Vanilla Dendrobium - Orchid with a distinctive scent

Vanilla Dendrobium is a rare wild orchid sought after in Vietnam, with gentle colors and a strong vanilla fragrance.

Vanilla Dendrobium is one of the rare and unique wild orchid species of Vietnam. They not only impress with their gentle, elegant beauty but also have a distinctive, distinct vanilla scent, so they are increasingly loved and sought after by orchid enthusiasts at home and abroad.

If you want to learn more about the origin, characteristics as well as techniques for growing and caring for Vanilla orchids to bloom beautifully and in season, don't miss the following article by wild orchid !

Introduction to Vanilla Dendrobium Orchid

Vanilla orchid is a rare wild orchid species of Southeast Asia.

Vanilla orchid has the scientific name Dendrobium linguella, first described in 1865. This is a wild orchid species originating from Southeast Asia, commonly distributed in some countries such as:

• Vietnam: Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Son La,....
• Thailand, Laos, Cambodia,...

Vanilla orchid was first described and recorded in the 20th century through botanical research on Indochinese orchids.

The name “linguella” in Latin means “little tongue” and refers to the lip shape of the Vanilla Dendrobium.

Currently, in nature, the number of Vanilla orchids is seriously declining due to overexploitation and loss of habitat.

Morphological and growth characteristics of Vanilla orchid

Vanilla scented orchid flowers with a distinctive pale purple color.

Vanilla orchid is one of the rare wild orchid species not only because of its unique appearance but also because of its mild vanilla fragrance. Let's learn more about the morphological and growth characteristics of this orchid species below.

Trunk :

• Stem straight, upright or slightly curved, 25 - 60 cm high
• The body is cylindrical, yellowish green or pale yellow in color, with grooves along both sides of the body.

Leaves :

• Leaves are thin, soft, slightly lanceolate, 5 - 10 cm long.
• Grow alternately on both sides of the body, usually growing from the top of the body up.
• In winter, the leaves usually fall off to prepare for flowering.

Flower :

• Flowers grow from old leafless nodes, each node usually has 1-2 flowers, blooming scattered along both sides of the stem.
• Flowers are 3 - 5 cm in diameter.
• The petals are white mixed with pinkish purple or light purple, fragile and soft.
• The flower lips are usually opaque white or creamy yellow, with a purple spot in the center, the tip of the lips looks like a small tongue.
• The flowers have a sweet, vanilla-like scent - this is also what makes the Vanilla orchid different.
• Flowers bloom in spring to early summer (March - May)
• Flowers stay fresh for 10 - 15 days

Growth characteristics :

• Is a species of orchid that likes humidity and medium diffused light.
• Grows strongly in the rainy season, needs a dormant period in the dry season before flowering.
• Suitable for grafting on driftwood, coconut fiber boards or pots with good drainage.

How to grow & care for Vanilla orchid

How to grow & care for Vanilla orchid.

Let's refer to the detailed instructions on how to grow and care for Vanilla orchids shared below to help you gain more experience and own the most beautiful and brilliant orchid pots.

Choose varieties & growing medium for Vanilla orchid

If you want the vanilla orchid to take root and grow quickly, you need to pay attention to choosing the right orchid variety and choosing the right growing medium. Specifically as follows:

Choose vanilla orchid variety :

• Choose a healthy orchid with a thick stem, yellow-green color, and no pests or diseases.
• Choose plants with many young roots and dormant buds.
• If choosing new varieties directly exploited from the forest, it is necessary to treat fungi and pathogens before planting.

Select substrate :

• Optimal Driftwood, coir boards or coir blocks
• Alternatively, you can use terracotta pots + pine bark + charcoal + pumice.
• The substrate must have good drainage and ventilation.

How to grow Vanilla orchid

If you do not know how to grow Vanilla orchids properly, please refer to the following steps.

• Step 1 : Water the orchid pot continuously to prepare for separating the plant.
• Step 2 : After about 20 - 30 minutes of continuous watering, separate the roots, remove dry roots and pests. Use scar glue to disinfect the cut.
• Step 3 : Always place the tree top facing the sunlight, fix the base of the tree to avoid the tree from shaking.
• Step 4 : Place the orchid pot in a cool place, away from direct sunlight and proceed with care.

