Category: Inspiration

`Ohi`a `ai (mountain apple) pickles

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`Ohi`a `ai (mountain apple) and a fun pickle recipe

By Heidi Bornhorst

After the flooding rains and wild winds of 2026, I was curious to see how plants and trees, flowers and fruit would respond.

We have a neighbor who has a fabulous Tahitian mountain apple tree in her garden.  Over the years I have helped prune, oversee a big crown reduction pruning and helped her (and former owner Cindie) rake up many many fallen fruits (makes great compost) or an overloaded dripping green trash bin!

This year I watched buds and flower form, and fruit ripen.  Now I have been going up to pick and help her again in her garden (drainage issues from the flood)

I Love picking these jewel like fruit.  It’s a good upper arm workout, with the picker.  You see a gorgeous red plump one, wiggle the picker up to it, carefully, so as not to dislodge the unripe neighbors.  The best ones have a bird peck in them; I just rinse well and cut out the bird bites. 

With an abundance of Tahitian mountain apples, this short season ephemeral fresh fruit that you can’t freeze like mangoes, what to do?

Hawaii people are funny about `Ohi`a `ai or mountain apples.  Some Love them, especially this giant pretty variety, and some politely say no thank you.

These days we are joyous to accept mango and lychee, avocado and `ulu even to the point of buying them! (And as soon as you do spend money on them, guarans, somebody is going to gift you with a whole bag of same fruit or produce from their garden or farm!)

But mountain apples, not so much.  

Some do not like them; some must have raked up too many fallen ones as a kid or something!

I tell them they are rich in vitamin C, and supply dietary fiber, as well as vitamin A and C and Calcium… freshly picked, rinsed and chilled, so crisp and refreshing, etc., but only a few takers among my neighbors and friends.

Mountain apples are a natural source of hydration – perfect for hot summer days!  Or enjoyed down at the beach. 

My niece Jalene was visiting and found an article about them, which included 2 recipes, one for pickles and one for apple sauce with ginger.

Both sound ono and not too complex.  My friend and Farmer on Hawaii island, Deborah Ward makes `ohi`a `ai PIE.

Jalene and I harvested several bags, came home, cleaned, and ate some.  

Then we decided to make pickles:

1. Wash well in cool water.

2. Slice thinly

3. Marinated in clean jars:

Ingredients

• White vinegar

• Braggs apple cider vinegar

• Finely chopped garlic

• 2 chili peppers, Ni`oi, chopped.

• Pa`akai Hawaiian salt

• Brown sugar

Mix well, cap jars and refrigerate.

The chili peppers have been in a bag in my freezer, a gift from Surfing Budley, Colleen Kudo.  The salt from Kalaupapa where my friends Mari Zane; and Ben and Ellie Lum volunteer.

The brown sugar I bought at Longs a while ago, when the last sugar plantation closed on Maui, thought I had better stock up on real Hawaiian sugar while it lasted.  I don’t cook with sugar much, usually.

This came out pretty ono and very lovely to look at in the jar. They will be gifts and side dishes for our Fourth of July pa`ina with our Gourmet hiking buddies.

Mountain apples or `ohi`a `ai (the `ohi`a that you `ai or eat) are related to `ohi`a lehua, both are in the Myrtaceae plant family. They are a Polynesian introduction or canoe plant. Some call it ‘Malay apple’ as it is native to the Malay peninsula, and nearby areas, but long spread around by fruit eating and planting people. 

Brought not only for the fruit but also for medicine and for beauty. As my mom says the prettiest stage to her, is in flower and the magenta blossoms on the tree and reflected up from the ground below, from masses of fallen stamens.

Syzygium malaccense is the Latin name that scientists use.  The typical Hawaiian variety is kind of fat and round. There are also white fruited varieties.  The ‘Tahitian’ is long and becomes deep red when ripe.  

This is not a common variety these days, so I’ve been carefully saving seeds from the biggest, nicest ones to share and plant.

