Vanilla Bean Orchid, Variegated

Everyone knows the scent and taste of vanilla. But did you know that all vanilla comes from the fruit of an orchid? Of the tens of thousands of orchids known to the world, Vanilla planifolia is the only orchid to produce an edible fruit and what an amazing fruit that has turned out to be…
For 300 years, no one was able to get the orchids to bear fruit. Then, in 1836, it was discovered that a miniscule bee (the Melipone) was the sole pollinator of the vanilla orchid. Outside of their native habitat of Mexico, vanilla plant flowers must be hand-pollinated in order to produce the fruit. This means all the vanilla coming from other countries is hand pollinated. You can understand why vanilla is the most expensive spice after saffron!

We recommend planting this plug in our specialty orchid soil.

**IMPORTANT NOTE:
THIS PLANT SHIPS AS A 2″ FULLY ROOTED STARTER PLANT, AS SHOWN IN THE SECOND PHOTO. It will come wrapped in moss and tucked in a growers pot for safety. The terra cotta pot with the mature plant, shown in the first photo, is not included.

We root certain plants in sphagnum moss for greatest shipping success. When you go to repot your plant, carefully remove the growers pot and gently tease open the sphagnum and roots. If some sphagnum falls off, no worries! It can be discarded or added to your potting medium. If some stays attached to the roots, just let it be. Your roots will grow happily around it. We advise that you don’t overly mess with the roots, they don’t need to be picked clean. Questions? Message us!