Hi I quit growing vanilla due to the rampant growth,Seems to be necessary never got a flower until round 10 feet of growth even then it was a shy bloomer. I found the variagated form less hardy in all respects to the green plainifolia. They are very easy to root by almost any method but if you really want flowers you'll have to allow it to run rampant . As long as it's warm and humid they are happy.. My main objection was they took up way to much space. gary

The stems are brittle, so be careful to not bend them too tightly. Although, if they do break you'll have another plant. Some of mine are up over 20 metres in trees and it took a while before I found out they were flowering up there. Later I planted some on a much smaller tree stump (about 3 metres tall) . They sprawled around the top a bit and flowered at that height. Some I've got on a 1.5 metre stump haven't flowered at all. Whatever height they need, they also need to sprawl and hang down a bit. If they've still got room to go up they'll keep climbing and not flower. I did see a comment on a forum once (and only once) of there being dwarf varieties, but I don't know how accurate it was. Or maybe they were thinking of a different species of vanilla.

I've only used the beans in Strawberry Jam. I macerated overnight with the berries, small amount of sugar, and vanilla beans. The next morning, I scraped the seeds out and proceeded with the jam recipe. Delicious! Deanna

Is this the recipe you used, Cindy? It does look a bit too eggy, but I think 6" of vanilla should be about right for that amount of cream and milk: 2-1/3 cups whole milk 2-1/3 cups heavy cream 1 whole vanilla bean (about 6 inches in length) 3 large eggs 4 large egg yolks 1-1/8 cups sugar 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract Combine the milk and cream in a medium saucepan. Use a sharp knife to split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the blunt edge to scrape out the "seeds." Stir the seeds and bean pod into the milk/cream mixture. Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Combine eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in a medium bowl. Use a hand mixer on medium speed to beat until the mixture is thick, smooth, and pale yellow in color (similar to mayonnaise), about 2 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod from the milk/cream mixture and discard. Measure out 1 cup of the hot liquid. With the mixer on low speed, add the cup of hot milk/cream to the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream. When thoroughly combined, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk/cream mixture and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Transfer to a bowl, stir in vanilla, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap placed directly on the custard, and chill completely. Pour the chilled custard into the freezer bowl, turn the machine on and let mix until thickened, about 25 to 30 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving. I only have 5 eggs at the moment, and so I guess I will make the recipe I posted before and use 5" of vanilla bean, unless I go to the store before I decide to make it. I do think that all recipes calling for vanilla bean should specify inches, since the ones I got in the store were very short.