This November is packed with important gardening-related activities and events on our island. The heat of summer is pau and it is time to get out in the garden and start planting.
The busy month starts with the Plant Sale Extravaganza from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Old Kona Airport Park Makaeo Events Pavilion. There will be orchids, bamboos, palms, fruit trees, water plants, air plants, cactuses and succulents, just to mention a few. Several plant experts will be there to answer your gardening questions.
On Nov. 7, the Hawaii Chapter of the International Palm Society is sponsoring an evening with Scott Zona. He will share some of his exploits of palm explorations and discoveries from the Amazon, New Guinea and Madagascar. He is known in palm circles as the Indiana Jones of palms. Zona is with Florida International University, Miami and has written more than 100 papers on palms. He has been involved in discovering new species and protecting some rare endangered and almost extinct palms. The presentation will be held at the University of Hawaii at Hilo at 7 p.m. Several experts will be there to help you get better acquainted with the world of palms. For more information contact chapter president Tim Brian at 619-838-4093.
November is also the major coffee harvest season, and the 44th annual Coffee Festival is slated from Nov. 7 to 16. All kinds of activities and celebrations are planned. Check out konacoffeefest.com or contact Mel Morimoto at 747-5424, for more information.
The Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Captain Cook is celebrating Arbor Day in Hawaii with a tree giveaway and educational activities Nov. 7 through 9. For details check out bishopmuseum.org/greenwell.
Hawaii Island is home to rare plants from all over the world. It is kind of a Noah’s Ark for many endangered species. The potential for tropical, subtropical and temperate agriculture is only limited by our imagination.
The Big Island, more poetically known as the Orchid Island, is home to thousands of species of orchids.
It is strange that we have chosen to call it the Big Island because it really doesn’t describe it accurately. We have thousands of species and varieties of orchids and the most active volcano in the world. It seems more appropriate to call it the Orchid Island or the Volcano Island. There are many islands in the world that are much bigger, but none that can brag of such a profusion of orchids and volcanic activity. We have most of the world’s climates represented here and can grow almost anything if it is planted in the right microclimate.
Hawaii’s land sometimes requires a novel approach to farming. Crops such as field corn and sugarcane require many acres to even approach profitability. Even tree crops like macadamia, avocado and coffee need several acres to net enough money to support a farm family.
If you are limited for space and can’t plant trees, consider foliage and flowers such as orchids. They can be grown on a small scale. Our tropical climate is ideal for many ornamental foliage and flowering plants that are almost impossible to grow outdoors anywhere in the continental U.S. These do best at lower to mid elevations. Our lava lands are ideal. Since many of these plants are grown in pots, they do not require prime soil acreage.
Orchids are probably the most well known of the high priced flowers. Many species are found growing wild, and many more have been introduced by orchid enthusiasts. Traditionally, Vanda, Cymbidium and Cattleya were grown on the Orchid Island, but Dendrobium have become the orchid of today.
In Hawaii, Dendrobium orchids are called cane orchids. They are basically epiphytes, rock or tree dwellers, but will adapt themselves to bed or pot culture.
Cane orchids are grown beautifully in beds, preferably cinder or crushed rock beds, raised above the surface of the ground. Such beds must have perfect drainage and dry quickly. Frequent watering is needed. The warmer the region, the heavier the watering schedule. Dendrobium orchids often require a shade structure as do many other ornamental crops grown in the sunny lowlands.
Another popular group of ornamentals for limited spaces are bromeliads. The bromeliad family is just another way of saying the pineapple family. Of course, many seasoned Hawaii gardeners are old hands at growing not only pineapples in their yard, but many other tropical bromeliads.
Most members of this family resemble the pineapple plant in growth but a few like Spanish moss, Tillandsia usnoides, have slender stems hanging up to 10 feet. Many bromeliads are epiphytes, they grow on trees but are not parasites. They use other plants for support.
Bromeliads have much to offer as houseplants. In addition to their handsome foliage and unusual, often brilliantly colored flower clusters, many kinds have leaves that turn to pink or shades of red when the plant is in its long-lasting bloom period. Some bromeliads also display colorful fruits that may remain on the plant for a year after the flower fades.
Bromeliads are easy to grow and combine well with ferns, orchids, philodendrons and begonias. Native to the tropical regions of North, Central and South America, they tolerate temperatures from 100 degrees down to frost, depending on the species, but most perform best between 60 and 90 degrees.
They grow in a fast draining but moisture retentive media, where air can circulate freely around the plants, similar to orchids. Most bromeliads produce their best bloom and most colorful foliage when grown in locations that receive plenty of light. However, to prevent the burning of foliage and flowers of the more tender kinds, they are grown in shady locations.