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[ONandONandON]

surprisingly google has no info on this,
if anyone has some please share here.
 
project outline:
get a fresh vanilla bean .. or two..
mix up ms medium, and pour and sterilize jars,
(according to sigma ms medium is ok for orchids)
in a still air box, cut open bean and sterilize spores,
sterilize using food grade alc. maybe diluted 60%,
will get some nice vanilla extract if all else fails.
place sterilized 'seeds' on ms medium and wait.
will also try using un-treated spore/seeds..
and maybe some with hormones.

the only info i found on vanilla orchid culture in a 1960s biology book it was just a quote under a picture,
short and vauge "the 'spore/seeds' don't have nutrients like regular seeds and need nutrients provided."
..and a couple maybe helpful articles..
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1d08/2ff122058c59cefc4e054b608163d601ac8c.pdf
http://www.orchidsusa.com/Culture-Guide.pdf

[Shamichael]

This would be a cool project.
Can you find fresh pods?  The ones I usually see for sale are cured with alcohol, usually bourbon.

[jbz711]

I have live plants that I'm slowly propagating, which they do readily, if you're willing to wait for fruit set, probably another year from cutting, I'd be happy to do a trade, though it sounds like you already have the plant

[Chicsa]

they have to be hand pollinated fyi!
University Florida is working on a hybrid that can be pollinated by North American bugs. They grow all over here and produce beans but only when hand pollinated

[cactusman]

they have to be hand pollinated fyi!
University Florida is working on a hybrid that can be pollinated by North American bugs. They grow all over here and produce beans but only when hand pollinated

Glad to know they fruit readily down here gotta get mine replanted.

[ONandONandON]

they have to be hand pollinated fyi!

oh well i already ordered two fresh/2020 vanilla pods..
Tahitian Tahitentis and Madagascar Vanilla Planifolia ~7.50
(about same price as premade bottle of extract from a store)
https://www.ebay.com/usr/vanilla.pods?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

maybe they are imported from native area and have 1% chance of pollination.

some more info here https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1348 and here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla

Vanilla is not commonly propagated by seed due to germination challenges. The thick, highly lignified seed coat prevents timely germination, and seeds take significantly longer to grow into mature plants than cuttings. In addition, seed germination is likely reliant on associations with fungi or other microorganisms.

will try planting some on different unsterilized soil types to see if fungi /microbes can help..
the biology book mentioned that vanilla orchid need fungi to live which it gets most of it's nutrients from.
i know it could work because there was a picture in the book of a glass jar with vanilla seeds sprouted on agar/nutrients.
though i know its unlikely to work, but worth a try, and help get started on more projects, and a big bottle of homemade vanilla extract.

[Chicsa]

"Flowers are greenish-yellow, with a diameter of 5 cm (2 in). They last only a day, and must be pollinated manually, during the morning, if fruit is desired. The plants are self-fertile, and pollination simply requires a transfer of the pollen from the anther to the stigma. If pollination does not occur, the flower is dropped the next day. In the wild, there is less than 1% chance that the flowers will be pollinated, so in order to receive a steady flow of fruit, the flowers must be hand-pollinated when grown on farms. "

It is grown all over the tropical world but is native specifically to mexico
Grows easily from cutting which can be sourced from everywhere in the South half of Florida

[Chicsa]

I wish I had taken a better picture of this at my friends garden but he got 2 pods to get produced at his garden in St. Petersburg, FL

1 Like ONandONandON likes this.

[MadPlanter]

When I still lived down southward the lady across the street had a magnificent large vanilla orchid. She tried hand pollination for a long time during the right hours of the day and only ever got one pod to set. One year she draped purple ribbons on the trellis the orchid grew on and all of a sudden bunches of pods set. She believed the color attracted some sort of pollinator. Might be worth a try.

3 Likes Bach, ONandONandON and Chicsa like this.

[Chicsa]

Some of the research UF is doing on making Commercial Vanilla Production in Florida a possibility.
http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2019/03/05/uf-scientists-sequence-vanilla-genome-could-support-domestic-industry/

University of Florida's IFAS information on growing Vanillia
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1348

[ONandONandON]

Cool sounds like they must be pollinated to produce beans..
but according to this,
seeds would be sterile if cross pollinated by the same plant..
"Vanilla planifolia, and many other species of flowering plants require double fertilization to fruit, an adaptation that allows the flower to concentrate its energy on producing seeds that have the best chance at growth and survival.  If the flower is cross pollinated, as often done by insects, the seeds are viable, and can produce further generations of viable offspring.  If the flower is self-pollinated, however, it produces only sterile seeds.  "
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2009/ruud_kirs/Life%20History%20-%20Reproduction.htm

just found this =the "vanilla bee" https://www.vanillapura.com/pages/vanilla-bee-extinction
AKA
Melipona stingless honey bee. i think someone on STS made a post about them one time.
ive looked and though it seems people have them, and there are guides on keeping them..
just hasn't caught on in US i guess, because they're almost impossible to find any for sale.

maybe look on this forum for a bee source, but it's unlikely..
https://selfsufficientme.com/sustainability/get-native-stingless-bees-for-the-backyard-and-watch-your-garden-flourish

1 Like Chicsa likes this.

[Chicsa]

Give it some time, UF will develop one that can be grown to create a US industry. They've done it with blueberries and peaches that were previously unable to grow this far south.

Luckily though the plant is super easy to propagate, it roots very easily even before you cut it.

[Kada]

they dont have spores, htey grow from seed and vegetative stems.  as mention requires fertilization, i would assume florida is quite possible to have wild animals that could pollinate as they are sort of not faraway from its native range.

we grow it too commercially here and it isa very easy plant, the labor on pollinqating and processing of green to cured beans are teh real work.

my only question is how cold hardy are they are most of the US can freeze, that may be an issue.  they grow wonderfully year round here and it gets down to the odd night of 5C.

[Botanicus]

my understanding is that the seed pods are picked prior to them being mature, and then allowed to ferment some, thus the seeds would not be viable even if you had very fresh pods. The seeds of orchids are notoriously difficult to germinate under the best of conditions, so I wouldn't waste the time trying and just go buy a vanilla plant.

[ONandONandON]

thank you, idk why ive always thought of orchids as having spores.
UPDATE ; nothing sprouted as most expected, but i did get some nice vanilla extract.

i got a small vanilla plant in a pot, it grows slowly, so ill plant that outside this year and see how that goes.
zone8b rarely gets in the 20s here. the last few years, water didn't even freeze, just a few morning frosts.