Let me tell you what's different about you, Bill. You have taken the time to respond to every comment here. To me, that is just as impressive as the information you gave in your video. And I LOVED your video.
My grades in English were top. Communication and language have always been an important part of my life. I am old school and really miss the days when people wrote letters. The smart phone texting and emoji's that we consider communication these days gives me constipation. Do unto others as you wish to have done unto you. If people ask a good question I try to give a good answer. I am retired and I live on a 4000 sq mile Island in the middle of the Pacific that is 2500 miles from the nearest land mass. In Hawaii we "Talk story" and I have the time for it.
I have been growing vanilla for many years. When I start a cutting.... I lay it on the ground on the shady side of a tree trunk... with a portion leaning on a tree. It doesn't take long before it starts climbing.
Same basic idea as setting a pot of bark with a cutting by the tree. Things are active and the weeds crazy here. If I didn't use the pot of bark I'd whack the cutting while weeding. even with the pot I still cut a few.
Excellent video. I've been interested in trying to grow vanilla orchids so I've been researching videos on RU-vid. I live in NC zone 7 so I'm limited to greenhouse/indoor cultivation. I don't have the luxury of living in a tropical paradise, so I'm definitely jealous of your garden/ yard. 😄 You should tell your buddy who grows his vanilla on a chocolate tree to plant some strawberries around the base and he can make his own Neopolitan ice cream 😆 You mentioned that coco coir works for growing/rooting vanilla orchids. You should try using luffa sponge and see if it works. It can be used like Rock wool for rooting and starting seeds. There's a few videos on RU-vid of it being used that way. It's a fairly easy plant to grow. I've grown it a few times with a lot of success. I'm gonna try using it myself as a grow medium for the upcoming season.
Too dark under Cacao for strawberries, funny thought though. We use coconut coir or pine bark as a media for orchids. In Hawaii we sometimes see lava cinder. I do not like the stuff. I fear Luffa will rot down too easy. Coir, bark and cinder do not rot down easily. Inert materials are the choice. People use rock wool for cannabis culture but like cinder, I dislike the stuff. Rock wool is pretty nasty stuff. Aloha
My father planted one in soil in Barbados and it is thriving and climbing up a concrete wall, No trees are near it. Best to just experiment with different types of mediums when you have enough cuttings from any plant. I am currently experimenting in coconut husks, direct to soil next to a fence and in soil in pots. Even though the tips seem to wilt within a week I have left them and new roots have emerged in all mediums. The fast release fertilizer in MiracleGro has not harmed mine either. One thing I have learned as a gardener ... I never say never. Something that may not grow well in one area of my garden will thrive in another area. Mother nature finds a way.
The vanilla vine will grip most surfaces if they are not too hot. They will require some shading in afternoon sun. That is why I use trees. Sometimes mother nature finds way to kill off gardeners experiments if the culture isn't close enough to natures requirements. You're on the right track if it keeps working.
I appreciate your explanation. I recently placed 5 eight foot vanilla vines under citrus trees with thin foliage & modest height in Honoka'a, an hour north of Hilo. I planted 2 more in loose coconut shell lined hole beneath a tree before seeing your video. A pig or neighborhood dog dug it up but the plant is fine - maybe the pig saved it from rotting or maybe not. I dont know. I am new at this. I was purported to be a plant expert in CA. Now I am a transplant who sits under trees enchanted by the idea I know nothing and can start from scratch. Its so fun. Thanks for your assistance.
Like most of the orchids we grow here are just placed on trees. That is the habit of many orchids. Gardeners just get so used to digging holes in the ground they sometimes forget some things grow in trees.
Thank you so much for your vanilla knowledge! You explained a lot of the little things that are truly the big things to becoming a successful vanilla grower. Thanks a bunch!
I have 3 orange trees, in a shady area, and one has a lovely orchid in it. They are happy and fruit 3 times a year, at least. Thank you for all your help.
Bill! I have some maui wowie seeds from you i was gifted from someone in California. I was just sending out a few to share with buddies in Oregon this morning. So cool i came across this video today! Thanks for sharing!
