Spring fever brings about a frenzy among gardeners and nature lovers when it comes to looking for plant sales. This month, we have a bunch of sales and opportunities to learn something new when it comes to gardening.
The Big Island Association of Nurserymen (and women, too) is having a show and sale Friday and Saturday mornings, April 15-16 at the Edith Kanaka‘ole Multi-Purpose Stadium in Hilo. This is a great opportunity to meet representatives from scores of nurseries.
According to Peter Berg of Quindembo Bamboo Nursery, many new and rare plants of all sorts will be available. You might find unusual flowers, succulents and even carnivorous plants to give for upcoming holidays such Mother’s Day.
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The next event to catch is Sunday, April 17, when the Hawaii Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society invites all folks interested in learning how to grow tropical rhododendrons to its meeting at the Keeau Community Center. The meeting starts at noon with a potluck lunch.
To encourage interest in tropical vireya rhododendrons, there will be a raffle of rare plants to take home. It is guaranteed you will fall in love with this unusual group of plants if you haven’t already.
It is uncommon to find vireyas at our local nurseries, so by getting involved in the local chapter, you can obtain all kinds of new ones to enjoy.
Vireyas come from tropical Southeast Asia and are well-known for their beautiful flowers that vary in size from a half-inch to 5 inches across. Some are fragrant. Colors vary from white, yellow pink and red. Like hibiscus, each flower can be multicolored.
The plants vary from shrubs to small trees and grow in a variety of environments. Some species grow in well-drained soils and others will grow as epiphytes along with orchids. Some are lithophytes. That is, they grow on rocks with mosses and ferns. In Hawaii, they are well-suited for our porous rocky lava soils with high humidity and rainfall.
A good opportunity to see some major plantings is to visit the Panaewa zoo in Hilo. Society members planted a beautiful display garden there.
One of the main goals of the rhododendron society is to protect endangered species, since so many come from fast disappearing rain and cloud forests.
With climate change and pressures of human population, even the vast forests of New Guinea, Borneo, peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Himalayas, are being lost. By growing vireyas in our gardens, we are helping save them from extinction.
Another advantage is that they are very easy to grow as long as you give them good soil drainage. There are some tricks to help them do their best, but these are easily learned from other vireya lovers.
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The Hawaii Island Palm Society is sponsoring the second of two presentations by Jeff Marcus, owner of Floribunda Palms and Exotics. He has spent more than 30 years importing and growing hundreds of species of palms that might have otherwise been lost to deforestation and climate change.
According to society president Mary Lock, Jeff will share his experiences during a recent trip to eastern peninsular Malaysia and Borneo to chronicle some of the world’s rarest palms before they are lost. Many of these palms will be saved and grown in gardens of Hawaii thanks to Jeff and other members of the International Palm Society.
The presentation is slated for 7-9 p.m. Friday, May 29, at the University of Hawaii at Hilo campus in Room 100.
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Bill Miller with the Big Island Master Gardeners recently announced an upcoming plant sale scheduled at the Komohana Research and Extension Center, 875 Komohana St. in Hilo.
East Hawaii master gardeners have grown all kinds of native and exotic plants to sell. There will be information booths and demonstrations as well. It is a great opportunity to get involved with our island’s master gardening program.
For more information about the sale event, call Bill at 982-8290.
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In Hawaii, any time is a good time to plant but now is the best time for success for almost anything. Be sure to stop by our local garden shops and nurseries to see what they have in stock for you.
This information is supplied by the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. For further information about gardening and landscaping, contact one of our master gardeners at 322-4892 in Kona or 981-5199 in Hilo.
