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Management of Vines:

Shades :
It takes about four to eight weeks for the cuttings to strike roots and to show initial signs of growth. New leaves start emerging thereafter. Newly planted vines should be provided with adequate shade.

Mulching:
Vanilla needs lot of organic matter for proper growth. Well decomposed cow dung, compost, leaf mulch, etc., may be spread in a ring of 30 cm radius, three weeks after planting. The weeds around the plant should be removed and may be used as mulch. This layer protects the soil from run-off and exposure to the sun, regulates rainfall infiltration, slows down evaporation, arrests or at least considerably restricts weed growth and is generally favourable to growth and yield since it also adds humus to the soil on decomposition.

Irrigation:
Vanilla does not require much water. The soil around the vine should be kept moist. Weekly irrigation of two to three litres of water per plant will be sufficient. Water is applied in basins formed around the plants. Vanilla is capable of absorbing moisture through the leaves and aerial roots.
Manure and Fertilizer application:
Well rotten cow dung, compost, composted and well rotten poultry manure, vermicompost, neem cake etc., can be applied to promote growth of the plant. However, as all plants belonging to orchids family face problems of diseases when animal manures are applied, adequate care should be taken to ensure that the animal manure is well decomposed before it is applied.

Training:

If the vine is permitted to grow up on a tree, it will rarely blossom, so long as it is growing upward. Initially, the vines should be allowed to grow upwards on the support tree. The vines should be loosely tied to the support trees if necessary. The vines are allowed to grow up to 3.0 m and then brought down.

Flowering Habit:
Generally only one flowering is noticed in a year. It extends for a period of 2 to 3 months.Depending upon the place of cultivation, flowering is noticed from December to April and it takes about 45 days from initiation of inflorescence to flowering. Under Indian conditions, flowering is observed from February to April.

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