# Vanilla – that humungous vining thing.



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

*It will surely swallow your viv whole!*











Actually, my experience has been quite different. I have had vanilla planifolia for nine months now, and under my Vivarium conditions it doesn’t grow all that quickly. It is definitely slower growing than Pathos. Of course, in nature, Pathos is probably the ultimate killer vine; well maybe strangler fig is worse :shock: . Anyway, back in October of last year I purchased two Vanilla planifolia, and it has yet to take over anything. 


*Growing Conditions:* 
Under an 18 Watt fluorescent bulb it simply puts out a new leaf every month or so. If you cut it back, it will sometimes produce multiple new runners. Like many orchids, it grows well when its substrate is moist but not soggy. It does not appear to have to dry out though. This summer I tried a few cuttings outside. They suffered badly in only a few hours of full sun and don’t seem to be doing well with only an hour of full sun either. The variegated variety seems particularly susceptible to sun damage. Note; had I slowly hardened them to the bright light they may have done considerably better. Inside my home, in a window that is good for growing African Violets, the variegated variety grows more quickly than the non-variegated variety. This is also true for plants grown under 18 Watt fluorescent bulbs.

*Propagation:
*Propagation is a no brainer. You simply cut a piece with a few leaves, and attach it to something.

*Sanitizing:*
Bleaching it in 10% Clorox for 10 minutes is not a problem. On the advice of Patty (slatonp) I’m changing my sanitizing solution to 2% Clorox. I have not tried this solution on plants yet though.

*Acquiring Vanilla planifolia:*
I purchased mine from T and C (hint, you have to ask them for it, because their website always says they don’t have any).

I plan on offering a limited supply in the future but it will be a while.


----------



## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

This is great, Chris! Yet another plant to covet...  

Question: What's the smallest viv you'd put it in? And do you know what it takes to get it to bloom?


----------



## merrill5 (Apr 6, 2006)

your expirence with the vanilla seems to be what I am running in to. I have it in one of my 18 X 24 exo terras, it has been in there for 3 months now and has put on good root growth- you can see it from the back of the glass, but just a couple new leaves. I have 2 of the 27 watt daylight balanced spiral compact flourecent fixtures, and all the plants are growing/doing well, but other things, like the peperomia, the ficus discolor, ficus amazonica are growing much faster.


----------



## Guest (Jul 13, 2006)

Orchid people say it has to be 10-14' (yes... _feet_) or more to bloom. I've never owned one, so I can't say for certain.


----------



## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

Well, blooms aren't everything!  

It's nice to hear of another orchid that does well in vivs, and also to know that one like this seems to limit its growth under those conditions...


----------



## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

Yes, several meters long to bloom, plus the flowers only last a day... Not really grown for the flowers in captivity.

But, I think this is a plant that grows to the extent that conditions allow. In low light, smaller leaves. This is good! It will get quite big in full tropical sun.

Where did you get the variegated vanilla, anyway? That is cool...

Rob


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

I’ve read that it will not bloom until it reaches at least 20 feet long. I’ve also read that it is the thickness of the vine and the size of the leaves that is important, and not the length of the vine. Thus a short cutting from an old vine can produce a flower. I have a Brazilian friend who has told me that he has seen wild vines grow from the ground straight up into the canopy. I once read that under optimal growing conditions the plant can grow four inches a day!

Diane, I don’t think it requires a large viv. I have some growing in one of those beanie baby boxes (about 3”X3”X8”).

Rob, The variegated one came from T and C as well. It is very surprising to me that it grows more quickly than the normal form under low light conditions, but I have several and in almost all cases the variegated form grows more quickly. The ones that I put outside are the exception. The sun killed the variegated form almost immediately.


----------



## rattler_mt (Apr 15, 2005)

one species(pompona?) i know has bloomed at 18 inches for an individual. thickess of the vine has EVERYTHING to do with when they bloom forget about length, though usually a vine has to be atleast 8 feet long to be thick enough to bloom. however if you can get a cutting off of an old large vine you should be able to bloom it at much shorter. 

i have two species at the moment, planifolia and siamensis. both are growing in with my nepenthes, while they put out an unreal amount of root growth, they havent been growing very fast vine wise. i plan on putting both in the large Mantella tank when i put it together. just need to find a stand for it.


----------



## Guest (Jul 14, 2006)

Your Vanilla Would definately grow faster if you gave it more light and HEAT.
They love it warm! and they also really want food. But then youd need a greenhouse to house it.