We all need to plant more trees and cool our islands and ourselves.  Why not plant a nice Tahitian Mountain apple tree?!

Zephranthes a gift of rain and May Moir

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By Heidi Bornhorst

Question: Heidi, what can we grow in rocky Nanakuli as a replacement for lawn grass?  We don’t have the time or money to fertilize, mow, and water and we don’t like the thought of polluting our aquifer or ocean with chemical fertilizers.

Kupuna M.A., Nanakuli

Answer: Zephranthes lilies might be just the thing.  They look like grass and also have gorgeous flowers, an added benefit.  The pretty lily flowers tell us and the taxonomists that they are a lily, just like mondo “grass”, and Liriope.

After a good rain you sometimes see yellow lilies popping up.  I feel like this is a floral visit from May Moir.  One good place to see them is along Palolo Avenue.  They may have been the original akamai wai groundcover, planted along with gorgeous and low fuss no muss Magnolia trees, which are our City street trees.

May Moir, the late great Art Academy volunteer flower arranger, and natural Hawaiian gardener, was a big proponent of this simple plant.  They are lilies and they come in yellow, pink and white.  Check out the book “Floral traditions” if you want to learn more about May Moir and other volunteers who made floral designs of epic proportions for our local art center.  This book makes a great Holiday gift for the gardeners, flower and art lovers on your list.

They are perfect in a Japanese or Chinese rock garden.  Most of the time they look like a nice healthy mondo (also a lily) but sometimes they flower and then they are so pretty and striking.

After flowering is pau, don’t cut off the flower heads.  They will form seed pods with lots of flat black seeds stacked inside   They are easy to plant and grow.  They also don’t need much water so we like them in our less thirsty or xeriscape gardens.

Perfect in a rock garden, edge of driveway, in a pot.

The yellow Zephyr lilies are really choice and it’s such a cheerful color.   They respond to rain and a carpet of gold sprouts up.  This is one of those old-fashioned plants that lend itself well to low input gardening.

Naupaka

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By Heidi Leianuenue Bornhorst

Naupaka is such a simple and elegant native Hawaiian plant to grow in beach gardens, xeriscapes, and to nurture in the wild.

It makes a great hedge, or specimen plant.  It protects our coast and holds onto the sand.  You can also grow it in large pots.  

Naupaka is a less thirsty plant, perfect for your xeriscape garden. It is also salt and wind tolerant.

Grow it from seeds or cuttings or buy some potted ones and support your favorite local nursery.

Strategic landscape designed naupaka hedges can protect beach homes from the strong ehukai, salty winds. 

It is beautiful with its soft green leaves and half flowers which are white with a hint of purple. White fruit follow the flowers.

Beach Naupaka, Naupaka kahakai is known as Scaevola taccada to scientists.

It is an indigenous Hawaiian plant, which means it got here on its own, but it grows in other tropical areas too.

We also have native endemic species of Scaevola, Naupaka kuahiwi that inhabit our uplands. They too have a half flower, which features in Hawaiian love legends. 

It is the easiest plant to care for if we keep it simple:

• Minimal water once established.

• No fertilizer.

• Keep turf grass away from the root zone.

• Minimal trimming, and only by hand.

As with many of our native Hawaiian plants, modern ‘mow blow and go’ landscape techniques do not agree with naupaka.

The worst is gas powered hedge trimmers, this will mutilate naupaka. Do minimal trimming and shaping with hand clippers or loppers.

Do not TOP naupaka.  Prune carefully, and minimally and only when you are in a good mood. 

​Topping is where you mindlessly cut trees or plants.

The new growth is soft, and the older branches are very woody and tough.  

Power equipment trimming shakes up the roots and then makes the branches grow too dense, making habitat for insect and disease pests.

Turf grass should be physically separated from the Naupaka planting area.  Use a nice stone, coral, or brick edging to keep grass and naupaka separated.

Hand weed out any invading grass. Grass will compete and rob water, nutrients, light and space from the naupaka.

