Vanilla planifoliaVanilla Orchid

Vanilla planifolia is the only orchid grown commercially for food, and it is a climber rather than the epiphyte most people picture. Thick fleshy leaves alternate along a green succulent stem that clings by aerial roots and will run 10 metres or more up a host tree.

The flowers open for less than a day and, outside their native Mexico, have no natural pollinator, so every pod produced anywhere else in the world is the result of hand pollination. That is worth knowing before it is specified as a productive plant.

Specifications

• Height10 to 30 metres on a host tree or support
• Width1 to 2 metres
• Native toMexico and Central America
• FoliageThick, fleshy, oblong leaves alternating along a green climbing stem; evergreen
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilRequires an open, free-draining organic medium at the base and a host stem to climb
• LightPartial shade to filtered light; direct sun scorches the leaves
• WaterModerate; needs high humidity and free drainage together
• ClimateThrives in humid tropical conditions and under glass elsewhere

Additional Features

• FlowersGreenish-yellow flowers that open for less than a day and require hand pollination outside their native range
• FruitLong green pods, cured after harvest to produce vanilla
• UsesConservatory, glasshouse and atrium display, shaded tropical gardens and productive planting on host trees
• SpacingPlant one per host stem or support, 2 to 3 metres apart
• Low MaintenanceTrain and tie in regularly, and loop long growth back down to encourage flowering
• Pest ResistanceWatch for scale and mealybug, and for root rot in stagnant media
• Cultural SignificanceThe botanical source of natural vanilla, first cultivated by the Totonac people of Mexico

The Vanilla Orchid is a specialist climber for humid shade, and it rewards a scheme that can actually give it those conditions.