Vietnamese Vanilla: The Diva of Houseplants

Vietnamese Vanilla: The Diva Of Houseplants

Vietnamese vanilla, the bougiest houseplant we regret spending too much money on. Sure, it’s a stunning evergreen vine that keeps growing like a green skyscraper, potentially reaching 60 feet high -- If you have a mansion, that might be practical. But let's get real: it's as temperamental as a hollywood diva.

This plant is a drama queen, sensitive to both temperature and light. If you live in Louisiana or any other warm, wet, yet occasionally cold climate, you'll have to roll out the red carpet indoors. Vietnamese vanilla hails from the lush regsions of South-Central and Southeastern China, Laos, Thailand, and Surprise! --Vietnnam. It's an orchid with a reputation for being high-maintentance, demanding a near perfect enviornment to thrive.

When it's happy, it promises to bloom between March and May, leading to those elusive vanilla pods we all dream about. But making it happy is like trying to keep a toddler in a good mood during a long car ride. It needs bright sunlight, watering every three days, and fertilation every two weeks. Humidity? Crank it up! But don't overdo it, or you'll rot its precious roots.

Garden and Grace's vanilla orchid lives like a pampered celeberity: at steady 72 degrees indoors, daily leaf spritzing, water every 4-5 days, and just the right amount filtered sunlight and fertilization. Despite the five-star treatment, it still refuses to bloom. No flowers. No vanilla. Just leafy green drama.

On the upside, owning such a finicky plant makes us part of an exclusive plant club of just a little bit crazy. I hear there are a lot of members.This orchid is rare indoors and even rare outdoors, classified as endangered. If it ever decides to grace you with a bloom, you'll get a whiff of true vanilla. But don't blink--those flowers last just one day. A day!

So, if you're up for the challenge of a high-maintenance houseguest that may or may not reward you with a fleeting bloom, Viatnamese Vanilla is your plant. Otherwise, maybe stick to something a bit more....low-key. An airplant would be the oppisite of this diva.

Despite all of this, we have somewhow managed to propagate two beautiful clippings just by sticking them in water. Who knew? We will soon be offering these to our garden shoppers. You too can have a rare high maintenance plant that won't flower.