An edge also makes it easier to mow the lawn.

Thoughtful Landscape design and old fashioned garden maintenance will help you keep your naupaka thriving and Beautiful, as nature designed.

ASHS coming to Honolulu!

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By Heidi Bornhorst 

Heidi Bornhorst Keynote Speaker

A prestigious Horticulture group is coming to Hawaii for a weeklong conference.

The American Society for Horticulture Science will be here on Oahu for a week long conference beginning Monday September 23, 2024, closing on Friday September 27.

Over one thousand attendees are signed up and registration is still open. (1067) at last count.

This is great for Hawaii gardeners, Horticulturists, Botanists, and plant scientists.

The conference will be held at the Hilton HawaiianVillage hotel, right on the beach in beautiful Waikiki.

Renowned for its extensive gardens, featuring many native Hawaiian plants, along with canoe plants and tropical exotics, it is a great venue for these plant loving scientists to enjoy.

The Hilton is also right next to the Hale Koa Hotel (where I served for over 10 years as Landscape Director).

The extensive landscaped grounds of the Hale Koa were designed as a botanical garden and the plantings there are very impressive and worth a stroll.

There are many wonderful gardens in Waikiki, amidst all of the hotels and high-rises.

I was very honored to be invited to be the keynote speaker for this conference and I plan to be talking about my favorite: Growing native Hawaiian plants.

There are over one thousand native Hawaiian plant species, and we now are growing about 100 of these Hawaiian plant species. We can grow more!

We have 1367 native Hawaiian plant species. Over 90% of them are endemic, meaning they only grow naturally here in Hawaii. About 9% of them are extinct, and many are rare and endangered.

Some are common and easy to grow, and we see them all around. Examples are: Hala, beach naupaka, `ilima, Hapu`u or Hawaiian tree ferns, and Kou and Milo trees.

Other native plants are less common in our gardens and landscape, but horticulturists are working to change that.

​My friend, Dr. Mike Opgenorth, who is the Director of Kahanu Botanic Garden in Hana, Maui will be speaking on Thursday about his PhD work on our endangered native Hawaiian Gardenias 

Many more students and graduate student at the U.H. are studying how to grow and perpetuate native Hawaiian plants.

The landscape or “Green industry” here in Hawaii is doing the groundwork with native plants.

Home gardens now feature native Hawaiian plants especially those loved by lei makers such as `Ohi`a lehua, `ilima, Palapalai and Pala`a ferns, and our native fragrant Hawaiian white Hibiscus, Koki`o ke`o ke`o.

Our public parks and urban forests are growing more native plants too.

Let’s learn and grow more, let’s perpetuate our native Hawaiian plants together.

https://ashs.org/page/ASHSAnnualConference

Variegated Hala tree. Pandanus. Growing happily at the Hale Koa hotel.

Wild Florals with a Maximust

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By Heidi Bornhorst

Ren MacDonald-Balasia of RENKO did a Floral demo with the GCH on Wed March 13, 2024.  

She likes to use wild, weird and foraged florals, and rare, strange fruit from gardens or Chinatown.

RENKO Floral dragon

This was such an inspiration!  We can all gather florals and foliage from our own gardens, from friends and even from wild weeds.  Weeds can be beautiful.

We don’t have to import florals. Imported materials have a Carbon footprint big time. They also can be the source of harmful alien pests and diseases.

Many imported florals (e.g. roses without perfume) can last a long time, yet they are substantially dosed with chemical poisons insecticides and fungicides.  Since they are not a food crop, they are not heavily regulated. 

Some countries which grow imported florals don’t have the chemical safety regulations that we do, and this poisons the growers and us the consumers.

Read the Book Floral Confidential, if you really want to be informed (and Scared!) by this overuse of toxic chemicals.

And as we say: Buy Local!  Or even better, Forage Locally.  Glean from Local gardens.

The Floral event was at the Halekulani, and I invited my siter Mimi Bornhorst Gaddis.  