Vanilla orchid care techniques

To help the vanilla orchid grow best, bloom beautifully, and in season, you need to pay attention to watering, fertilizing, disease prevention, and pruning. Specifically, please refer to the following basic techniques.

Light :

• Maintain 60 - 70% diffused light, should use shade net if planted outdoors.
• Ideal temperature: 20 - 28 degrees Celsius
• Cool air, no condensation at night

Watering :

• Orchids grafted onto wood or coconut fiber: Water 1-2 times a day.
• Orchids grown in pots: Water less than grafted orchids because the pot has better moisture retention.
• Rest season from November to February: reduce watering frequency to 2-3 days/time, then 1 time/week and reduce again.

Fertilizer :

• Growth stage: NPK 30-10-10 fertilized once a week, combined with B1 + Atonik + Humic to stimulate root and leaf growth.
• Flowering preparation stage (September - December): Switch to NPK 10-30-10 or 6-30-30 to stimulate flowering. Limit high nitrogen fertilizers, increase phosphorus and potassium.
• Post-flowering stage: Use organic fertilizer to nourish the plant.

Pruning & treatment of orchids after flowering :

• After the flowers wither, proceed to prune the dead flowers.
• Nurture the plant. If there is a keiki (young shoot), you can nurture it until it grows roots and then separate it to plant a new plant.

Pest control :

How to stimulate Vanilla orchid to bloom

If you want your vanilla orchid pot to bloom evenly, beautifully, on time and with a strong fragrance, please refer to the orchid stimulation method shared below.

Time to activate :

• After the tree has lost all its leaves, usually in late winter - early spring (January - early March of the solar calendar)

Orchid stimulation process :

• Step 1 : Completely cut off water to let the orchid "dry out in shock", hang in a cool, slightly sunny place, absolutely do not fertilize.
• Step 2 : Spray flower stimulant on the entire stem once a week, only spray on the stem and roots attached to the substrate, do not spray on the base. Flower stimulant solution includes 1g NPK 6-30-30/liter of water + Atonik (1ml/1 liter of water) + B1 (1ml/1 liter of water).
• Step 3 : After 2 - 3 weeks, you will see flower buds sprouting from the nodes on the tree trunk. At this time, stop spraying fertilizer and only spray lightly every morning.

Tips to increase the success rate of flowering :

• Create a temperature difference between day and night of 5 - 8 degrees Celsius
• Gently cut the remaining leaf veins to help the plant receive the "hibernation" signal.

How much is Vanilla Dendrobium?

Currently, Vanilla orchids are sold at many different prices depending on the form, origin and store. For more details, please refer to the following price list.

Note:

• If you choose to buy wholesale by batch of newly harvested wild orchids, you need to process and care for them for enough time and have the right techniques to make them bloom.
• Prioritize buying orchids from reputable stores to ensure purity and quality, but prices will often be higher.

Vanilla Dendrobium Orchid Image

If you want to admire more beautiful pictures of Vanilla Dendrobium orchids, do not miss the collection we share below. From lovely orchid pots to extremely natural and impressive wooden orchid baskets, you will definitely be satisfied.

The vanilla scented orchids are a beautiful pale purple.

Clusters of vanilla-scented orchids bloom evenly on both sides of the stem.

The vanilla orchid flower cluster has a characteristic ivory white color.

Close-up of the elegant beauty of Vanilla orchid.

A branch of Vanilla Dendrobium with super many flowers.

Thus, through the article that orchid-vn.com shares above, it can be seen that Vanilla orchid is indeed a rare and unique wild orchid species. Not only does it have a fragile, eye-catching appearance, but it also has a pleasant, vanilla-like scent that brings extremely interesting experiences to growers.

If you want your orchid collection to be richer and more impressive, vanilla orchid is not a bad choice.

Goodbye and see you soon in the next articles of the Blog section to learn more about interesting orchid species as well as other valuable orchid growing experiences.