@@kay3896 There are laws that were a bad idea from the beginning but the vast majority of laws are a good idea, help keep society orderly and free of chaos. I recommend following them for your own good if not the good of others. Specific laws that are poorly thought out are best addressed through peaceful protest and addressing your leaders. Ignoring them will only land you in court and possibly prison.
Last time I was jealous of a friend his brother later sued him for his business, his wife left him for another man and he took to drinking until his pancreas died. Aloha
@@GreenGardenGuy1 Condolences for your loss. Perhaps the lesson in your story is that we should appreciate what we have while we have it, because everything is temporary. Even these comments will eventually get deleted by Google when they need more space on their servers. But for now at the least I can say Thank you, your hard work has not gone unnoticed.
@@3vil3lvis I only look backwards for interesting stories and to study history. Remorse over the past is not logical, nothing can be changed. I've just never had good experience with envy. The good always seems to come with the bad. Aloha
Excellent video. Not just content, but your delivery. This is my son’s iPad, but I’m trying to start my little craft channel to spay and neuter a feral cat colony, and filming is so difficult for me. I have grown to appreciate every single person putting up content, irrespective of content. This was really informative and great delivery. I subbed. Our modem got fried in a horrible T storm and my son’s been so busy at work he hasn’t had time to swap it out. He watches mainly videos about video games and people shooting stuff. Lately his channel is populating junk journal videos and now you. Ha. Cheers from Richmond va, patricia
Thank you for this! I actually ordered a vanilla cutting and a coffee tree a bit (they arrived today!) and I didn’t know they paired well together! I guess it’s meant to be!
Most people who pair crops use cacao and vanilla. I am the only guy I know who used coffee and avocado. Much of the commercial vanilla in Hawaii is in hoop houses on PVC trellis. In Costa Rica cacao is common. Tom Sharky from Hilo, HI uses cacao too.
@@lonigirl8807 I ordered mine off of Etsy. I think you might’ve been referring to my coffee tree rather than cacao but, I ordered that one off of Amazon I think. Edit: sorry, I thought you were replying to my comment.
GreenGardenGuy1 can you grow it in a green house in a cool temperate climate though? We get some beautiful hot summers here in Victoria Australia, but it gets colder here in winter though but hardly ever get snow where I am.
i'm hoping to try my luck at growing one of these beauties as well as the coffee and cacao eventually up in snowy canada as a semi-indoor plant untill i could get a greenhouse, i love your laidback care approach! i hope to do these plants justice and maybe enjoy them with our maple and berries thatgrow wild here!
Vanilla orchids are some of the largest orchids I know of. I've seen them grown successfully in San Francisco. They were in a heated green house at a west coast orchid grower. I figure on 6 foot high by 12 feet wide space for growing. The vines need to turn sideways to flower. That takes a lot of room. Thanks for watching. Aloha
Here in Suriname,it grows every where Cacaô, and big mango tree,s bu we don,t know before,that it give the beans after a year in april time so we are taking iy out ,buy now
I live in the tropics. I am considering very soon in setting up about 1000 plants on an acre of land here. IM a ships Capt and engineer by trade. But at 55 I want to retire on land and start winding down from the sea. Growing Vanilla seems like a nice way to retire and get paid while enjoying some nature. This video is a year old. SO I will look you up on other videos to see how your doing today.
It is not hard work but it is tedious and time consuming. Vanilla takes a while to get producing, 5 to 6 years or more. Consider starting before you walk off the ship. We are doing fine with the crop but still learning how to get the most out of the vines. I recently planted 30 more vines on coffee trees here. Here is a more recent video and one about propagation. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7pPUpnd83Os.html&ab_channel=GreenGardenGuy1 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tAsdgz1K-xo.html&ab_channel=GreenGardenGuy1
It is a very interesting crop with decent profit for labor if you are patient and don't mind the tedious task of hand pollination. Figure on 5 or 6 years of training the vines before you get much of a crop. After that it is pretty consistent.
Your awesome. 🫡 And your extremely knowledgeable we need more people like you. Thank you for teaching us about vanilla trees 🤔 they look like vines. But they smell delicious
I saw this plant in a plant shop for $80! It was sooo beautiful I wanted it so badly. so here I am researching about the plant. Yours is the most gorgeous one I have come across!! Soo large and healthy! So impressive! I can’t wait to acquire this plant someday & I’m glad I’ll know how to care for it thanks to your videos :) thank you!