Matt


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Hey Matt,

Where ya been? Thanks for chiming in  . From what I’ve been told, it really is a humungous vining thing, but under standard viv conditions it seems to be quite well behaved and nice to look at. As stated above, I put a few plants outside but they are not doing well. I should have taken the time to harden them to the light. Who knows though, it is hot and I’m feeding them so maybe they will come back. My Spanish Moss (outside on a tree branch for the summer) is certainly appreciating the weather.


----------



## jhupp (Feb 27, 2004)

Hello all,

Not much to contribute here, but I will say Vanilla is one of my favorite orchid genera. I currently grow two species, the typical V. planifolia (and the source of rattler_mt's, hope it is doing well for you) and a probably lesser known leafless species native to Florida, V. barbellata. What has been said about Vanilla being light and heat lovers is quite true. I would hazard to say that even the most intensely lit viv doesn't come close to what these plants see in their natural habitats, and is certainly the reason for the slower growth observed. Secondly, there are moisture concerns with Vanilla. These guys are susceptible to a soil born fungus that causes the stem to rot off at the base. The name escapes me but from what I remeber it is fairly common when over watered.

I haven't tried growing them in the viv, but for pot culture I grow mine in a mix of fine fir bark and sphagnum moss. I use a 6" clay orchid pot mounted in the bottom of a tomatoe cage, and then hang the whole thing. The tomatoe cage makes an excellent trellis for the vines and makes it very easy to bring inside in the winter.

Jay


----------



## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

milehigh said:


> Orchid people say it has to be 10-14' (yes... _feet_) or more to bloom. I've never owned one, so I can't say for certain.


and it needs high light at the top to do so...typically the pot sits on someones greenhouse [hot house] floor and 20 ft of vine caress the walls and supports up to the ceiling and beyond...then and only then do you see a flower...not an impressive one either.. :wink: and if you are real lucky you can polinate it and get a seed pot...and make ice cream :wink: 

IME they grow fairly slow when not provided ideal conditions [ie a viv] so they should work if not too wet.

S


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

I think that people mix up wet and soggy. I have two growing in a very wet terrarium with PrimeAgra for a substrate. The PrimeAgra (a type of LECA) is open and airy, I think this limits fungal problems.


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

O.K. I’m at it again. This year I’ve purchased a large cutting of Vanilla planifolia and I’m going to try to grow it outside again. I’m starting in a shadier location than last year, so hopefully I have better luck. 

The cutting.









Since this cutting doesn’t have any good aerial roots, I just placed it on top of the soil in this pot. Hopefully this technique will prevent rot


----------



## housevibe7 (Sep 24, 2006)

Chris - 
One of the problems with getting it to bloom is that it needs a huge range in temps. The gentlemen I bought mine from got his to finally bloom with 80 degree day temps and close to 55 degree night temps. So, good luck getting that to bloom in a viv.


----------



## fishdoc (Apr 24, 2007)

*ebay addict*

just bought one from ebay, that will come as a cutting. Do you think I should root it first, then put in the viv, or put directly in the viv? Top or bottom? (does it want to hang, or grow up)..so many questions, so little time...


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Sarah, I wasn’t really concerned with it blooming. I was just hoping it would grow up the tree so that I could make lots of divisions this fall. It was all for naught though. The gardeners came on Monday and the cutting is now gone. They must have moved the pot that it was in and since it wasn’t rooted yet it probably fell out. They must have thought it was just some twig and thrown it away. Now I’m looking for another giant vanilla cutting.

Fishdoc, These are easy plants. If you lay the cutting on top of your substrate it will root on its own. Just don’t lay it in mud. Like most orchids it likes even moisture and open soil not soggy anaerobic soil. You might want to plant it outside of the viv so that you can make frog free cuttings. You will find that almost everyone likes this plant.


----------



## Woodsman (Jan 3, 2008)

*Vanilla orchids*

Hi folks,

Without a lot of air-flow, most epiphytic orchids are susceptible to disease. That said, I grow my V. planifolia v. variegata in a 55-gallon tank with very high humidity and little air movement. I think the key is lots of light and warmth. I use 4-40 watt florescent tubes (full spectrum), and the Vanilla grows wildly. I always have cuttings for other terraria and for friends (the more the orchid is cut back, the bushier it gets).

The variegata form is by far better than the species, at least in V. planifolia. Take care, Richard.


----------

