Tropical Zone Gardening: Orchids then and now. The story of 13 orchids and counting.., 1 by Metrosideros

Metrosideros wrote:
As Alexandra pointed out, Vanilla needs a lot of room. They like to grow up trees. A healthy vine will grow several feet per year.
It is good to grow Vanilla on small trees or on a trellis so the flowers can be reached to fertilize them.
I have seen Vanilla on an extended arbor way that was very attractive, with Vanilla vines draping over white painted arbors.

Make sure you get traditional Vanilla planifolia. If you want to grow for Vanilla beans, avoid the variegated type as it is not as vigorous a plant as the plain type.

Aloha, Dave