I see some pretty high prices on vanilla orchids even on this Island. If you are picking them up from the nursery I sell mine for $10. They are not difficult to grow so the high price seems artificial and strictly profit motivated.
@@moxsteady5849 I do sell rooted cuttings but I am currently sold out because of this video. I have unrooted cuttings right now. Rooted cuttings will be about another 6 weeks. I am limited by State laws as to where I can ship. If you live in CA, AZ, TX & LA I am prohibited from shipping. In the other 46 states I can ship. Because all states require an inspection and that is a 50 mile round trip for me I have a minimum order of $100 plus postage & taxes.
Right now I am sold out because the plant has become popular. If you live here in Hawaii I will have a new crop ready soon at the nursery. If you're in the Mainland I can only ship to 46 states. CA, AZ,TX & LA are prohibited.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 I'm in Missouri, but have a very good friend on the big island. Where are you located Sir? And when is a good time? Thank you TL Briggs
@@GreenGardenGuy1 Orchids are on a pot with pieces of barks. You just sprinkle it on the barks and when you water they absorb it. I am going to start with a vanilla orchid and I am planning to do the same with it.
@@maragrace820 I use pots and bark in the nursery for plant sales. People like to carry home a plant with a pot. It is an easy way to get the orchids started. I place the cutting in the pot at the base of the trellis they grow on and allow it to climb. I do feed this pot a bit to get the vine started. In a few years the bark in the pot decomposes and the vine rots off at the base. This is a natural progression because vines are truly epiphytic in nature, not terrestrial. In other words they grow in trees, not connected to the ground. They don't need a lot of extra feed because they survive well on bird droppings, and other natural sources that happen in trees. The tree bark is the key here. They like the tree bark because they grow in trees. When the bark becomes soil they leave it.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 very interesting. What variety do you recommend? I like to make pastry cream with it. I was reading the Madagascar is one of the best. True? I live in Georgia so I will have to bring it in the winter time. .... Thanks and great videos.
@@maragrace820 Ninety-five percent of the world's vanilla bean trade comes from one species, Vanilla planifolia. Most of what people consider varieties are not, they are growing locations. We grow the same vanilla in Hawaii is Tahiti and Madagascar.
Thanks for the great information. Have you processed beans from your vanilla plants? I've heard traditionally, it's quite a long and laborious process, but wondering if there's a more modern and easier way to do it.
There are lots of ways to cure the beans. We use the method detailed by Tom Sharky in the video about his farm. Mostly we just sweat them in the sun in plastic bags. I roll the beans in felt every night and put them back out in the sun during the day. Once the proper color and aroma is achieved we just continue sun drying to the right moisture and flexibility. Don't over dry them, brittle beans are not desirable. Vanilla is a tedious crop for labor but it isn't difficult or is it hard work. A person in a wheel chair could farm this crop if it was set up right.
Hmmmm, NEAT candidate for it's on trellis, perhaps? Looks Easiest from cutting, though, huh? Odd plant that vanilla vine !!!! MAKES one wonder what they have cut down, and, trashed, in the Rain Forest. To make way for mud slides because they didn't plant cover crop as they went.
A trellis is needed. The vine grows 6 feet in six months. I have re-purposed my coffee trees as living trellis. Growing the seeds is lab work using agar and flasks. It is seldom done, farming is by cuttings
Just bought a large variegated one. This new one is from a nursery, but planted in soil. The soil is not too heavy but........... Should I replant it? Or let it wait to get accustomed to it's new home? I do grow other orchids so I have orchid bark, etc. Thanks for the video, great info!!!
On occasion I have grown the vines in soil less media like sphagnum moss and perlite. It is soil like and seems to work. If that is what is in the pot then it will likely work out. Cinder is usually okay too. If it is potting soil than I would switch it out. If it is actual soil I definitely transplant! I do fine with medium to coarse orchid bark. In the field I park the potted vines in bark and left them climb. Eventually the vine leaves the pot and lives only in the trees.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 Thanks so much for your quick response! Another question I just thought of: does it freeze where you are? I'd love to grow it outside, I'm in Florida and it freezes a couple of nights a year. Would it be ok outside all the time?
