Several of the same crops that make their homes in South Florida also thrive in the Florida Keys: mango, papaya, key lime, jabuticaba, longan, canistel, sugar apple, avocado, carambola, pineapple, banana, sapote, breadfruit and jackfruit, to name a few.

You can add vanilla to that list.

It grows exceptionally well in the climates of both South Florida and the Keys.

According to the University of Florida, “vanilla has been cultivated in the United States in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Florida since the early 1900s. V. planifolia was introduced from Florida into Puerto Rico twice before 1909. A vanilla industry in Puerto Rico included a grower cooperative. The USDA station in Puerto Rico conducted horticultural, breeding, and bean-curing research in support of the vanilla industry. The industry in Puerto Rico grew until the 1950s, when it declined after World War II as industrialization superseded agriculture.”

Propagation

Take a cutting and replant it underneath a tree. The vine can climb as high as 60 feet. “But a singular vanilla vine should be trained to pass through the soil more than once so it gets the proper ingredients from the terrestrial roots,” according to the Keys Weekly.

There are numerous YouTube tutorials on how to propagate the plant, which is fairly straightforward to do. If you don’t want to watch a tutorial, here is a detailed print guide.

So why has Vanilla become popular to grow in the United States?

Growing crops is expensive in South Florida and the Keys as land is pricey. Growing “high-value, niche crops” like Vanilla can be lucrative. Vanilla costs more than silver per pound. One pound of cured vanilla beans can cost upwards of $190 on Amazon.