HAWAI'I GARDENS
Older maile seeds can thrive after rehydration
By Heidi Bornhorst
Q.How do I grow maile from seeds? I know I should plant them fresh, but these are about six months old. They were nice and black, shiny and ripe when we picked them.
— Kathy Valier, Kaua'i
A. Clean the fruit pulp off the seeds. Soak them in warm water, and the pulp should come off easily. You can soak them for about 24 hours to rehydrate them.
Plant them in a clean six-inch pot with sterile potting mix. You can plant six to eight maile seeds per pot. Cover them with potting soil and water gently, firming the potting mix around the seeds. The medium and seeds should be in intimate contact so the seeds can take up water, activate the growth enzymes and get growing. Water daily, or twice daily if you have time. Think about where maile comes from and try to give it that kind of habitat.
Fresh maile seeds germinate in a month or two. These old ones may take a little longer, or they may pop right up. Keep records, as this all adds to the body of knowledge about growing native Hawaiian plants.
After they have two sets of leaves, you can transplant the seedlings to their own pot. Maile needs moist, rich, fertile forest-like soil to grow well. This Hawaiian forest plant does not like beach sand or lowland conditions.
When it has about four sets of leaves, or it seems strong enough, plant the young maile out in your garden in a half sunny, half shady spot. Give it something to climb up, such as a trellis or a lychee tree.
Rich in color
We saw a nice juxtaposition of an old-fashioned flowering tree, the yellow poinciana, Peltophorum pterocarpum, with golden shower trees, kolomona and ma'o. All these different golden colors and sizes and shapes of plants made for an interesting and colorful landscape.
Most of these trees and plants are fairly common in landscapes today. But few seem to be planting the big yellow poinciana much these days.
There is a nice stand of them on O'ahu Avenue by the University of Hawai'i president's house. There is a nice stand at the Hale Koa hotel. There is a big one you can see from the freeway out by Fort Shafter. Look for the tall, golden-headed tree on the mauka slope approaching the front gate.
Mangoes galore
Another tree we should plant more of is mango. We (especially your garden columnist!) need the fruit. Mango also is a great shade tree that takes dry, windy, tough conditions.
I love the look and fragrance of mangoes. They are very decorative in the kitchen before you eat them, and the perfume of mango — I wish they would distill it; I'd give up my Opium.
We were given two precious Mapulehu mangoes by generous Lorraine Aki of Moloka'i. They are a hybrid with the Pirie variety, and the fragrance is just heavenly. I almost hated to peel and eat them, the perfume was so nice. These are big, lush, apricot colored mangoes with green shoulders. Ah, the tastes of summer in Hawai'i.
Heidi Bornhorst is a sustainable landscape consultant.