Lots of people use lava here but it has fallen with the commercial growers ever since the county discovered nematode in cinder and require it to be steamed. It is abundant but I have never seen a really good root system from cinder. Orchid bark plain seems to work fine.
Thank you for the awesome video! I am in Crete, Greece. Our climate is probably similar to mid - north florida. I think I am USDA 9 - 10. Our winters average 50f but on rare occasions it can get as low as 37f (for the night). Do you think I can grow Vanilla here? Also same question for Cacao ? Thank you :)
Both vanilla and cacao are true tropical plants. Our temperature in HI never drops below 50 f. I have to stop raising the cacao seedlings in the winter because it is too cold and they look awful. I only grow and sell the plants spring to fall. Vanilla will tolerate cool weather but not cold. I would guess 37 f is too cold but I have never tried. The only way you will know for sure is to plant the crop and see what happens. In Florida only the southern tip of the state is suitable.
Coffee and vanilla are tender plants and require a tropical climate. Coffee is a bit stronger than vanilla. In NH these plants would have to live in a greenhouse. Aloha
Can you talk a little about the altitude considerations (if any) for vanilla? My family's properties vary drastically in altitude and I'm wondering if one may be better suited to our vanilla growing endeavors than the other. One is at 1100 ft and the other is at roughly 2800. Mahalo for your kokua!
Judging by elevation alone the 1100 foot property is a better bet. I believe vanilla would grow at 2800 feet but much slower. Probably too slow for commercial production.
i'm going to use your vid for a assignment if you don't mind, but anyways, this was really helpful! I learned a lot! (I'm doing vanilla as my topic if you cant tell) :)
I have a couple others on the same subject. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7pPUpnd83Os.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tAsdgz1K-xo.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MwNVm4JKDdc.html
Would it be possible to grow in Arizona, using a mister ? I'm thinking we have the heat (going by your answer to another comment, I read them all before asking my question)anyway I'm thinking using a mister would bring downs the heat, add moisture. What are your thoughts on it
Vanilla is a tropical tree dwelling orchid adapted to high humidity growing. To grow it in AZ you would need a heated greenhouse with a summer cooling system and mist. The plant is poorly adapted to AZ climate. Puerto Rico, St Thomas, South Florida and Hawaii are the only places in the USA where it could be grown as a field crop. Everywhere else you would need a "plant space station". I've seen large fruiting vines in the San francisco Bay Area. They used greenhouses to grow it. It is the largest orchid I know of so it needs plenty of space too.
I believe you would be the best judge to answer that particular question. If you can learn to ride a bicycle or play a guitar you can probably learn to grow vanilla too.
Not sure if you’re still responding, but this is one of the simplest and clearest informative videos on vanilla and figured I’d ask anyways. So, I have two cuttings and I accidentally potted them in a pretty soil-like orchid mix and the bottom of one stared to rot. To reset, can I just cut the bottom rot and… drape it in a tree I have? Or would you recommend a pot of bark and shade for a few weeks as though it was a fresh start?
Matt, yes still responding but sometimes I wonder why these days. Cut the rotted end off to clean tissue. Use a clean tool and torch or alcohol it first. I would put the cutting into coarse orchid bark with a bit of perlite and pot it until roots form. They may come from above the pot so don't worry if they do. I know people that do just lay them in trees. I like to push the potted plant next to the tree and let it climb. The ground end usually disappears and roots come down from above.
Thankyou sooo much for sharing your knowledge.... I'm getting into vanilla planting as a hobby! And this video was very useful. Just a friendly question, is it okay if I plant vanilla on a tropical climate (it is dry season here) and is it ok if I use chicken manure as fertiliser?. Depending on the climate, how much time would it take for flower buds to appear ? . And do you have any advice on stopping snails ?
Your first question is confusing. Vanilla is always planted in a tropical climate. It is very frost sensitive. The second question, yes, you could use chicken manure but only as a tea. Vanilla is an epiphytic plant, it doesn't grow on the ground. Chicken manure is usually used on terrestrial plants by applying to the ground. Since vanilla doesn't grow on the ground you would have to make it liquid and spray it. In Hawaii, at 1600 feet elevation it takes us about 5 years to get flowers. The older the vines, the more they are turned to the sides the more they flower. Pruning the tips prior to flowering seems to build carbohydrate and cause more buds. Band the trellis or tree the vanilla is on with copper to exclude snails. Use snail baits at ground level several times each year to remove the pests.
