HAWAI'I GARDENS
Remove fig vines from trees; let them flourish along walls
By Heidi Bornhorst
Q. I have a fig vine on my prized big, old plumeria tree. I like the fig vine on my wall for privacy and noise and ugly-view blocking/minimizing, but is it OK to let the fig vine grow there?
A. Take it off the tree. The fig vine or creeping fig is good for the purposes you describe but it's not good for the plumeria tree. Gently cut the vine and pull it off in sections.
Tropical vines like this start out small and demure and dainty. You have to nurture them by giving lots of water and TLC at first. Then ... stand back and watch 'em take off. As these liana (woody tropical vines) mature, they get bigger, bolder and stronger. They almost look like a different plant altogether.
Pothos is another example of a liana with changeable leaves at maturity (or as they grow up a tree or wall and get more sunlight). The vines are sweet and heart-shaped as they crawl along as a shade-loving ground cover, and then they turn into huge-leaved, thick-stemmed hefty tropical vines with big oval leaves.
In bloom
Jacaranda trees are blooming gorgeously at higher places in the Islands. Schofield Barracks has lovely groves and single trees in open spaces. I saw one that was really profuse as we drove past. I noticed that it was near a home and play equipment and had noticeably greener grass underneath. Maybe more water, especially in dry times, enhances blooming for jacarandas, which came to us from Brazil.
The true kamani trees (Calophyllum inophyllum) along Kailua Road are in full and lush bloom. Note the clusters of white fragrant blossoms as you pass that way, and check out the other kamani trees around town for flowers. This plant, brought by early Polynesian arrivals, is a great shade tree. You don't see it planted that often, and this is too bad. It is salt- and wind-tolerant and has lovely paddle-shaped leaves that are thick and glossy with intricate parallel veins. After the flowers come kamani nuts, prized by crafters, lei and angel-head makers. The tree's attractive wood is is prized by woodworkers.
Dillingham Boulevard also is graced by true kamani trees; these exceptional specimens are recognized and protected by city ordinance. They grow in harsh, rugged conditions (for example, next to traffic or in corally soil in dry areas) and handle it well.
Keiki cards
Check out the Mission Houses Museum Craft Fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday, and you can pick up some new note cards featuring native Hawaiian plant photos, accompanied by interpretive drawings from a young artist in bloom, Kara Machida. "Kara-catures" began simply enough, as a gift from 5-year-old Kara to her teachers, with an idea from Mom and help from a family friend, Greg Koob, who just happens to be a horticulturist and an expert on native Hawaiian plants. Together they created a set of note cards that combine native Hawaiian plant photos and a child's rendering of each plant.
Each of the cards in the Individual Species set has a photo of a plant on the front and a Kara-cature on the back, accompanied by a short write-up about the plant. The common and Hawaiian name for each plant are on the back. These are yet another way to celebrate Hawaiian plants and the Year of the Rain Forest.
For now, the cards are only available at the Lyon Arboretum Book and Gift Shop, Foster Garden Gift Shop and at Pat's Island Delights in Pearl City and Kaimuki. The cards will sell for $5 a set at the fair, but have a suggested retail price of $7 to $8 at stores.
