sounds as if they would do well with a heavier fertilising regime.

[ThevanillaGrower]

Well drained organic substrate.

[bil]

Originally Posted by ThevanillaGrower

Well drained organic substrate.

With leaf mulch I imagine it is a bit more like growing it on compost rather than say bark?

I get a ton of avocado leaves at the moment which I could bag up and leave (ahaha) to break down. Any reason why I can't use those?

[estación seca]

Double check on avocado leaves. Nothing grows under avocado trees. I don't know whether that's due to shade or chemistry.

[bil]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Double check on avocado leaves. Nothing grows under avocado trees. I don't know whether that's due to shade or chemistry.

Yeah, I have a few plants under my tree, but only because I water them religiously. The soil under it is just a mat of roots, so I suspect it dryness and shade that kills everything off.

[ThevanillaGrower]

Yes leaf mulch is more like compost as it will break down rather quickly.

[bil]

Originally Posted by ThevanillaGrower

Yes leaf mulch is more like compost as it will break down rather quickly.

So what size pot would you go for, diam and depth, and what would you plant in it as starter medium? Bark and moss?

As repotting a dirty great vine would be impractical, what do you do? simply re mulch every year?

[Leafmite]

I had one of these for many years but it was very sensitive to the cold and, as our weather is rather unpredictable sometimes, it often got caught and died back. Some creature, too, seemed to enjoy eating it down to the soil-level. A couple of years ago, an autumn night's temperatures were lower than expected and it did not recover. I replaced it last spring.

I grow mine in a potting soil/rough sand/bark mix, with the sand quite plentiful. I add Ironite, a slow release fertilizer and an organic fertilizer each about once a year. Now and then it gets a little MSU fertilizer. I use distilled water most of the time when watering. Mine grows in a six inch pot for now and develops aerial roots as it grows. I spray the aerial roots with distilled water. After I get a better frame and set my lights up differently, I plan to grow it next to the Musa and Theobroma Caco for better humidity (though I am not going to let the vine grow on either as it will get too heavy).

I have heard of people using chicken wire to form a cage around the Vanilla to keep it contained as it will otherwise get quite unruly. I bought a cheap styrofoam ring and wrapped it in burlap as I did not have time to look for something else last year but I need to unwrap the vine from that and grow it on a larger frame as it has been wrapped as many times as it can be wrapped.

As for the size of the pot, I will probably be moving this to an eight-inch pot in the spring (or a ten inch if the roots are tight in the pot).

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

...I need to unwrap the vine from that and grow it on a larger frame as it has been wrapped as many times as it can be wrapped.

As for the size of the pot, I will probably be moving this to an eight-inch pot in the spring (or a ten inch if the roots are tight in the pot).

Photo?