Hi! Very informative video! Thank you! Do you have a website where one could possibly buy a vanilla transplant? I’m in Virginia and would be interested in researching & implementing growing a small vanilla crop. Any tips or pointers either way? Thanks so much!
I used to do classes in California when I ran nursery in the Bay Area. When I retired I stopped teaching school. This video channel is how I handle dispensing information today. I do tours of the farm but check ahead to be sure I am available. I have a nursery here and sell alot of the plants I discuss.
What variety of vanilla orchid are they mate? I just bought a vanilla orchid yesty and it’s living in the house for now cos I don’t live in a tropical area. I am planning to move up north one day where it’s nice and warm though. Just wondering if I have the same variety as you do 🤔
Almost all the Vanilla grown on Earth is obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (V. planifolia). Different areas apply different names to their products but it is mostly designating growing area rather than species.
The bee that pollinates vanilla is the Melipona bee. No other bee on earth can do this job and they only do about 20% of the work anyway. Even in central America where the bee lives they still hand pollinate to get a full crop.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 those, I have. We also have a gazillion humming birds, and sugar birds and even the lizards are in the flowers. It will happen. My orange trees have gone through 2 cat 5 hurricanes, a few other major storms and about a dozen tropical storms. Its a perfect place.
Hi will a vanilla orchid cutting grow if it was cut for a few days left outside and then planted? I had one but didn’t have the medium to pot it in right away. So I clipped the end off right before I planted it, not sure if that would have made a difference either. Thanks 😊
@@ValsLife1 Yesterday was a bad day to find me. I went snorkeling at 2 Step and had my Taylor Guitar serviced in Kealakekua. I'll be here this evening if you drop in.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 I'll have to come back by. That Jamaican Lililoi you gave me...Oh my goodness it was amazing!!! Now I must have some! I'll just have them vine up an Ohio because I don't have any other place for vines right now. I MUST HAVE!!! Anyway, have a great day!
I've seen the vines thriving under greenhouse conditions in San Francisco. I believe they have examples down in Homestead, FL. Vanilla farming is best where you have cheap labor and favorable climate. Outside of the tropics it could be a curiosity plant for greenhouse production and the house plant trade. HI is a state since 59. Aloha
My guess is "hunny" means honey and "steam" means stem? It sounds like a great way to draw ants. Why would we want to put honey and cinnamon on cut stems or soil?
Climate and culture of the plant control timing to flower. Here at our house it takes 5 to 6 years for a vine to feel like producing flowers. The practice of pulling the vines down and bending or coiling them is what creates the flower. Clipping the tip at the right time also seems to build carbohydrate and encourage flowers. Vines left to grow vertical with no training could take a long time to flower.
Am I understanding correctly: You leave the the vanilla orchids in a pot beneath the tree until its air roots attach to the bark later sending new roots to the ground?
Yes, that's one way you can do it. My friend Tom Sharky just hangs the bare root vanilla cuttings in crotches of his trees with out pots. I think I get faster development with the container because i can feed the pot. If parts of the vanilla orchid that are developed above soil are placed in soil they generally rot. If the vine is allowed to grow air roots back to the soil they will modify to soil roots as they grow.
I've never been to Ecuador so I am not an authority on the country. The best answer I can give you is Ecuador includes the native range of the vanilla orchid so it is logical it would grow in certain areas of the country.
Vanilla is not grown from seeds. The seed is small as dust and has to be grown under lab conditions in culture dishes. We grow vanilla by propagating cuttings.
Not as difficult as you might think. When I ran nursery in the CA Bay Area we sold them as potted house plants. Several of the local growers had them. In Hawaii they are easy to find, just about anyone that sells orchids has some. If you live in the 46 states I can legally ship to, I could sell you one. Otherwise, go to a decent local nursery or two and have the folks in the houseplant dept check their growers lists. They can probably get you one.
i live in kentucky and was thinking about growing vanilla. what sort of climate is required? should i even try? i have sasafras trees on the property so haveing home grown vanilla for root beer would be great!
