I bought a vanilla bean the other day for the purpose of removing the seeds and trying to grow the vine. I have done minimal reading at it seems like you may need some kind of fungus just to get the seeds to germinate?? Is this true? Do the seeds need cold stratification?
Since I decided to look into it AFTER I bought the bean I figure I at least better find out all the details before I actually plant them!
Any tips or suggestions would be much appreciated!
If you bought the vanilla bean as it is sold to use as a spice, I don't think you'll have much luck in germinating the seeds. In order for the flavor to develop, the beans are fermented etc. Which I would think would kill the seeds. - Just my thoughts, not sure if I am right on that though...
As for cold stratification - it is a tropical plant, so nope, it's not needed.
Since it is an orchid, read up on how to grow orchids from seed
As for cold stratification - it is a tropical plant, so nope, it's not needed.
Since it is an orchid, read up on how to grow orchids from seed
You can buy cuttings of vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia) vines, but you can't grow them from the beans because the fementation process needed to develop the vanilla flavor kills the seeds. The cuttings are pretty easy to grow.
The "Bean" is a seed pod that has literally millions of seeds inside. Orchid seeds are evolutionalry minimalists with just a few cells in each seed. In nature they do need to parasitize a fungus in order to grow, but people grow them using sterile tissue culture techniques.
Do a search on "orchid flasking" for details
Factoid...each an every vanilla bean you see was hand pollinated because the bee that did the job in nature is either rare/extinct in the native region of Veracruz Mexico, or the vines are being grown in other parts of the world that never had the bees. The flowers are only open for a couple of days and the vines can be 100 ft long so they are watched closely. no flowers untill the vine is about 30 ft long.
If you do decide to grow a cutting you can loop it over a hoop support like a cheap garden hose hanger or you can loop them over a hanging basket and each section touching the soil will usually put out roots.
The "Bean" is a seed pod that has literally millions of seeds inside. Orchid seeds are evolutionalry minimalists with just a few cells in each seed. In nature they do need to parasitize a fungus in order to grow, but people grow them using sterile tissue culture techniques.
Do a search on "orchid flasking" for details
Factoid...each an every vanilla bean you see was hand pollinated because the bee that did the job in nature is either rare/extinct in the native region of Veracruz Mexico, or the vines are being grown in other parts of the world that never had the bees. The flowers are only open for a couple of days and the vines can be 100 ft long so they are watched closely. no flowers untill the vine is about 30 ft long.
If you do decide to grow a cutting you can loop it over a hoop support like a cheap garden hose hanger or you can loop them over a hanging basket and each section touching the soil will usually put out roots.
-
applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30540
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Now see, you got the wheels turning in my head 
Vanilla orchid is a plant on my wish list, and -- from what you said -- another project idea to make a living wreath on one of those moss-lined wreath forms would be the perfect growing platform for the vanilla!
Succulents was what I had been thinking but I wasn't quite sold on the idea. Perfect! A NEW PROJECT!!
Vanilla orchid is a plant on my wish list, and -- from what you said -- another project idea to make a living wreath on one of those moss-lined wreath forms would be the perfect growing platform for the vanilla!
Succulents was what I had been thinking but I wasn't quite sold on the idea. Perfect! A NEW PROJECT!!
An absolutely *wonderful* use for a whole vanilla bean is to put it into your sugar canister (assuming that you use sugar in your household). Just leave it there. The sugar will take on a subtle vanilla flavor. I've done this whenever vanilla beans come to hand (occasionally, but not often), and the beans last for over a year.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
the girlfriend uses them a lot in baking. She asked me if I could grow some so I told her I'd give it a shot. Yeah I realize it'll smell like it. I mean it's not horrid or anything, just don't really like it. But you know, sometimes you take one for the team. 
there's worse things she could have asked for lol.
there's worse things she could have asked for lol.