How to Grow Vanilla

Creating the Right Environment

Construct a greenhouse if you don’t live in a tropical climate. Vanilla orchids require a tropical environment, so you will need sunlight, heat, space, and humidity for the plants to grow. Choose a location with morning sun and build the structure yourself or from a greenhouse kit. Cover the structure with UV-stabilized polyethylene or fiberglass or add glass panels. If you live in a tropical climate, you may be able to cultivate vanilla outside. Check the temperature and humidity of your environment to determine if the conditions are suitable for a vanilla orchid.

Keep the temperature above 65 °F (18 °C). Vanilla orchids will thrive in climates with daytime temperatures between 80–85 °F (27–29 °C). At night, temperatures should remain between 65–75 °F (18–24 °C). To decrease the temperature in a greenhouse, you can open vents or turn on fans. To increase the temperature in a greenhouse, you can add heat lamps or a heater.

Maintain an 85% humidity level. Vanilla orchids need high humidity levels to grow properly. Use a hygrometer to measure the humidity in the greenhouse or planting location. If it is below 85%, add a humidifier to the area. If the humidity is above 85%, use a dehumidifier to reduce the humidity.

Planting the Cutting

Purchase a 15–20 in (38–51 cm) vanilla cutting. If you don’t have a local florist or garden center that sells cuttings from vanilla orchids, you may need to order them online. For best results, choose a cutting that is 15–20 inches (38–51 cm) long. It’s a good idea to purchase several cuttings in case some of them don’t make it. Cuttings are usually taken from mature plants that are 20 feet (6.1 m) or more in length. Be sure to ask the supplier which end of the cutting is the top and which is the bottom if you are unsure. The top is the direction in which the plant has been growing. The leaves will point down toward the bottom of the cutting.

Fill a small pot with a mix of fir bark and peat moss. Fir bark and peat moss will ensure that the soil has good drainage. Alternatively, you could use a potting medium formulated for orchids. Keep in mind that orchids do better in small pots rather than in large ones or directly in the soil. All of these materials are available at garden shops and home improvement stores.

Test the potting medium to ensure it has a neutral pH. Vanilla orchids thrive in a potting medium with a neutral pH of 6.6 to 7.5. To test the pH of the soil, you can use a commercial test probe or paper test strips, both of which are available at your local garden center and online. If you need to adjust the pH, add lime to increase the alkalinity or add organic matter (like more peat moss) to increase the acidity.

Plant the vanilla orchid cutting in the pot. Bury the bottom 2 leaf joints, or nodes, of the plant about 1 inch (2.5 cm) into the potting medium. Lightly tamp down the potting medium with your hands to stabilize the cutting.

Water the orchid lightly with distilled water after planting. It’s important that you don’t oversaturate the orchid, which could lead to root rot. Water the orchid lightly, rather than deeply, just until the potting medium is moist. Always use distilled water, as the minerals in tap water aren’t good for plants.

Caring for the Vanilla Orchid

Place the pot in an area with 6 hours of indirect sunlight per day. Vanilla orchids will get scorched if you place them in direct sunlight. To prevent this, choose an area of the greenhouse with bright, but indirect, sunlight. A location with dappled, but not deep, shade that gets at least 6 hours of sun per day is ideal.

Install a trellis next to the orchid to allow the vines to climb. Vanilla orchids are a climbing vine, so they’ll need a trellis to support them. Alternatively, you could position the pot near a stake or a tree so the vines can climb that. The vanilla orchid must be trained to grow vertically, so you’ll need to gently secure the plant to the the trellis, stake, or tree using plant ties or clips. You can purchase ties or clips online or at a gardening store.

Allow the potting medium to dry out between waterings or mist it daily. Wait until the top 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) of potting medium has dried before watering the orchid again. After watering, the soil should be moist but not soggy. Alternatively, you could mist the orchid daily with distilled water from a spray bottle. Lightly spray the soil, stem, and leaves of the plant.

Apply liquid fertilizer to the plant “weakly, weekly.” To ensure your orchid will bloom and develop vanilla beans, you should fertilize it regularly. Fertilizing “weakly, weekly” means adding a diluted amount of fertilizer (about half as strong as the package directs) once every 7 days. When the plant is actively growing, use a high-nitrogen (30-10-10) liquid fertilizer. When the orchid is not in active growth, use a 10-10-10 fertilizer.

Allow the vanilla orchid to grow and mature for 2-7 years. As the orchid grows, air roots (which are roots that grow above the soil) will attach upward to the support and others will reach down to the soil. It will take between 2-7 years for the plant to grow large enough to bloom, as it must reach 20–40 feet (6.1–12.2 m) in length. Don’t despair, though, the time and effort is worth it! During this time, water and fertilize the vanilla orchid as before.

Pollinating the Flowers

Pollinate the vanilla orchids when they develop clusters of flowers. The vanilla orchid only flowers for one 6-week period per year. Additionally, the flowers only last approximately 1 day! This means you’ll need to keep a close eye on the orchid, checking it daily for flowers. When it does flower, you will need to hand-pollinate the flowers in order to grow the vanilla beans.

Push the anther up and place the pollen on the ridge. It’s best to pollinate the flowers in the morning, around 11 o’clock. Push the pollen mass out and hold it up with your right thumb and index finger. Use your middle finger to push the anther back and expose the cam underneath it, which serves as a shield. Place the pollen on the ridge. Push the ridge back into place with your left hand and pull the cap back down. Repeat with all the flowers. Sap from orchid roots and flowers can irritate the skin. Wear gloves and be cautious when replanting or pollinating the plant. Consider asking a local orchid grower to help you hand-pollinate the first few times as it is a very delicate process.

Look for stems that face downward to indicate successful pollination. Check the orchid the day after pollination. The flowers should not fall off, but they will wither and turn dark brown. If the stem begins to elongate instead of point up, it is pollinated. If you don’t see a change, you may need to re-pollinate the flower.

Harvesting Vanilla Beans

Pick the pods when they begin to turn yellow at the bottom. The pods will appear within 2 months of pollination, but they take 6-9 months to mature. During this time, care for the plant as you normally would. Then, when the pods, normally green, are just starting to turn yellow, carefully pluck them off the plant.

Blanch the beans for 2-5 minutes in 158 °F (70 °C) water. Heat a pot of water to 158 °F (70 °C). Submerge the beans for 2-5 minutes, then carefully remove them. This kills any germs or bacteria, and also prepares the beans for curing.

Sweat the beans for 36-48 hours in a blanket-lined box. After blanching the beans, transfer them to a box lined with a blanket. A bamboo box and woolen blankets are best, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Allow the beans to “sweat” inside the blankets and box for 36-48 hours before removing them. The beans will sweat out moisture due to the heat, helping them to dry out.

Alternate drying the beans in the sun and sweating them for 7-14 days. Spread your beans on trays and place them in direct sunlight for 3 hours each day. Then, fold them in a cloth or blanket and put them in a box to allow them to sweat overnight. Repeat the process of drying and sweating each day until the pods turn a deep brown.

Allow the beans to air dry for 8-20 days at 95 °F (35 °C) and 70% humidity. To further remove moisture from the beans, they should be allowed to air dry fully. Hang them up or spread them out on trays in a drying room. Keep the room at 95 °F (35 °C) and 70% humidity for best results. The beans are done drying when they have a soft, leathery texture and lots of length-wise wrinkles.