Without them, our culinary world would lack a valuable treasure. The coveted vanilla beans only thrive when the flowers of a vanilla orchid unfurl. Now there is a chance of pollination for a few hours so that the long-awaited capsule fruits thrive. Follow us here on a foray from the vanilla blossom to the aromatic pod.
The vanilla flower is relatively small
Flowering time is in summer
A vanilla orchid grown from cuttings pleases us after 3 to 4 years with its flowering for the first time. The green-yellow to creamy-yellow flowers appear in small racemes on short stalks in the leaf axils. In contrast to the swaggering epiphytic orchids, the vanilla flowers remain rather small. The most important data at a glance:
- Slightly curved, angular inflorescence axis is 5 to 8 cm long with 10 to 20 individual flowers
- Length of ovary and outer petals (sepals) is 4 to 7 cm
- Lateral petals and the lip reach a length of 4 to 5 cm
In the course of the summer, a single bud opens within a cluster for a few hours in the morning. If pollination occurs during this period, a narrow, up to 20 cm long capsule fruit forms within the following 6 to 9 months. Inside are countless tiny black seeds surrounded by an oily liquid rich in vanillin.
Fertilization requires finesse
Since bees and hummingbirds are not available as natural pollinators in Central Europe, the gardener takes over this function. Since vanilla is a hermaphrodite flower, male pollen is in close proximity to the female pistil, separated only by a membrane. The trick is to transfer the pollen with a pointed stick when the flower is just open.
tips
The popular Bourbon vanilla comes from the spice vanilla (vanilla planifolia). Despite its fame, Mexican vanilla (Vanilla mexicana) from the Veracruz region is considered the de facto vanilla queen. Experts certify this species as the best quality vanilla orchid in the world.