HAWAI'I GARDENS
Rainbow shower trees buds beginning
By Heidi Bornhorst
Q. When do rainbow shower trees bloom? We love seeing them on our rewarding trips to your fair islands, especially Honolulu with all the streets full of multihued rainbow shower trees.
— M.M. Landry Louisiana, but Hawaiian at heart
A. Yes, rainbow shower, our street tree of Honolulu, is starting to bloom. If you look closely, you will see small bud clusters here and there. It's still a little early. Generally, their season of blooming is around May through November.
The trees across the street from the zoo are in bloom, on the makai end of Kapahulu Boulevard. This is a sign of summer to come.
What's in bloom: gardenias
Gardenias are groovy. What a fragrance, and there are so many kinds. The most 'ono onaona fragrance is from the double-petaled Chinese gardenias. These grow best in rich organic acid soil, like in our mauka gardens.
I had my first one of the season, and what a perfume! It is a perfect blossom we can grow well in our Hawai'i gardens.
May is usually the peak for blooming gardenias in Hawai'i, just in time for Lei Day.
Tiare or Tahitian gardenia grows great at the beach and likes a sandy soil and hot conditions.
Our native Hawaiian gardenia na'u or nanu, Gardenia brighamii, has adapted to many garden conditions. It is found in dryland forests, although its native range was once much greater.
Many gardens and nurseries cultivate this choice plant, and horticulture has helped to save it from extinction in the wild.
We also have other gardenia species and varieties. There are about 200 species in the world, and many of them can cross with each other.
Growers and hybridizers are coming up with new and wonderful varieties for all kinds of Hawai'i microclimates.
Plumerias perfect for lei
Plumerias are changing their appearance at this time of year. They are going from the dead- or naked-antler look to the antlers with flowers and buds look. Next summer, they will have full heads of leaves with flowers among them.
Plumerias are another plant with great fragrance. Three original species were brought to Hawai'i from Mexico.
Many hybrids were created here. Each has its own unique flower color, keeping quality and individual perfume and fragrance.
Plumeria blossoms are strung into one of the best kinds of lei, fragrant and light to wear. Give a plumeria lei one day soon!
Heidi Bornhorst is a sustainable-landscape consultant. Submit questions to islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com or Island Life, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Letters may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms.
