How to plant a vanilla orchid

Do you like scent of vanilla? Do you want to grow this spice on your windowsill? I've told you about a simple method of a vanilla vine rooting in one of my post. As you might guess, this amazing vine is one of my favorite houseplants. Today I'd like to tell you about how to plant a vanilla orchid. 

Vanilla planifolia variegata

I planted my Vanilla planifolia variegata cutting last year. And I want to share with you my own experience of "transfer" a rooted vanilla cutting.


Step 1. Choose the flowerpot. We may plant the vine in a pottery pot, in a plastic pot or in a special orchids basket. I've chosen last item. The basket is good for a vanilla orchid because the roots breathe in this "house". However it isn't good for cleanness of the room because the soil may fall through basket's holes. I think that a pottery pot is suitable for a vanilla vine as well. Also some of plant lovers use a coco shell as an orchid pot. 

A plastic orchids basket

Step 2. Prepare the soil. A suitable soil for V.planifolia is chunks of bark, a coco coir or coco chips. One of advanced orchid lovers recommends to use a "coco soil". I use a coco coir for planting my vanilla orchid.

A vanilla orchid needs a support

You have to wet the soil before using. As you remember, we've told about planting a vanilla orchid. If you want to transplant the flower you should not wet the soil.

Step 3. Take the soil to the pot. 

Step 4. Plant the orchid. We should earth only the roots. Please, don't deep the stem. 

The plant needs a support. It may be a bamboo stick, a plastik stick or even a pen.

My vanilla orchid in the "mini hothouse"

Step 5. Make a mini hothouse. Vanilla planifolia needs period of adaptation after the planting. You ought to locate the plant in a mini hothouse. Take out the plant from the hothouse for a short while in order that the orchid may breathe air.


I use a plastic bag. I had located my vanilla vine in the bag after the planting. I had been keeping my vanilla orchid in the mini hothouse for 2 weeks and then I located it on my windowsill without the plastic bag.