The vanilla guide
The vanilla flower
Every vanilla bean starts as one of these, open for a few hours and then gone.
The vanilla flower is the bloom of Vanilla planifolia, a climbing orchid. It is pale greenish-yellow, waxy, about 5 cm across, and opens for a single morning. The flower itself does not smell of vanilla. If it is pollinated that morning, it becomes a green pod that ripens over about nine months and is then cured into a vanilla bean.
On this page
What the vanilla orchid looks like
Vanilla is a vine. Its green stems climb trees or posts using aerial roots, and its thick, fleshy leaves grow one at a time along the stem. In the wild a vine can climb many metres.
The flowers grow in clusters and open a few at a time over several weeks, each for a single morning. They have three sepals, two petals and a tube-shaped lip, all pale greenish-yellow.
Why vanilla is pollinated by hand
Inside each flower, a small flap called the rostellum keeps the pollen away from the part that receives it. In its native Mexico a few insects can get past it, but rarely. Everywhere else, almost no flower would ever become a pod on its own.
In 1841, Edmond Albius, a twelve-year-old enslaved boy on the island of Réunion, found a quick way to do it by hand: lift the flap with a thin stick and press the two parts together with a thumb. Growers still use his method on every flower, including on our farm, where the flowering season runs from April to early June.
Can you grow a vanilla orchid at home?
Yes, as a houseplant or in a greenhouse, though it takes patience to see flowers. Vanilla needs:
- Warmth: roughly 20–30 °C, never cold.
- Humidity: the more the better; a bathroom, greenhouse or humidifier helps.
- Bright, indirect light, never harsh midday sun.
- Something to climb: a moss pole, a post or a trellis.
- An airy orchid mix that stays lightly moist and never waterlogged.
A vine usually has to be long and several years old before it flowers. When it does, pollinate the flowers by hand in the morning they open.
Questions
Does the vanilla flower smell like vanilla?
No. The flower has only a faint scent. The vanilla aroma develops in the pod during months of curing.
How long does a vanilla flower last?
About one day. It opens in the morning and closes by the afternoon, so it has to be pollinated within hours.
How long until a vanilla plant flowers?
Cuttings from a mature vine can flower after about 18 months in ideal conditions. Young plants, and plants grown indoors, often take several years.
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