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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Friday, January 28, 2005

HAWAI'I'S GARDENS
Prepare gardens now for May Day flowers, ferns

By Heidi Bornhorst

Now is the time to start growing lots of flowers and ferns for May Day. Here are gardeners' tips regarding some of our favorite Hawai'i garden flowers and ferns:

Gardenias

Gardenias respond to foliar (leaf-applied, liquid) fertilizers, such as Miracle-Gro.

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1. Start fertilizing now with Miracle-Gro or other foliar fertilizers. Use half strength Miracle-Gro every time you water or as often as you have time for. Gardenias respond to foliar (leaf-applied, liquid) fertilizers.

2. Look for sucking pests such as aphids and scales, or the black sooty mold that accompanies their feeding. If you see these, squirt on liquid soap (Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap is my favorite) to smother the pesky insects; the soap will not poison you, your family, pets or neighbors.

Let the soap dry on the pests for about an hour before wiping off with a soft cloth.

3. Top-dress the soil around your gardenia with cinder and compost. Monkeypod and lychee leaves make for great mulch.



Gingers

Gingers thrive with lots of fertilizers, rich compost, organic matter and daily watering.
1. Gingers and their relatives (bananas, heliconias, bird of paradise) are "heavy feeders." They thrive with lots of fertilizer, especially potassium. This is why bananas are so good for the heart — rich in potassium.

Choose fertilizers such as 10-20-20 or 10-30-20 for gingers.

2. Gingers also thrive with rich compost and lots of organic matter. Pile leaves around the ginger roots without them touching the stems.

3. You also can use good-quality made-in-Hawai'i compost such as Menehune Magic to top-dress your ginger patch.

4. Gingers like lots of water, so water daily if it doesn't rain.

5. Like most flowering plants, gingers respond to sun, so chop out weedy fiddlewood, Christmas berry and other pests. Toss the weeds on the compost pile for beneficial re-use in the garden.

Note: White and yellow fragrant gingers are natural summer bloomers, so shine a light on them at dusk to get them to bloom a little earlier.



'Ohi'a lehua

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Orchid enthusiasts may want to circle the dates of these upcoming shows:

Kunia Orchid Show
• 
March 18-20
• Del Monte Kunia Gym

Windward Orchid Society
• 
It's Raining Orchids
• March 25-27
• Samuel Wilder King Intermediate School Armory, Kane'ohe

1. 'Ohi'a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) needs watering daily in most conditions, especially in a pot.

2. Lightly top-dress with compost mixed with red or black cinder

3. Keep a light hand on the fertilizer with natives such as 'ohi'a lehua. Some of the best gardeners NEVER use any chemical fertilizer on prized natives such as 'ohi'a.



Palapalai

1. Water this fern daily. Plant them near the hose bib by the front door, so that you'll remember to water it on the way in and out of your home.

2. Lightly foliar-fertilize with fish emulsion or half strength of Miracle-Gro.

3. Watch for caterpillars and pick them off by hand.

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.