The manner in which you water the Vietnamese vanilla will depend somewhat on whether or not your plant is in an active growth phase. If so, you should apply water to your plant’s soil and, if the weather is warm, perform occasional overhead watering to allow the plant to absorb moisture through its leaves. By contrast, in winter, and when the weather is cool or wet generally, you should stick to watering the soil directly rather than including overhead watering as well. You’ll know your Vietnamese vanilla needs more water if its roots and leaves become thin and dry or show discoloration. Vietnamese vanilla receives too much water will look mushy and limp. You should grow your Vietnamese vanilla in a pot and ensure that the potting mix you use has fantastic drainage. During the growing season, you’ll need to water this plant multiple times per week. However, each watering should drain quickly through the growing medium to prevent any standing water. The amount of water you give will change based on the size of the pot you use. Generally, pots that are a bit larger will need water less frequently, while smaller pots will have a slightly more frequent watering schedule. Rainwater and distilled water are the best kinds of water to use for this plant, and it is best if the water you use matches the temperature of the air as closely as possible.

Allowing your Vietnamese vanilla to sit in soil that remains too moist for too long is one of the most common ways to kill this plant. While these plants need water frequently during active growth, they also need to live in a growing medium that drains water rapidly. When this plant experiences overwatering, it will become mushy and develop root rot. If that occurs, you should be prepared to use a pair of sterile pruning shears to cut out any roots that show signs of rot. After doing that, you should then repot your Vietnamese vanilla, ensuring that the container allows for drainage and that you fill the container with a fast-draining potting mix. However, Vietnamese vanilla doesn’t typically respond that well to excessive repotting, so it is crucial to get your watering rate right. Underwatered Vietnamese vanilla will begin to shrivel and feel dry to the touch. If this occurs, it is likely because the soil is drying out faster than you expected, which means you should increase your watering frequency.

During the active growth stage, which spans the spring and summer months, you should plan to water your Vietnamese vanilla about once or twice per week while increasing that rate to three times per week or more in the case of long periods of hot and dry weather. In the winter, you will also need to water your Vietnamese vanilla, but not nearly as much. A watering frequency of two to three times per month should be enough to keep your Vietnamese vanilla alive during the coldest months. However, if you keep your Vietnamese vanilla indoors during winter, you should account for the fact that indoor growing locations can cause the soil to dry quicker than usual, which may mean you need to increase the number of monthly waterings. You can use the fall as a time to gradually reduce your watering frequency from the summer rate of multiple times per week down to your reduced winter watering schedule.

There are two important growth phases that you should consider when planning the watering schedule for your Vietnamese vanilla. The first of those periods is the active growth period, which happens in spring and summer, and which calls for watering this plant multiple times per week. The second important growth period is the rest period that the Vietnamese vanilla should experience for about two to three months each year during winter. During that time, your plant will need far less water and fertilization than normal. Water about once or twice per month during this time. During the fall, you should begin to gradually reduce your watering frequency from multiple times per week all the way down to the once or twice per month rate that is appropriate for winter.

The Vietnamese vanilla requires a growing environment that is relatively humid. Unfortunately, most indoor growing locations will lack the level of air moisture that this plant prefers. This causes the plant and its soil to dry out more quickly than it would when growing outdoors. To combat this effect, you may want to include a humidifier in the room where you grow your Vietnamese vanilla. You may also need to water it a bit more frequently as well. However, while Vietnamese vanillas do prefer humidity, they also require adequate air circulation as well, to prevent excessive moisture build-ups and the diseases that can result. Consider including a fan in the room where you grow this plant as well to ensure proper air circulation remains present.

Pruning your Vietnamese vanilla is a fairly simple process. First, you will need a reliable set of hand pruners or hedge trimmers. You may use a clean pair of sharp scissors if you don’t have pruners or garden shears on hand. It’s important to always clean your gardening tools before and after using them to prevent the possibility of spreading disease or infection to other plants. To prune your Vietnamese vanilla simply allow your plant to go dormant over the Winter. Some time between late winter and early spring – or when new growth starts to appear – take your clean pruners or trimmers and cut away any dying, damaged, yellow or declining foliage. Repeat this process until you reach the base of the plant or until there are no dead pieces left to cut. When pruning, be careful not to damage the new growth that may be emerging near the base of your plant. These parts cannot be restored and pruning can increase the ventilation of the plants and facilitate their growth. Any pruning that is done to this plant should be cut straight across the blades or stems. No angled cuts are required. Diseased leaf blade foliage can be removed as it appears. This could be done anytime when your Vietnamese vanilla is growing.

Once you’ve pruned your plant, you should dispose of the stems and leaves either by composting the healthy ones or throwing out the diseased parts. You can also fertilize just before or after pruning, which gives Vietnamese vanilla a little vitamin boost that can provide it the nutrients needed to better protect itself from any nearby pathogens or diseases. Do not water the Vietnamese vanilla immediately after pruning as this can lead to fungal infestation of the plants through the wounds. You don’t need much after care when you’re done pruning. It might benefit from light watering and some liquid plant food to encourage new growth.

Early spring and late winter are the best times to prune your Vietnamese vanilla on a large scale. If you want to control the size of your Vietnamese vanilla, you can prune them as you wish, but be careful not to prune more than a third of the size of the plant. Yellow and diseased leaves may appear during the summer months when the Vietnamese vanilla is growing vigorously and these types of leaves need to be pruned back immediately. These parts of the Vietnamese vanilla cannot be restored and pruning increases the ventilation of the plant and facilitates its growth.

