Arboretum plant sale's emerald aisles beckon

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer

•	Lyon Arboretum Summer Plant Sale 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall Free 988-0464, 591-2211 Also: Chef Kusuma Cooray will be on hand to sign copies of her recently released book "Burst of Flavor: The Fine Art of Cooking With Spices."

"People come an hour early — some even before that — and wait in line," says sale co-chair Liz Huppman.

The draw? Try thousands of plants from more than 40 local nurseries covering the entire floor of the hall. The sale includes native Hawaiian plants, bonsai, fruit trees, water plants, ferns, orchids, landscaping plants, palms and bromeliads, to name just a few. Thirty percent of all sale proceeds goes to the arboretum.

"Having all these diverse nurseries in one place and at one time is convenient," says Huppman, also a research associate at the arboretum. "It would take you days, otherwise, to go to each nursery. And the nursery owners will all be there by their plants to answer questions."

The arboretum also brings in horticulturalists, landscaping advisers and pest-control specialists from the University of Hawai'i-Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service to answer whatever plant questions you might have.

Though the five-hour sales regularly attract between 3,500 and 4,000 green-thumbed devotees each March and July (most of whom come early and line up), Huppman says there'll still be a lot of good stuff for folks who want to get some breakfast before heading to the Blaisdell.

"We're pretty steady all day, but the peak of the sale is definitely those first two hours," Huppman says. "But there's a lot to buy even after the peak. If you don't like lines, or aren't interested in the new items, you should come later in the morning or afternoon. It's much more relaxing."

The early risers, says Huppman, are often after the spotlight arboretum-raised plants that get a lot of pre-show publicity. This weekend's showstoppers are the Griffinia rochae, a lavender and white lily from Brazil, and the pilea "Moon Valley," a colorful Costa Rican plant from the Urticaceae family with green flowers on female plants and smallish pale pink ones on the males.

"The griffinia is a good potted plant, a cute little novelty plant," says Huppman. "The pilea is a nice accent plant for a shady garden."

The Lyon Arboretum also will play host to its own nursery section featuring plants, homemade jams and jellies, haku lei making, arts and crafts, and plant books from the Manoa Valley arboretum's gift shop. There'll even be a keiki corner featuring activities with a gardening theme.

That's all well and good. But since we've unexpectedly found ourselves in the company of an attentive plant expert: Any general plant survival advice for a hot O'ahu summer?

"The main thing is to watch your watering," Huppman says. "Plants will dry out a lot faster in this kind of weather, but you still have to make sure you check the soil before you water. You might think you can go three days without watering, but you'll come back and find your plant drooping."