Vanilla has one natural pollinator, the Melipona Bee, which must be there exactly when that orchid orchid bud blossoms. The coincidental timing is virtually impossible, so the vanilla plant must be hand-pollinated in order to produce a vanilla bean pod.

To do this, orchid grower and vanilla expert Jim Reddekopp uses the tip of his fingernail, though some growers use a small hand-carved bamboo pick, about five inches long.

In the flower, under the pollen cap, there is a spec-like mass of pollen about the size of a sesame seed. Jim takes the pollen on his fingernail (or the tip of his

wooden pick), and transfers it to the stigma of the flower.

"The more time you put into pollination, the better the chances of getting a pod," explains Reddekopp. "Efforts equal return."

If you don’t hand-pollinate, you won’t have any vanilla bean pods. Even if you do pollinate, the vanilla bean pods may not form.

But if the "marriage of vanilla" is successful, then vanilla bean pods will form and mature about eight to nine months later, looking like round green beans about six to seven inches long.