1. Home
  2. Gardening

Growing your own vanilla plant doesn’t need to be difficult: Here’s what you need to know

How to grow vanilla orchids at home to create your own vanilla beans

By Cayla Leonard

Vanilla is a delicious part of many treats, but did you know you can grow it at home? Not only are they beautiful climbing plants, but they’re also perfect for greenhouses and indoor gardens. It isn’t always easy, but with patience and this simple guide, you can grow and harvest your own vanilla beans.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Moderate

Duration

1 hour 30 minutes

What You Need

  • Orchid potting mix

  • Fertilizer

  • Scissors

  • Towel or blanket

  • Airtight container

Image used with permission by copyright holder

What is a vanilla plant?

Vanilla comes from vanilla orchids. Vanilla orchids are actually a genus of orchids, meaning there are more than one species. Most of the vanilla beans we use come from the flat-leaved vanilla orchid, or Vanilla planifolia, which is native to the tropics of Central and South America.

Aside from needing a warm, humid place to grow, you’ll also need space if you want to grow vanilla. These vining plants can reach up to 100 feet outdoors and 10 feet in a greenhouse!

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Planting a vanilla orchid

Here's how to get started:

Step 1: Choose a location with bright, indirect light, filtered light, or partial sun.

Vanilla won’t flower as well in full shade, but it can burn in direct light.

Step 2: Make sure the environment is warm, humid, and has good airflow.

The temperatures should be in the upper 70s to mid-80s during the day and in the mid-60s to low 70s at night.

Related

Step 3: Plant your orchid in well-draining soil.

An orchid-specific potting mix is recommended.

Step 4: Provide a climbing structure.

This can be a simple wooden pole, a fence, or a full trellis. Vanilla will grow vertically and horizontally, so if your ceilings are too low, opt for length instead.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Caring for your vanilla plant

A vanilla plant won't flower until it's 3 to 4 years old. While you wait, here's how to care for it:

Step 1: Mist your vanilla plant regularly.

Step 2: Fertilize your orchid every two weeks during the growing season.

Step 3: Trim the top of your plant if it grows too large.

Step 4: Hand pollinate the flowers once they bloom by removing the stamen of one flower and placing it on the stigma of a different flower.

Successfully pollinated flowers will fall off in a day or two.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Harvesting vanilla beans

After pollination, it takes vanilla beans nine months to mature, so the first step of harvesting is actually to wait! Once they’re mature, here’s what to do:

Step 1: Look for pods that are turning yellow.

Step 2: Use scissors to clip the pods off the vine.

Step 3: Wrap the beans in a towel or blanket.

Step 4: Set the wrapped beans in a warm, dry place for three to four days.

This process is called sweating. Afterward, the beans should be light brown.

Step 5: Dry the beans in direct sunlight for a month until they are dark brown and leathery.

Step 6: Store the beans that you don't plan to use immediately in a dry, airtight container.

It takes a long time and a lot of patience, but it’s worth it to have your own supply of delicious vanilla! Even before your vanilla orchid begins growing beans, the plant itself is beautiful. Once they start growing, you’ll have plenty of vanilla beans to use, since each plant can produce several beans each month.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Cayla Leonard
Contributor
Cayla Leonard is a writer from North Carolina who is passionate about plants.  She enjoys reading and writing fiction and…
What you need to know about deadheading in your garden
Tips and tricks for deadheading your flowers

Flowers are a beautiful, colorful way to decorate your home or yard. Whether you’re growing a garden full of blooms or just a single flower to spruce up a corner of your home, you’ll want your plants to bloom as often and for as long as possible. One technique you may have heard of is deadheading. What is deadheading, though, and how does it work? How do you know if your plants would benefit from it, and how can you deadhead your plants without hurting them? We’ll answer all your questions about deadheading here in this simple guide.
What is deadheading?

Deadheading is the act of removing dead flowers from the plant. This serves a couple of purposes. It improves the aesthetics of plants and the garden overall by getting rid of dead blooms. More importantly, however, it frees up energy for your plant to use. Plants will continue to devote energy to blooms that have died, since this is where seeds or fruit form.

Read more
Hardening off your seedlings as you bring them outside is crucial – here’s how to do it
Tips to help you successfully transplant your seedlings

Even gloomy winter days can't stop enthusiastic gardeners. Unsurprisingly, many avid gardeners start their plants indoors when cold temperatures and unpredictable precipitation bar them from directly sowing their seeds outside. Still, the last frost date eventually comes around, and that's when it's time to bring those baby seedlings outside. Transporting seedlings outside is a simple process, but it still requires savvy coordination to prevent unwanted transplant shock. To help you keep your plants happy and healthy as they situate outside, we'll show you how to harden off seedlings.

What does hardening off seedlings mean?

Read more
Here’s what you should know about the updated USDA Hardiness Zone Map
These facts may help you as you begin your spring gardening

There’s major news in the gardening community: The USDA Hardiness Zone Map has been updated. If you’re a seasoned gardener, there’s a good chance that you’re familiar with this climate zone map, as it generally gives growers a good idea of which plants work in their area. But what does it mean for your spring garden if the map has been redrawn? Here’s what you need to know about the map, the change, and how it all impacts what you can grow in your yard. 
What is the USDA Hardiness Zone Map?

With the USDA Hardiness Zone Map, the U.S. Department of Agriculture splits the United States into 13 regions, using lowest average temperature ranges to designate specific planting zones. It’s simple to understand: Zone 1 is the coldest, whereas zone 13 is the warmest. Each zone is separated by 10-degree increments, but some gardeners like to get more granular and divide each zone into 5-degree increments (think zone 9A vs. zone 9b). 

Read more