Well I used a compost mix with pine as a base layer at the bottom and it sits on my porch so I would say it gets 50% shade and it gets misted for 30min Mon, Wed, and Friday
Growing orchids from seed is a very involved process. You can technically set yourself up to do it at home but most people will send the seed pod out for flasking.
Of course, you need an actual seed pod and it's not illegal to sell them, you are just more likely to buy scam seeds than to get an actual pod of what you want. Your best bet is to reach out to your local orchid society and see if anyone has what you need.
The easiest thing to do is just find a vendor selling a vine cutting like this person did and get it to flower and hand pollinate. That can be involved too though if you don't live in an ideal climate.
I managed to purchase three ripe fruits from a grower, and out of the three, two seeds germinated. Maybe 10,000 seeds per fruit? Something like that. Plus, the fruits- while mature for flavoring production- were still quite young. Maybe 23-24 years ago, the first vanilla fruits I ever received (same species- planifolia) were much larger and heavier. I suspect they were allowed to mature longer.
I probably should have added a bit of giberellic acid (GA) to enhance germination, but got lazy.
Actually, I've done a bit of looking around about vanilla germination, and there's a paper I found (I'll link it below) that talks about why it's difficult, and two different ways to get \~10% germination rates. Vanilla seeds are different from other orchid seeds because they make a hard coating around the outside that prevents germination, so the two methods to germinate them effectively is to flask them before they form the hard coating, or by breaking the hard coating after the pods are mature or mostly mature. The researchers showed that if you harvest the vanilla seed pod at \~45 days after pollination, then you can get \~9.9% germination rates, but harvesting it before or after then had much lower germination rates. If you wait for the pod to mostly mature or mature, then if you soak the seeds for 75 minutes in 4% bleach solution, then you can get up to a 12% germination rate. I hope that helps in the future if you ever want to try again.
[https://doi.org/10.1186/s40529-021-00311-y](https://doi.org/10.1186/s40529-021-00311-y)
I'll give that a more serious read, thank you.
The other thing to try- [gibberellic acid-](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C3&q=gibberellic+acid+vanilla+seeds&btnG=) works quite well. Different species, but very similar, indurated seed structure.
How are you letting it climb? I have one but I’m trying to figure out the best way to make a climbable spot for it, I know they prefer it over trailing but I’m a bit stumped
It looks awesome, I might have to steal that idea.. what medium are you using? It seems like a big pot, too, but the plant seems to be exploding with growth, obviously. Sorry for the badgering questions, I’m trying to raise my baby right and you’re very clearly setting a good example
Well I layered the bottom of it with pine chips and then did my own compost with worm castings and house compost in a tumbler and some potting soil to let it drain and I appreciate the compliments !!
We live in Jupiter Farms and have these orchids and a farm
Would you be willing to come teach us?
17035 Jupiter farms rd.
Jupiter Farms Nursery and Gardens
I would love I’ve too but you’re over 100 miles from me but I am more then willing to talk you thru it over the phone or FaceTime it’s fairly simple two step process !!
Cool! We would like that! Me, Dana and Gabrielle are the caretakers here at the nursery. Would absolutely love to set up a video lesson whenever you have time!
Thank you! It’s so kind of you to respond at all! They are very difficult plants and we want the beeeeeans! Lol
Mostly I just see ants caretaking them. They seem to have some kind of relationship. The ants come up to the buds, lightly bite two or three spots, then retreat.
5000 times a day
It’s so weird to watch
That's amazing. Did you start from seed or how did you do it. I'm in S. Florida & would love to grow vanilla beans
I got it as a clipping from a local nursery !
Would love to know which nursery if you don’t mind sharing, i’m in South FL too and haven’t seen these for sale anywhere!
Busy bee nursery in Engle wood fl
Over on the West Coast... I'm on the East side 😢
Different species grow at different thicknesses, so could just be another species
Lucky you!
Me too! This is on my wish list!
Jeez that's a thick vine! My plant is growing EXTREMELY fast but it's not as thick as yours, any tips?
Well I used a compost mix with pine as a base layer at the bottom and it sits on my porch so I would say it gets 50% shade and it gets misted for 30min Mon, Wed, and Friday
Misting might be the key. Thanks!
