References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information Temperature Converter Flowering Time: Mid Spring Late Spring/Early Summer.

In areas where the moth is absent, hand pollination is necessary.

The flowers are pollinated by a specific species of moth in the night time. Yields are very variable - a good vanillery may yield about 2.5 - 4 t/ha per year of fresh fruit, which gives 500 - 800 kg/ha of cured beans. They are harvested when still green and lacking their distinctive aroma, and are then put through a lengthy curing process during which time they turn brown and develop their aroma. The fruits mature in 180 - 270 days from flowering. The flowers usually need to be hand pollinated, especially when being cultivated outside the plants natural range. The plant has an economic life of about 10 - 15 years before yields drop and it needs replacing. Under favourable conditions a plant may grow 60 - 120cm per month. If longer cuttings, around 90 - 100cm in length, are used, then fruiting can commence after only 1 - 2 years. Plants produced from short cuttings, around 30cm in length, will take 3 - 5 years before they flower and start to produce fruit. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 4.3 - 8. It requires a position in semi-shade, well-protected from winds. An epiphytic plant, growing in pockets of humus on tree branches. It prefers a mean annual rainfall of 2,000 - 2,500mm, tolerating 1,500 - 3,000mm. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are in the range 21 - 30°c, but can tolerate 10 - 33°c. The plant thrives in hot moist insular climates with frequent, but not excessive rain and requires two drier months to check vegetative growth and bring the vines into flower.

Vanilla plant