Very interesting video. Do you think in the modern world with current food fads it would be difficult for a farmer in a average size farm like yours to grow industrial vanilla and make a profit? I often worry that if you're an average Joe who uses pesticides and fertilizers you'll have a hard time selling to vanilla processors.
Leo, Hard to say, I have never been the "Average Joe"! A man is smarter to raise organic vanilla if he is small scale because of niche. It isn't a heavy feeder nor does it have a lot of pests in Hawaii anyway. The simplest answer I can give you is a guy can do just about anything if you put yourself behind it. Vanilla does not take constant attention. The actually labor is compressed to a couple of months per year. The rest of the year a guy could play music in bars, trade stocks or repair tractors.
Sounds about the same. The low days are around 60% most days are over 80% often it is over 90%. My guess is humidity isn't the trouble. These plants enjoy rest from hot afternoon sun. They are epiphytic not terrestrial. Their roots do not adapt to soil culture unless the plant it's self grows them to the earth. We spray liquid fertilizer on the vines for feeding.
I wonder if the vanilla stems that grow down to the ground and begin forming roots with the ground are seeking more nutrients as a backup? so when they are beginning to grow one would figure that they would seek optimal growing conditions before seeking to root.
I'll make a guess that they just grow in response to geotropism. Gravity causes them to grow down ward. I have noticed that once a root touched the earth it changes form and appears to become soil adapted. The issue with planting vanilla is roots and stems that form above the earth rot if they touch it. The ones that grow into earth survive. Whether they seek more nutrient or not, once they hit the ground they get some.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 As you know, bees will pick up different flavors from the different flowers pollen in which they harvest for metamorphosing into honey. i especially like the coffee mono floral honey! but that asside; I wonder if vanilla can acquire different variations of flavor depending on the amount of phosphorous or nitrogen in which is applied to feed the plant? my bigger question then would be, would vanilla grown in different areas and climates of the island(or the world for that matter i.e.brazil) taste different or have different variations in flavor? that would make for an interesting debate! ALOHA!
@@Dog_gone_it I understand what you are getting at. I just don't have an answer. Best guess is yield and pod size will increase, aroma might increase but the flavor of vanilla seems pretty constant.
No I don't sell this seed. The main reasons why is we eat the seeds. I would have to trash out part of the crop to get seed. The seed is like dust and has to be grown under lab conditions in glass flasks with nutrient agar. It isn't a standard garden project. What I do sell is cuttings of the vines. They are legal in 46 states. I can't ship to CA, TX, AZ or LA.
The vines make dozens of flowers every morning for about a month each year. The issue is getting the pollen to the ovary. We have no insects in Hawaii that can do this. It has to be done by human hands. We use a tooth pick to transfer the pollen in the open flowers. They are receptive for about 2 hours each day after dawn.
Plants get different classes depending on the habitat they grow in. Vanilla is a class of orchid that is called epiphytic. This means it grows on trees. It is not a terrestrial plant, soil dwelling. Most of it's roots are adapted to aerial growth. Over time it does produce some soil roots that grow back to the earth.
Great videos. Thanks. I want to run some quick numbers by you, because I heard an African vanilla bean farmer say the following.... " On 1 acer you can grow about 400 Vanilla bean plants, each one will produce 1 kilo the 1st year and maybe 2 kilos after 5 years" so the 1st year one can make about $240,000 on 1 acer? Does this seem realistic?
If I start reading at "1 kilo the first year" I have to say it is B.S. I do not believe under any conditions a person can enduce vanilla to flower in one year. Five years more realistic to first harvest. If the farmer is the one that came up with $240,000 then that is more B.S. Vanilla prices are like the stock market. they are never the same from day to day. I don't track it much but in the past couple years it has been as high as $650 per kilo and as low as $250. The most current price I found was April. Anyway...You can't quote a value on a crop the flutuates wildly in price.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 Thanks, yeah it seemed a little too good to be true. Your content is great BTW, I'm watching your video now on living in Hawaii. Looking to move from Crescent City, CA (Redwoods) to the big Island. I'll miss those redwoods.
