Posted on: Friday, September 3, 2004
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HAWAI'I'S GARDENS
Vining ylang-ylang adds fragrance
| • | A chance to create some shade |
| • | Home & Garden Calendar |
By Heidi Bornhorst
Q. Is there a vine that is a fragrant ylang-ylang? We love fragrant plants, especially vines. Our garden needs shade. We are making and designing a series of shady arbors, trellises and pergolas to grow vines, get shade and have perfume. Have you heard of such a plant? We have pak lan, the other ylang-ylang, pakalana, pikake (both double- and single-blooming forms), all trained as vines.
— Mr. and Mrs. K.,
A. Yes, we have a fragrant vining ylang-ylang. It is native to southern India and Sri Lanka and has very pretty patterned leaves as well as fragrant flowers and interesting fruit.
Scientists call this one Artabotrys hexapetalus and place it in the Annonaceae (custard apple and soursop) family. It is a woody vine, or liana, so give it a stout and sturdy trellis, arbor or fence to grow up on. The fragrant flowers are tucked under and hidden amidst the foliage. Clusters of yellow fruit follow the flowers.
Give the vine a location that is a bit protected from harsh or salty winds and in full sun with fertile well-drained soil. You also can grow it on a slope and enjoy the flowers that way. Flowers of the vining ylang-ylang can be fashioned into a rare fragrant lei.
• • • Foster Botanical Gardens photos — John K. Rapoza,
A. Narra or rosewood, Pterocarpus indicus, is a great substitute for monkeypod. It is tough and durable like monkeypod and also is a less-thirsty tree. It has a nice vase-shaped canopy, whereas monkeypods have the classic large umbrella shape if given enough room to grow naturally.
You can see some very nice narra trees at the Honolulu Zoo, where they have grown happily with little fuss for many years. Nice specimens grow at the Valley of the Temples in windward O'ahu.
Koa would be nice, but it needs a lot more care than tough trees like monkeypods or narra. Hawaiian native koa, Acacia koa, grow best in rich, fertile forest soils at elevations above 2,000 feet. We can grow them in lowland urban Honolulu but need to really prepare and add lots of organic matter and cinder to the soil. They are never as happy in lowland gardens as they would be up in the forests. Many noxious insect pests, such as the coffee twig borer, attack koa in urban environments.
Correction: Koa grows best at elevations above 2,000 feet. The level reported in a previous version of this column was wrong. Heidi Bornhorst is a sustainable-landscape consultant. Send questions to: Island Life, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; or islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com. Letters may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms.
Kahala
Q. Is there another big shade tree that is giant and tough like monkeypod? We love them, but aren't there other trees we could have in our "urban forest"? We do need more shade, especially for those of us true environmentalists who try to walk, bike or bus around this hot, dry, concrete city. Would majestic koa be able to grow in our urban environment?
Rosewoods can be a hardy alternative to monkeypod trees. They have vase-shaped canopies, as opposed to the monkey-pods' umbrella shape, and require little special care.
Honolulu