As we were getting ready to go, my honey Clark Leavitt said, ‘set me up with a lei needle?’

He had gone on the roof and foraged for pua keni keni.  So romantic. Our anniversary was the day before and he took his nephew Mark to lunch at Kailua Nico’s.

Mimi and I used the valet service at the Halekulani and walked through the flower filled lobby.  

Two women were sitting in an alcove stringing Blue jade lei. “Wow kewl Blue jade!’ I remarked as we walked by (it turned out that these women were our speaker and her helper!)

We went to check in at the Garden Club desk, and as there was no usual flowers on second floor lobby, we walked around. 

There was a woman sitting on a bench. Mimi and I introduced out selves and I gave her a tiare li`I li`i.

Her name was Pam and turns out she’s Ren’s mother, just home to care for her 97-year-oldmother who was a journalist for the star Bulletin.

The first AJA writer in Hawaii!  

Soon the floral fun begins.  

The first arrangement is in a wide tall bowl. She puts in what she called sea tamarind. We were in back and it was hard to see but I’m thinking that doesn’t look like tamarind.  I kept trying to figure out what the orange bouncy floral might be. (Turnsout Harpulia, a common street tree in the Lychee family, Sapindaceae.

sterculia Mexican creeper lei Ohai Ali`i Harpulia AKA sea tamarind

She anchors the branches into folded up chicken wire set in the bowl.  (Oasis is environmentally out.  Mimi and I both have some stashed, just in case)

She then added Sterculia, Skunk tree pods, these are heavy and help to weight the other materials down. 

Ixora is added. We got these at a gas station, Ren remarks.

Mexican creeper, which used to grow in our Makiki garden is draped all around. She calls it coral vine.  

Bombax or shaving brush tree flowers like big puffs of pink added to the flora mix, next the lei she bought at Cindy’s Lei in Chinatown are added, ohai alii and a golden hala.  She cuts and drapes and winds them into the arrangement.

Blue jade lei were added and draped over the arrangement. Such a lovely seasonal Spring beauty from Hawaii gardens!

blue jade and tita Mimi

She scouted for wonderful and strange fruit in Chinatown markets: 

Fruiting Clusters of Longan, rambutan and Salak palm.  Mimi said that they call it SALAT in SE Asia and it’s really ono.  Pretty and scaly in an arrangement. 

She had some nice blooming orchid plants that she bought from Kawamoto orchids in Palolo Valley.  We kind of gasped when she cut the floral stems and put them in the arrangement.  (they would last for a month or more on the plant). But this is what florists do for that wonderful Ephemeral special occasion. 

CONSERVATION: instead of imported, chemically laden treated florals these were gathered in gardens in wild places and in local lei shops.

Such a good message we can get so much from our own Hawaii GARDENS!

Arbor Day 2022, Brachychiton acerifolium, Illawarra Flame Trees

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By Heid Bornhorst

Heidibornhorst.blog

After three years of lockdown, we are finally, Happily, able to celebrate Arbor Day in Kapi`olani Park once again.

On Saturday November 19, 2022, we will gather with ScenicHawaii, Inc., Kapi`olani Park Preservation society, some Dedicated City tree workers and Arborists, Volunteers, and all of us who love and cherish trees and our Park.

We will be planting and ceremonially mulching four new trees courtesy of the Division of UrbanForestry led by Certified Arborist Brandon Au and DUF/ City and County of Honolulu Parks Department.

Citizen Forester Emily Perry will be representing our busy parks director Laura Thielen.

The trees are drought tolerant and are native to coastal subtropical forests of Australia.

The common name is FLAME Tree, or Illawarra Flame tree. Also called the lacebark tree.

One thing our mentor Paul Weissich, Director Emeritus of the Honolulu BotanicalGardens taught us, is to look beyond flowers when you view trees.