Strategic pruning is usually done at different times of the year or during certain stages of growth depending on the plant. However, knowing when to prune your Vietnamese vanilla depends on where you live and how established your plant is. For example, if your Vietnamese vanilla is a new resident, it’s a good idea to wait until the plant starts to grow back before you start pruning. On the other hand, if your plant is already established, you will want to prune the dry or dead parts in plant before new leafy growth appears in early spring or late winter. This is the time of year when plants are dormant and pruning causes the least damage to them. This is also the best time of year to do more extensive pruning. It’s important to note that if Vietnamese vanilla is pruned too late in the season, it can leave new growth at risk for damage or disease. However, if your Vietnamese vanilla is indoors this is not a problem and you can prune at any time. Since this can affect the long-term health and appearance of your plant, it’s important to keep this in mind when deciding when and how to prune. As your Vietnamese vanilla grows larger over time, you can trim it as needed after annual pruning. Dead, damaged, or diseased leaf blade foliage can be removed as it appears. This could be done anytime when your Vietnamese vanilla is growing.

Vietnamese vanilla requires about 3-6 hours of direct sunlight each day to thrive. However, it also needs some shade during the hottest parts of the day to prevent sun damage. Morning sunlight is ideal for Vietnamese vanilla, but it can also tolerate some afternoon sun if the temperature is not too hot. To provide the perfect balance of sunlight, try planting Vietnamese vanilla in an area that gets partial sun, such as under a tree or on the east side of a building.

If Vietnamese vanilla is exposed to too much direct sunlight, its leaves may turn yellow, dry out, or even burn. You may also notice that the plant wilts or becomes stunted. To prevent sun damage, make sure to give Vietnamese vanilla some shade during the hottest parts of the day. You can use a shade cloth or plant Vietnamese vanilla near taller plants that can provide some natural shade.

If Vietnamese vanilla doesn't get enough sunlight, it may grow tall and lanky, with sparse foliage. The leaves may also turn yellow or pale green, indicating that the plant is not producing enough chlorophyll due to lack of sunlight. To remedy this, try moving Vietnamese vanilla to a sunnier spot, or prune nearby foliage to allow more light to reach the plant.

Fertilization is important to a Vietnamese vanilla overall health and well-being. With the proper supply of energy and nutrients, your Vietnamese vanilla will develop a healthy array of foliage while also producing a set of sturdy stems and branches. However, it is the flowers of a Vietnamese vanilla that are often most valuable to the gardeners who grow them. Fortunately, fertilization also helps this plant produce flowers that are large, vibrant, and long-lasting. The reason for this is that the right kind of fertilizer will make it much easier for your Vietnamese vanilla to transfer fuel from its roots through its stems to its flowers. Proper fertilization also keeps this plant's health in good general condition, making it better able to fight off diseases.

The main time of year when you should fertilize a Vietnamese vanilla is during the early spring when your plant is exiting its dormant phase and preparing to open its buds. Feeding at this time will give your Vietnamese vanilla plenty of available energy to use to support its overall growth and flower development, but this is not the only time that it is a good idea to feed this plant. An additional feeding at the end of the season during the fall months can also benefit this plant, although this second feeding does not need to be as large as the first one. Also, some gardeners choose to fertilize their Vietnamese vanilla while they are planting it, but this is not always necessary.

As is the case for many plants, you do not need to fertilize your Vietnamese vanilla during the winter. In winter, a Vietnamese vanilla will be in a dormant phase, which means it does not need to gain much energy from the soil to develop new growth. Fertilizing during winter makes it much more likely that the negative outcomes of overfertilization will occur. The two main feeding times for a Vietnamese vanilla are during the early spring and the fall. That means that during most of the spring and summer, this plant will not need fertilizer. It is also wise to hold off on feedings if your plant is experiencing excessively hot or dry conditions for whatever reason.

While it is often alright to use a general-purpose fertilizer that has even ratios of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, Vietnamese vanilla plants often do best when they receive a specific type of fertilizer. In most instances, the most important nutrients for a Vietnamese vanilla are nitrogen and phosphorus, which is why they should appear in higher volumes in the fertilizer you use compared to the potassium content. A fertilizer that has an N-P-K ratio of 10-10-8 or something similar should work well. However, it can also be beneficial to apply an organic material such as compost for at least one of your annual feedings. If you choose to use fertilizer, it is most common to use granular fertilizer for a Vietnamese vanilla.

Applying fertilizer for your Vietnamese vanilla is a quite straightforward task that any gardener can perform, even those with minimal experience. To feed your Vietnamese vanilla with granular fertilizer, all you need to do is sprinkle the fertilizer on the soil. However, before you do so, make sure that you moisten the soil with water. Additionally, you can also amend your Vietnamese vanilla plant's soil by adding an organic material like compost or manure. If you want to incorporate one of those amendments into your soil, you should place some of the material on top of the soil. Then use a hand rake to gently work the material into the first few inches of soil without disturbing the roots.

There are several negative outcomes that will occur if your regularly overfertilize your Vietnamese vanilla. First, when you give one of these plants too much fertilizer, you can expect to see leaf discoloration and perhaps some wilting. Excessive fertilization can also lead to fertilizer burn, which will dry out the roots, making them ineffective. However, the threats of overfertilization do not end there for the Vietnamese vanilla. If you feed one of these plants too much, it may show a lack of flowers or bloom with flowers that are a bit lackluster. Also, an overfertilized Vietnamese vanilla will be weaker overall, show stunted growth, and is more vulnerable to diseases and pest infestations.