By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

Robert Aoki's everyday life revolves around the patio of his two-story 'Aiea Heights home on Kihewa Place. It serves as his workplace, living room and classroom.

From a wooden picnic table in his patio, Aoki has a view of Pearl Harbor and is within a few steps of the greenhouse where he keeps about 15,000 orchid plants. "They're like friends to me," he said. "When I'm with them, I forget all my troubles."

Aoki, 84, has been raising orchids since the 1950s. He used to sell them to augment his income as a grounds maintenance worker at Fort Shafter but now raises them for enjoyment.

For more than 30 years, he's also been sharing his knowledge of orchids as an instructor at Moanalua/'Aiea Community School for Adults. His spring, summer and fall semester sessions usually attract 10 to 25 students, who meet once a week for two hours at his home.

"Orchids look like fragile things but they can last for years and years if you know how to care for them," Aoki said. "There's no secrets in caring for them."

His basic advice is, "If you love the plant, it's not going to die on you. But don't overcare for it, let nature do its job. People kill more plants by over-care than under-care. The more generous you are, with things like fertilizer, the more they respond."

Aoki not only spends time in the greenhouse tending to his plants but also relaxes with them.

Robert Aoki of 'Aiea has about 15,000 orchid plants in his backyard greenhouse. Aoki, 84, who has been raising orchids for most of his life, says he spends three to four hours a day tending to his plants. He also relaxes with them. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

"For me, it's not five days a week, eight hours a day anymore," Aoki said. "I usually spend three to four hours a day on maintenance (in the greenhouse). But I'm there (on the patio) with them until I go to sleep at midnight."

Turning toward his greenhouse, he observed, "Maybe the weeds like music better than orchids."

The lifespan of orchid plants is intriguing, Aoki said.

Cradling a flower in his hands, he pointed out that this particular cattleya esbetts variety called merle is the product of a plant that's more than 43 years old.

"The flower dies but the plant keeps on growing," Aoki said. "Masato Yamada of Waimanalo gave me this plant in 1959. Depending on the type of orchid, it takes about three to five years for it to grow from seed to full bloom."

There are orchid plants older than he is, Aoki noted. "Some are 100 to 150 years old," he said. "The plants can grow over 6 feet tall."

He is paid $2 per hour by each student in his adult education class, which meets 10 times per semester. The present session includes classes on cattleya culture, oncidium culture, vanda culture, corsage-making, seedlings, haku lei-making and ti leaf lei-making.

"Part of the specialness of his class is that it's not held at school," said Elsie Tanaka, vice principal of Moanalua/'Aiea Community School for Adults. "It's real life, not a book thing.

"He has created a network that includes former students sharing information," she said.

An 'Aiea native, Aoki graduated from McKinley High School in 1936. He went to California and worked on flower farms in the San Fernando Valley and Manhattan Beach until he was drafted into the Army in 1940.

"I'd never go through that again," Aoki said of his farming experience. "It was rough and I was homesick every day. What I didn't like was the dog-eat-dog attitude of the farmers. Nobody helped each other. If your crop failed, it meant a better price for the next guy."

Aoki returned to Hawai'i and did his basic training at Schofield. He served with the 100th Infantry

Battalion in Italy. Aoki suffered spinal injuries when he fell 25 to 30 feet from a mountain and was assigned to Fort Ruger for the rest of World War II.

After the war, he was hired by the Army as a civilian field maintenance worker at Fort Shafter. He spent 34 years there and with five years credit for military service, Aoki retired at age 60.

While at Fort Shafter, he learned about orchids from his supervisor, Hung Ung Young. "Over the years, he gave me 4,000 to 5,000 seedlings," Aoki said. "I started a backyard business.

"I learned a lot about plants, chemicals, insecticides and fertilizers at Fort Shafter," he added.

"The business made a few dollars but didn't make me rich. But I enjoyed it."

Aoki moved to his present residence in 1967. He is looking for someone to take over the greenhouse so he can devote more time to his latest passion — cooking.

Aoki is not into hybrid orchids. "My philosophy is the same as Oscar Kirsch (a former orchid farmer in Manoa), who believed every flower is beautiful," he said. "It makes me happy if I can help people feel that way, too."

Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.