What does the bark look like? How is the truck shaped? What is the growth pattern? What kind of shade pattern does it adorn the ground with? What are the leaves like? Are they good for mulch and soil nurturing? For Keiki art projects?

As we Arborists say, “Touch trees”. Place your hand on the trunk and look UP! What do you see, in the Tree Canopy? I love doing this with keiki of all ages!

When we plant a tree, we are investing in, and finding out about the future. This small tree, grown from a tiny seed and planted today. What will it grow into in the Future?

We can read about the size and growth habits in a book, but how big will it really get here in Hawaii? Will it grow big and strong with proper nurturing and akami tree maintenance?

Will it withstand the abuse that trees sometimes take in public park spaces? Will most people be happy and respect the growing young trees? We sure hope so! Trees ensure a healthy, happy future for all of us.

Known in Scientific Latin as Brachychitonacerifolium, the Illawarra Flame trees are in the Sterculiaceae plant family.

We don’t have many of these trees in Hawaii.  A few grow at Foster and Ho’omaluhia Botanical gardens. These were grown from seed by the Horticulturist and Plant propagators at Foster Botanical Garden.

They are particularly striking when in bloom,with bright red orange or scarlet flowers. The flowers look like a hanging red bell when viewed from the side. If you look directly at them, they look like stars.

The leaves are shaped like a kukui leaf, or a mainland maple tree leaf.  This is what the species name acerifolium means.  Acer is the Latin name for Maple, and folium as you might guess is referring to the foliage or leaves, maple shaped leaves.

The trees will grow up and into a pyramid shapewith a tall, greenish grey, smooth round shapedtrunk. In time they can grow up to about 100feet tall (30 – 35 meters). They are a popular street tree in Australia and around the subtropical world.

The seeds of Brachychiton species are edible. But like many plants in the sterculia family they have irritating hairs, which must be removed or carefully removed to get to the edible seeds. Native Australians ate them raw or roasted. They are nutritious, containing 18% protein and 25% fat with high levels of zinc and magnesium.

There are uses for this tree in its native Australia. Fiber is made from the bark and a kind of gum can be extracted. The wood is soft but dries hard. Shingles, among other things, are made from the wood. The roots of young trees are edible, but let’s not do this in our park!

A related tree, Brachychiton rupestris is called the bottle tree.  It grows a big fat water retaining trunk over time, somewhat like the Baobab tree from Africa.

Mahalo to Wikipedia for some of this info, I also referred to our old standard book: In Gardens of Hawaii, by Marie C. Neal.

“AWAKENING” at the Honolulu Museum of Art, aka The Art Academy

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A Kewl Way To Make Lei

By Heidi Leianuenue Bornhorst heidibornhorst.blog

My friend Lexi Hada contacted me about a volunteer opportunity. When Lexi calls you know it’s going to be a FUN and interesting time!

We joined some fellow volunteers, including some famous Lei makers at 9:00 a.m. at Linekona.

Lexi and Kaylee

I was so impressed with the Volunteers and staff joining with the Artist Rebecca Loise Law and her bouncy fun entertaining husband Andy.

Just being in Linekona is a gift and it brings back memories of other art projects, Classes in Art, wood shows, teaching and learning moments with art and our Honolulu Community.

Rebecca and Andy had asked for flowers which they would dry (in an upstairs room with newspapers spreadout on the floor)

We had brought big bags of floral gifts, tasty treats, and lei that we made to share from our gardens.

The Laws and HoMA worked with the Honolulu Botanical Gardens for a collection of great florals from Foster and Koko Crater Botanical gardens, including Quipo, which is a huge, stout trunked tree from South America, and is related to the African Baobab. The big, winged seeds of the Quipo which we’ve used as intriguing decorations over the years were strung into giant lei for the Awakening art show.

Cup and saucer plant on copper wire for exciting art show Awakening

We were given various dried flowers to work with:

Phalaenopsis orchids

RAINBOW SHOWER flowers

Cup and saucer

Cook pine needles

Sandpaper vine 

Strands of super fine copper wire is used for stringing. We would carefully poke through the flower, like using a lei needle, or wrap the plant material with the fine wire. We spaced out the flowers by making an artful twist in the wire.