In short yes. Vanilla planifolia, Vanilla tahitiensis, and Vanilla pompona are the only three species used for seasoning. Vanilla planifolia accounts for most of the crop on earth. Vanilla pompona was once grown on Kauai but was superseded by the more productive vanilla planifolia. Since Vanilla must be hand pollinated there is littles chance of crossing species unless it was intentional. It wouldn't matter because we eat the seeds.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 oh great because I cant choose between the tahitiensis and the variagated planifolia so I decided I kinda wanted both mixed on a trellis I would be making myself...any tip that may help me?
@@gloriayoung6219 If this is an ornamental garden project then the variegated is fine. If your issue is production the variegated plants contain benign viruses that limit the vigor. They remove chloroplasts that make sugars. There is no reason the vines can not be mixed. They are compatible.
Vanilla lives for years and has a permanent vine. Bananas are a lily and the stem only lives as long as it takes for the fruit to ripen then dies. Any tree or shrub that has only light shade will probably work for vanilla. Coffee and Cacao are often used. Citrus is too dark underneath.
That would be pretty tough to do. The plant grows in the air, not on the ground. Compost and egg shells would have to be converted to a tea and sprayed.
Vanilla is a tropical orchid. It would require a greenhouse for production in the entire state of California. Rod Mcllean orchids in San Francisco had a huge one in their greenhouses. Other than Hawaii the only places in the USA where it is a possible crop outdoors would be Puerto Rico, The USA Virgin Islands and maybe Dade County Florida and the Keys.
Would moss and perlite work for them? Like you would use for Venus fly traps, I live in the Texas central area (edwards plateau) and I own dendrobium, philonopsis, vandas and ludiscia orchids which are inside with temperature during winter 75 then during the summer gets in the high 80s to give you perspective, would vanilla orchids thrive in my indoor environment?
Vanilla is an epiphyte, fly traps are terrestrial bog plants. There is no similarity in growing conditions. The only reason we use any media on epiphytic orchids is to hold them up in the pots for growers. In Hawaii most orchids are tied to trees. They are only potted for shipping and sales. The most popular media is pine bark chunks, followed by coconut coir and lava cinder. Sphagnum is used in a mix with some growers but then the water schedule is adjusted accordingly. All epiphytic orchids have a spongey coating on the roots that hold water like a succulent. This is how they survive on trees. If the media they are in is too moist the coating rots and the plant dies. Consider that media is only used to hold the plants, nothing more. It can be made of almost anything that doesn't hold much water. I once saw beautiful orchids grown in shredded athletic shoes to prove the point. If a person is willing to drag a giant orchid in and out of the greenhouse then I suppose it is possible. To fruit vanilla you will need a plant that measures around 6' tall and 10 'wide. The vines are turned sideways to build up carbohydrate for flowering.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 oh ok so do like I'm doing my dendrobium, they are mostly bark with lava cinder with coconut chunks with small amounts of moss, since I live in an apartment currently I'm thinking about using cork bark rounds to surround a pole so it can be easy to move and add on top once it grows taller but if there's something better please let me know
You will get little or nothing if you use a pole. The vines need to be turned sideways in order to build carbohydrate for flowering. It takes about 5 or 6 years of development to get a vine big enough to flower. By that point expect to have a plant about 6' high and 10 " or 12" wide. You might experiment with coiling the fruiting vines instead of running them straight on the trellis. It would save some space but make the flowers harder to find and pollinate.
GreenGardenGuy1 okay thanks mate. I live at bottom of Australia in one of the coldest towns near Melbourne in Victoria and I was thinking of getting a vanilla plant to put in a greenhouse outside or indoors. Do they grow by seed and do you ship or sell the seeds? Do you have any videos of how to grow it by seeds? Thanks for replying to 👍
@@NMW80 The part of vanilla that we eat is the seeds. The only reason a person would ever harvest seed is to do some breeding. The seeds are like dust and are started on agar in flasks under lab conditions. Commercial vanilla production is always done by cuttings. Sadly for me to ship live plants into Australia is not cost effective. Just the APHIS certification alone would be $65. Then you have the price of the plants and the shipping on top. You would save at least the phytosanitary certificate price by shopping locally. Some one in Australia must grow vanilla?
Tropical with high rain fall and humidity. The plants are epiphytes and must receive enough rain to keep them watered while hanging on trees. They do pretty well here in Puna HI at 1600 feet. We get 150" of rain per year, average humidity is around 85%. The summer high temperature is around 89f, winter low around 50f. I don't think the vines would like it much hotter in summer but they would rather have winter lows about 10 degrees warmer.
What is the difference, if any, between Vanilla planifolia Andrews and Vanilla planifolia? What species do you grow? Do you ever ship cuttings to the mainland? Thanks!
I have had questions about vanilla cultivars in the past. All research comes up flat. I can find no official standing of cultivars in vanilla. The crop is based on the species. My guess is some dude named Andrew put his name on a his vanilla. There are a couple of variegated, dwarf or golden forms out there but they are not used in pod production. I can ship vanilla plants to 46 states. I can not ship them to CA, AZ, TX & LA.
@@cs7717 Since I can only ship plants legally to 46 states I took down the plant list because i had trouble with orders from the 4 states I can't ship to. I have vanilla orchids, cuttings are $10 each. I am prohibited from shipping to CA, AZ, TX & LA. Because of the need for inspections I put a minimum order of $100 on plant material
Vanilla is an epiphyte and requires no soil for growth. It is also a tropical plant with no tolerance to cold weather. In Houston I would recommend PVC or redwood trellis with coconut fiber in a heated greenhouse. Vanilla thrives between 50 and 90 degrees. I use containers with pine bark only because they are portable for the nursery. Once planted the connection to earth is limited.
Since commercial vanilla is propagated vegetatively the only way new forms could arise is by somatic mutations. The seeds are the potion that is eaten so seed growing isn't used. With seeds like dust the germination must take place in flasks with agar. I have had this question several times and I can find no evidence that we have named cultivars of the plant. They may exist some place but as far as i can see on the Big Island vanilla is vanilla is vanilla.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 Thanks for the reply. The reason I asked is I saw a video on Vanilla production in Tahiti and I it they say they have two varieties "Tahiti" and "Haapape". ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AjV_RVLP3Mo.html
@GreenGardenGuy1 I just dug a bit further into it and found that Wikipedia list an number of species or synonyms on the page for Vanilla. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla_(genus) So now I am wondering which one(s) are around on The Big Island.
After hunting through the species of Vanilla it looks like there are three that are actually used for vanilla production and one is a cross of one of the others and a different species. Vanilla planifolia (Flat-leaved vanilla, Tahitian vanilla, "West Indian vanilla") and Vanilla tahitensis (has been shown to be a cross between Vanilla planifolia and Vanilla odorata) and Vanilla pompona (Schiede - Pompona vanilla, Guadeloupe vanilla, "West Indian vanilla").
@@frederickjohnh Well, good luck with that. As far as I can see we have the single species in HI Vanilla Planifolia is the most common species of the vanilla orchid. It is the first species of vanilla orchid- the plant that all vanilla roots can be traced back to. The pods host vanilla caviar emitting a rich, familiar vanilla flavor and aroma. It is the more potent vanilla variety and easily infuses a deep, earthy, vanillin flavor into any dish. Vanilla Tahitensis is a very close cousin of Planifolia. It is named after the island upon which it’s commercial cultivation began, though its origin is debated among botanists and vanilla enthusiasts. Some claim it was intentional hybridization, others believe it was a natural evolution, and there are scientific research studies that suggest it was a bit of both-a natural hybridization between Vanilla Planifolia and Vanilla Odorata, which occurred in Maya cacao forests. Regardless of how Vanilla Tahitensis came to be, pastry chefs all over the world would be at a loss without it. It is prized for its subtle sweetness and unmatched floral properties. Vanilla Tahitensis is also more commonly found in fragrances, due to the floral aroma.
Puna is a tough place to fish. The water here is treacherous for boating and the shore high and rocky in most places. There are some good shore spots but fishing pressure is heavy and the fish get spooked. If you are the first one out you get the fish. Fishing the West side is much easier. Calmer water, softer shore breaks and better boating.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 Thanks a bunch for the information on fishing Bill. Watching your videos will make my transition for my change of lifestyle easier. To me, to live in Hawaii is all about the weather, the weather, the weather. Everything is a bonus.
English gets different pronunciations in different parts of the country and the world. Rut is what deer do in the breeding season. Root is the lower part of a plant. I haven't discussed deer hunting so it must be root.
