Kiyabu to share secrets of growing ohia from cuttings

On Saturday, July 21, horticulturist Brian Kiyabu will share his secrets of growing ohia from cuttings at the new Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden visitor center in Captain Cook.

The ohia-lehua tree comes in a wide variety of flower colors and leaf forms and, while they make up the majority of trees in Hawaii’s forests, they could also be a much more significant part of home and public landscaping, said Kiyabu.

Cuttings are an important way to propagate ohia, because seedlings are very slow to grow and often do not flower true. The mini-workshop will start at noon and last about half an hour. Gardeners are invited to bring a small branch from an ohia they would like to propagate, and under Kiyabu’s direction, they can make and pot-up cuttings to take home with them.

No pre-registration is required and there is no charge to attend, but a small materials fee will be collected from those who take home potted cuttings. Ohia will be for sale in the garden’s Native Hawaiian plant nursery. At 1 p.m., visitors who pay the modest admission fee can also join a guided native plant walk through Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden.

An award from the county Department of Research and Development and the Hawaii Tourism Authority funds the guided daily walks. The garden is at 81-6160 Mamalahoa Hwy. The garden is open for self-guided visitors Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed Mondays and holidays. There is a $7 admission fee for adults and reduced fees for seniors, kamaaina, military and children. For more information, call 323-3318 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org/greenwell.

Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication or a modification of policies and procedures to participate in the Hawaiian plant walks should contact Peter Van Dyke at 323-3318 at least two weeks before the planned visit.

Amy B.H. Greenwell Garden is part of the renowned Bishop Museum in Honolulu and is named for a Kona resident who did extensive research and writing about Hawaiian botany and ethnobotany as well as important fieldwork. She left the garden site to Bishop Museum in 1974.