Sandpaper Vine

It sounds tedious but the time passed quickly, it was fun to learn a new style, which I likened to Lei making. Andy Law (husband of the artist) came bouncing into the room, and talked to us about the process, Life and gardens in England, Wales, and Scotland. 

Three hours sounded like a long time to volunteer but Andy kept us entertained and the process was fascinating. I was so busy crafting and learning, visiting with the other volunteers and seeing their workmanship, that time flew by.

I congratulate the Honolulu Museum of Art staff for nurturing us volunteers; from free parking, snacks, and working together on such an engaging Floral Art project. There were several staffers to greet and orient us volunteers and Volunteer coordinator Kaylee Clark stayed with us in our lei making session, encouraging us, and sharing about art exhibits and other events at the Museum.

Clark stayed with us in our lei making session, encouraging us, and sharing about art exhibits and other events at the Museum.

Awakening is a year long exhibit in the upstairs L-wing. The Laws have produced these kinds of floral exhibits and art work previously but this is the first time in Hawaii. They brought dried materials and continued the process of gathering and drying flowers from Hawaii.

The main volunteer tasks for this project were cutting and bending of wire along with stinging of flowers. Flower donations came from volunteers. Flowers used each day varied on availability. The process was collecting, drying, and then a 3-day freeze. HoMA tried to keep each day different, as there were a lot of repeat volunteers and they wanted to keep the experience new and interesting. Approximately 250 Volunteers helped from August 16- September 16, 2022.

Andy and Rebecca arrived in Hawaii in early August 2022 and will stay and coordinate the assembly and opening of the art exhibit, which will be up for a year to enjoy.

They have had similar floral exhibits all over the world, including England.

​Artful friends Marin Philipson, Debbie Choo, and Patty Mowat joined Lexi and me.

Amazing long time and Awesome lei makers Joyce Spoehr a HBG Retiree and active volunteer, Iris Fukunaga who still works at HBG (Honolulu Botanic gardens) and Dyanne Taylor a Master lei maker, famous for her tiare bud lei, is another City Parks and Recreation retiree(and fellow surfer) who Volunteers at all the fun plant and lei events. My Friend and great gardener Rosemary was there too. It was so fun to have the master craftswomen there, as we all learned this new technique.

I had so much fun making my lei, first with Phaleonopsis or Butterfly Orchids, then one with red cup and saucer and then with the Lavender cup and saucer. I had never noticed before, working with this as a fresh floral, the different shapes of the dried petals.

Loved the garlic vine flowers for a strand too. This is an old fashioned kama`aina plant that we do not see too often these days. I love the striking lavender color when it is fresh, and it dries very nicely. Seems like the petals are tough enough to hold up

As we completed each long strand (sixty inches measured by the length of our worktables), the lei strands were gently laid into big, long floral boxes, with the layers separated by tissue paper.

The process, of drying the flowers first was something like how botanists and taxonomists, like at the Bishop Museum or National Tropical Botanical Gardens, or even Kew Gardens in the U.K. make dried Herbarium specimens of plants to document and study.

Such a process and so many Na lima Kokua (helping hands) putting the art exhibit together.

As we were wrapping up, the artist herself joined us and we bedecked her with lei and floral gifts. Slender and dressed in black, Rebecca Louise Law looked amazing and happy with our floral adornments. She spoke a few quiet words thanking us.

Rebecca Louise and Andy Law

I thought about what a wonderful team she and her husband Andy make, him warm and bouncy and super enthusiastic, and she reserved and artistic.

Another amazing thing that happened was that the Director of the museum, Halona Norton-Westbrook, joined us to say mahalo, and spoke briefly with us volunteers.

I was talking with my neighbors on their sunset stroll and found that Julia Weiting was also volunteering. Every time she went, they gave her different florals to work with.

