Vanilla planifolia vines typically start flowering three years after planting. It is accepted that flowering is triggered by stresses i.e. low temperatures, drought, light, physiological disturbances such as the pinching of hanging stems apices (decapitation). However, the determinism of flowering remains little studied and cultural practices aimed at promoting flowering are mainly based on empirical observations. The objective of this work was to study the effectiveness of decapitation to promote flowering. A trial was conducted on 180 V. planifolia plants grown under shade house in Mauritius for three productions cycles. Decapitation was performed on 120 plants (on 1 to 7 hanging stems per plants). The rest were kept as controls. 84% of the inflorescences occurred on hanging stems. In cycles 2 and 3 the probability of flowering was five and three times higher, respectively, for decapitated stems compared to undecapitated ones. Additionally, decapitated stems tend to produce a slightly higher number of inflorescences than non-decapitated stems: 2.5 versus 2 inflorescences/stem. We also showed a delayed effect of apex pinching on flowering: the rate of decapitated stems setting flowers was 3.7 times higher after two years than after one year. Therefore, in our conditions, decapitation significantly promotes the flowering of V. planifolia. However, further work should clarify the best date for pinching and its transferability to other conditions.