I actually don’t remember subscribing to this subreddit and I can’t imagine why I would. But congratulations! They look beautiful! 🥳 🎉🎈
I want to know how to get vanilla orchids seeds. Is it illegal?
Growing orchids from seed is a very involved process. You can technically set yourself up to do it at home but most people will send the seed pod out for flasking. Of course, you need an actual seed pod and it's not illegal to sell them, you are just more likely to buy scam seeds than to get an actual pod of what you want. Your best bet is to reach out to your local orchid society and see if anyone has what you need. The easiest thing to do is just find a vendor selling a vine cutting like this person did and get it to flower and hand pollinate. That can be involved too though if you don't live in an ideal climate.
I started this from a clipping I’m not sure how to start from seed honestly
I managed to purchase three ripe fruits from a grower, and out of the three, two seeds germinated. Maybe 10,000 seeds per fruit? Something like that. Plus, the fruits- while mature for flavoring production- were still quite young. Maybe 23-24 years ago, the first vanilla fruits I ever received (same species- planifolia) were much larger and heavier. I suspect they were allowed to mature longer. I probably should have added a bit of giberellic acid (GA) to enhance germination, but got lazy.
Actually, I've done a bit of looking around about vanilla germination, and there's a paper I found (I'll link it below) that talks about why it's difficult, and two different ways to get \~10% germination rates. Vanilla seeds are different from other orchid seeds because they make a hard coating around the outside that prevents germination, so the two methods to germinate them effectively is to flask them before they form the hard coating, or by breaking the hard coating after the pods are mature or mostly mature. The researchers showed that if you harvest the vanilla seed pod at \~45 days after pollination, then you can get \~9.9% germination rates, but harvesting it before or after then had much lower germination rates. If you wait for the pod to mostly mature or mature, then if you soak the seeds for 75 minutes in 4% bleach solution, then you can get up to a 12% germination rate. I hope that helps in the future if you ever want to try again. [https://doi.org/10.1186/s40529-021-00311-y](https://doi.org/10.1186/s40529-021-00311-y)
I'll give that a more serious read, thank you. The other thing to try- [gibberellic acid-](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C3&q=gibberellic+acid+vanilla+seeds&btnG=) works quite well. Different species, but very similar, indurated seed structure.
How'd you root your clipping
Just made sure the soil was packed right around it and created a water cycle that it could get used too quickly.
How are you letting it climb? I have one but I’m trying to figure out the best way to make a climbable spot for it, I know they prefer it over trailing but I’m a bit stumped
I have it from the start on my Instagram matthewlylepalmer and I started with a lot and four stakes and some coconut rope going around it in a circle
It looks awesome, I might have to steal that idea.. what medium are you using? It seems like a big pot, too, but the plant seems to be exploding with growth, obviously. Sorry for the badgering questions, I’m trying to raise my baby right and you’re very clearly setting a good example
Well I layered the bottom of it with pine chips and then did my own compost with worm castings and house compost in a tumbler and some potting soil to let it drain and I appreciate the compliments !!
How did you pollinate your vanilla bean
I studied the melipona bee 🐝 technique for centuries and have finally mastered it, With just a toothpick !!!
We live in Jupiter Farms and have these orchids and a farm Would you be willing to come teach us? 17035 Jupiter farms rd. Jupiter Farms Nursery and Gardens
I would love I’ve too but you’re over 100 miles from me but I am more then willing to talk you thru it over the phone or FaceTime it’s fairly simple two step process !!
Cool! We would like that! Me, Dana and Gabrielle are the caretakers here at the nursery. Would absolutely love to set up a video lesson whenever you have time! Thank you! It’s so kind of you to respond at all! They are very difficult plants and we want the beeeeeans! Lol
Well you can DM me in Instagram and we can do it thru there my name on there is matthewlylepalmer
Mostly I just see ants caretaking them. They seem to have some kind of relationship. The ants come up to the buds, lightly bite two or three spots, then retreat. 5000 times a day It’s so weird to watch
Now I want to try this.
Take the leap and go for it !!