HAWAI'I GARDENS
Use hau for lei, and grow

By Heidi Bornhorst

Q. Will you please let your readers and friends who are lei-makers know about the merits of hau? The fiber from the hau is better than raffia. Once you use hau, you won't want to use raffia for lei-making again. Also, hau can be a pest in wet areas, so using it is good for our Hawai'i environment.

A. I'm happy to let people know about this. Here is a summary of Pomroy's advice on using hau:

"Cut, strip and soak the inner bark for about two weeks, changing the water daily. You can pour it on your plants — it's rich in nutrients. Separate out the layers. Work with a 'bird beak' grafting knife and water to strip off the 'junk' from the long silken fiber part. Bark from a big branch (3 to 7 inches in diameter) will strip off into about seven good, strong usable layers of hau."

Pomroy also notes that a wili (wound) lei using raffia will dry stiff and be bulky and not as pliable or lightweight as hau fiber. Raffia has a tendency to break along the lei. This is a concern especially when lei are worn by the pa'u riders and cowboys in parades, during which the horses are frisky and their movements can stress the lei and cause it to fall apart.

Q. Is there some kind of old hibiscus that changes color from white to pink? My Auntie Ku'ulei was telling me about this, but I have to find out for sure from you, "the plant lady."

A. There is a classic, old-fashioned hibiscus relative that fits your auntie's description. It is a very nice plant that we should try to grow more of in our Hawai'i gardens. It is called the changeable rose mallow. Its flowers are white in the morning and slowly turn pink or red toward the end of the day. The scientific name is Hibiscus mutabilis; aloalo waikahuli is one of its Hawaiian names.

In Japan, the plant is called fuyo and is likened to an interesting and charming yet fickle woman. Cotton rose, confederate rose, Dixie rose mallow and rose of Sharon are other common and regional names for it.

There are many wonderful and amazing plants in the hibiscus family. 'Ilima, hau, milo, ma'o and koki'o are all in this family, as are cotton, okra and hollyhocks.

Hau flowers open yellow in the morning and turn orange and finally red in the span of one day. Milo, that classic shade tree perfect for coastal gardens, does this, too. Starting yellow, the milo blossom fades to pink after a day.

The changeable mallow is native to China and is widely grown in sub-tropical climates. The late May Moir, my garden guide and mentor, had a kolohe (rascally) family story about this plant.

The family of May's husband, Goodale Moir, had a ranch on the Big Island where they had a big, old mallow. Every year, a bookkeeper would come to check the account books, but he was lazy and would kill time by picking a blossom in the morning and watching it turn colors in the course of a day.

Hard-working Mr. Moir was miffed by this and found a way to fool the guy. One year, he had the crew dig out the changeable rose mallow and transplant one that didn't change color.

They then watched the accountant sit there, check his watch, look at the flower and "get all nuts" as the new one failed to change colors. All the kids were rolling in the pasture with laughter at this. After that, they noticed that he concentrated on the account books.

H. mutabilis is easy to grow from cuttings. There are single and double forms of the flower. It sets seed if you don't pick off the old flowers. You also can grow plants this way, but cuttings are easier and faster. Look for them in old kama'aina gardens and landscape nurseries.

If a friend shares cuttings with you, you can stick fairly large and woody pieces (about six to 10 inches long) directly in the ground.

Water daily and the cuttings take root right where you want them to.

Heidi Bornhorst is a sustainable- landscape consultant. Send questions to: Island Life, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; or islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com. Letters may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms.