Vanilla Orchid

A friend gave us a couple of “fragments” years ago. It never bloomed for her—apparently was too heavily shaded in her yard. This picture is from several years ago. Since then all told we have probably hundreds of “linear feet” of Vanilla Orchid vines growing up multiple palms and trees in our yard. Lots of blooms every year.

Too bad there’s no natural pollinators here. I love vanilla bean but climbing a ladder early in the morning and trying to pollinate the blooms that open that am with a toothpick? Nope. It’s my understanding commercial growers train the vines to crawl along a trellis close to ground level so they have a much better chance of success.