I was so inspired after about what I could make next! I also thought a lot about the process and which other flowers or foliage we might incorporate. A fresh style of lei making! A quick and fun one to teach keiki, a way to decorate homes or papale!

I am so excited to see the completed exhibit, called “Awakening.” Its opens to the public on Saturday September 17, 2022, and continues to be on display until September 2023.

Rebecca Louise Law: Awakening

​

Tuberoses for our friendship garden

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By Heidi Bornhorst

The fragrance of tuberose! One of my Mother’s favorites, as a lei of tuberose and yellow roses are what my dad got her for their simple wedding ceremony. She also loved the smell of pineapple, because my dad gifted her with those too!

I like them in a lei, combined with other flowers like roses, carnations or orchids.

Florists carry this fragrant lei and if you grow your own, imagine what flowers from your garden you can combine with tuberose?

It’s an old-fashioned flower.

We used to grow a lot of them here in Hawaii. When I worked at Evergreen nurseries in Waimanalo, in 1978, one of my friends there, was working a second job, harvesting tuberose.

Her name was Estralita, and she was from the PI and recently married.  I think her new family really made her work hard!  At two jobs and at home.  She said they harvested in the dark using headlamps.

She told me that her named meant “star” and how appropriate that she worked at night when the stars came out!

She taught me the saying ‘Mabuhay las Philippinas !!’  Long life to Filipino women!

I wonder what happened to her, as she was kind, nice FUN and hardworking.

Tuberoses remind me of her, and I say a special prayer for her happiness. 

I got some from Estralita back then and grew it in our family garden in Makiki.  It did well for a while and even sent up a flower spike.  But then it got a very bad infestation of mealy bugs.  I treated it but they were too severe, and the plant died. I was sad.

Maybe tuberose does not like Makiki black sand as a potting media? Or it needs cooler conditions. Time to do some research and find out!

​The other day I got an email from my friend Ruth Fujita, another great gardener.

She was offering us, her Budleys, tuberose bulbs. She had a big plant and dug it up, dried out the bulbs a bit and had some to share with da girls.

So, Rachel Morton and I went up there, after a visit to Foster garden to see the Triennial art exhibit.

Ruth shared how she got the tuberose bulbs:

Our niece Tia C. had gone traveling.  She needed omiyage for her epic Aunt Ruth and so in the airport she bought a bulb in a package.

Ruth grew them and was now sharing them with Lynne, Cheryl, Doris Susan Young, Annie, and me and Rachel.

Such an epitome of the Friendship Garden: Grow something with love (and good horticulture!) and then share it with your friends.

With rare plants, this is a Botanic Gardenconcept: Share it and keep good records. If yours dies, you know right where you can get a replacement.

With plants of sentiment like this tuberose, its mainly sharing the wealth and the stories.  But it will be epic for us all to see them grow and Bloom!

People call it a bulb but the roots are actually a rhizome (just like our fragrant gingers)

Fragrant, showy flowers in the late, HOT summertime lead many to plant tuberose bulbs. The scientific name is Polianthes tuberosa, and it also called the Polyanthus lily. It is in the Lily family, LILIACEAE.

Florists and nurseries sometimes “force” tuberose to bloom year round with artificial lighting.  

Tuberose has a strong and enticing fragrance makes it a popular plant in our Hawaii gardens. Clusters of large white blooms form on stalks that can reach 4 feet (1 m.) in height and rise from grass-like clumps.

Tuberose was discovered by explorers in Mexico as early as the 1500’s.  It was one of the first flowers to be imported to Europe, where it was very popular in Spain. 

It likes well drained, compost enriched soil.  It likes FULL SUN especially hot afternoon sun (which not all plants do) 

Plant them 2-3” deep.

In cold regions they dig out the roots in winter.  In Hawaii we can dig them out hand let them rest but not for too long or they will dry out.

There are single and double flowered varieties and now we are seeing them in different colors like yellow and pale pink.