Take a cutting with at least one leaf and one node from an existing vanilla orchid plant or purchase one from a plant dealer. It's best to make your cutting underwater and to cut at a 45-degree angle. Place your cutting in a shady area and allow it to remain for one week. Prepare a potting medium containing one-third humus and two-thirds scoria, which is a type of volcanic cinder with multiple holes. Place your mixture into a pot with a drainage hole and water it until the medium is thoroughly moistened.
Insert your cutting into the moist growing medium, barely burying the lowest node. Gently drive a stake into the medium close to your cutting and tie it with nursery tape or a piece of fabric. Place your potted cutting on a plant saucer and keep it in an area that receives light shade. Keep the growing medium moist at all times. Also protect it from frost or cold temperatures; an indoor location such as a bathroom is often a good place to start a vanilla orchid cutting.
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10-03-2011, 07:27 AM
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