Orchid passion: a vanilla plant at home
You’ll have to be patient to get your own pods and flowering, but the maintenance of the vanilla in itself poses no major problem if you take at least a few basic precautions, as you would for classic Phalenopsis or symbidium.
A few maintenance and cultivation tips for your vanilla plant
First of all, you should avoid direct sun or prefer morning sun, whatever the region. Preferable exposure to light or partial shade.
Vanilla trees like warm and humid places (such as bathrooms or verandas in summer). Possibly spray the foliage.
Avoid temperatures below 12°C.
Fertilizer (orchid) 1 x week or every 15 days in spring/summer.
It is advisable to avoid absolutely stagnant water which makes the roots rot, idem for the too fresh temperatures which make the roots rot and melt the young heads of the vanilla trees.
Transplantation
More like early spring. Avoid transplanting too old subjects and choose an orchid-type mixture or ideally one based on coconut fiber. Be careful not to damage the roots when transplanting.
Cuttings
1/ Cut part of the vine, taking care to let the cut base heal for 24/48 hours. Plant directly (2-3 nodes) into Orchid Mix Substrate, water in – place in a warm spot for best growth – do not allow substrate to dry out. Possibly covered with a bell or transparent bag to optimize the humidity level.
2 / Or develop the roots by leaving the base of the vine (on 2 to 3 nodes) in a container filled with water. After root development (1 to 2 months) depending on conditions, repot as indicated in 1.
In the majority of cases, newly acquired plants in the trade do not require repotting in the short or medium term. In any case, once your vanilla plant is perfectly acclimatized and accustomed to an environment, we strongly advise against moving. We have obtained the best results on our own vanilla plants by never changing their place and never transplanting them.
It is indeed preferable to add compost or feed them regularly with a suitable fertilizer rather than stressing them with repotting, the roots proving to be very brittle, recovery is all the more difficult.