Hey Olga...This is an excellent question. When I was studying horticulture in college, I interned at the campus conservatory at UC Davis. Inside one of the greenhouses they had a vanilla orchid that was climbing all over the place and would occasionally produce a group of pleasantly scented flowers that would eventually develop into vanilla "beans" (technically they are not beans). Every time I walked in the greenhouse that housed the vanilla, I always started to sweat. The reasoning behind that is because vanillas do well with high humidity. If you live in a tropical or subtropical climate, then chances are you should be fine growing the orchid outside. If you live in a more temperate climate, I would strongly suggest you grow it with some type of protection from the cold and dry air. Although they are terrestrial orchids (which means their roots are rooted in the ground and not on the branches of a tree), they do fairly well in orchid potting mix. This is something that you should be able to find at a garden center, but I would suggest you also add some more organic soil to the orchid mix. Water the orchid freely. You could probably fertilize about once per month. I would use a diluted liquid fertilizer. Also, vanillas grow like a vine, so you should provide some support. As summer rolls around, provide some shade and keep the plant moist. If the air dries out, you may have to mist it a couple of times per day. When the orchid flowers, you may have perform the act of pollination in order for it to produce the vanilla "bean". Vanillas are kind of high maintenance unless you live in a climate that is suitable. I hope this is helpful. Happy Gardening!!! --Robby
