How to Hand Pollinate Vanilla Bean Flowers
Tip
Experiment with pollinating at different times of day. Optimal fertility occurs between dawn and noon. Expect to wait five to six weeks for pods to reach full maturity. They will be six to nine inches long.
Ferment mature pods by wrapping them in a dishtowel during the day and placing them in the sun for an hour. Remove the towel and move them to a well-ventilated area at night. This process can take up to nine months to release the full flavor of the vanilla pod. Try growing vanilla orchids indoors in pots or hanging baskets. They grow to be large vines and will need sturdy support.
Vanilla has become synonymous with “plain” in American culture, but in reality, it is anything but. This truly exotic spice is derived from the specially cured seed capsules of a vine-like tropical orchid, native to Mexico. The greenish white flowers last a single day, opening just before sunrise and wilting before nightfall. If they are not pollinated during this period, they fall from the plant. In their native habitat, they are pollinated by small, stingless bees, but due to the particular anatomy of the flowers, pollination rates in the wild are low. In cultivation, vanilla must be pollinated by hand.
Begin in the early morning, while the new flowers are still fresh. Pull back the petals with your fingers to expose the column, or tubular, part of the flower.
- Vanilla has become synonymous with “plain” in American culture, but in reality, it is anything but.
- Pull back the petals with your fingers to expose the column, or tubular, part of the flower.
Look inside using the hand lens to find the pollinia, which is a pollen-covered cluster attached to the roof of the column.
Insert the toothpick into the column and gently use it to pull the pollinia straight out of the column.
Detach the pollinia from the spring-like anther, and squeeze it gently between your thumb and forefinger to release the bright yellow pollen.
Moisten the tip of the toothpick slightly and use it to collect the pollen.
Turn the toothpick around and carefully use the free end to lift the rostellum, which covers the stamens. Now hold the rostellum back with your fingers, and turn the toothpick around.
Apply the pollen to the round stigma opening by twisting the toothpick gently. The drooping flower should remain attached to the plant and show signs of pod development within a week or so, if pollination has been successful.
- Look inside using the hand lens to find the pollinia, which is a pollen-covered cluster attached to the roof of the column.
- Turn the toothpick around and carefully use the free end to lift the rostellum, which covers the stamens.
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References
Tips
- Experiment with pollinating at different times of day. Optimal fertility occurs between dawn and noon.
- Expect to wait five to six weeks for pods to reach full maturity. They will be six to nine inches long.
- Ferment mature pods by wrapping them in a dishtowel during the day and placing them in the sun for an hour. Remove the towel and move them to a well-ventilated area at night. This process can take up to nine months to release the full flavor of the vanilla pod.
- Try growing vanilla orchids indoors in pots or hanging baskets. They grow to be large vines and will need sturdy support.
Writer Bio
Malia Marin is a landscape designer and freelance writer, specializing in sustainable design, native landscapes and environmental education. She holds a Masters in landscape architecture, and her professional experience includes designing parks, trails and residential landscapes. Marin has written numerous articles, over the past ten years, about landscape design for local newspapers.
