Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Like the title says, I'm curious about what kinds of plants--especially flowering, decorative plants--people grow in Spring in Hawaii. I know that the grand majority of the state doesn't have proper seasons like Spring and Autumn, but I'm still curious.
For the past several months, I have looked at literally thousands of photos of the islands. In none of them do I see the "usual suspects" that cheer up our Spring days: Bulb plants (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, lilies of the valley, snowdrops, etc.); Quince; Flowering Crabapples, Plums, Cherries, etc. No Hydrangeas, no Lilacs, no Skunk Cabbage (ubiquitous here on the coast, with its many swampy freshwater areas), no Rhododendrons or Azaleas; not a single Fuchsia to be seen....
I can only assume one of two things. That either 1), these and similar Spring-flowering plants and bulbs aren't allowed into the state, or 2), they simply don't grow well in your climate.
So, since I have seen no photos anywhere of those kinds of flowers, flowering shrubs, and flowering trees, what DO you guys grow there, if and when anything even vaguely resembling Spring comes along?
I see a ton of photos of things like Ohia when it's in bloom, Hibiscus, Anthrium, Bird of Paradise, Plumeria, Orchids, Protea, and even Bougainvillea and Passion Flower vines. But do you have the kinds of plants, trees, shrubs, and flowers that, here on the mainland, would be considered Spring flowering plants?
No, there is no "Spring" in the sense that you are used to. The difference between winter and summer here is that summer is 10 degrees warmer than winter and usually a bit drier. The days are a little longer in summer, but even in summer the daylight lasts 13 hours so we don't get those l-o-n-g days like on the mainland. So there are some produce plants that are considered winter plants because the days are a bit shorter and the nights are a bit cooler, but we harvest beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, kale, eggplant, radishes, taro, ginger, cabbage, bok choy and carrots (and I'm sure others I've forgotten) year-round.
The plants that you mentioned seeing photos of bloom year-round. I think the passion flower (called lilikoi here) is one of the prettiest. We have all that you mentioned in our yard (except 'ohi'a) plus geranium, ginger, gardenia, jade, poincianna, and poinsettia. They all bloom all year long. One tree that is flowering right now is jacaranda. Beautiful purple flowers!
I have seen hydrangeas and star lilies growing here.
A lot of the plants you mentioned require a winter chill in order to produce flowers and fruit. There are some "low chill" lilacs, but even those don't really produce many flowers. If you want tulips, you have to dig the bulbs and put them in your freezer for a few weeks then replant. I mail order fruit trees from Bay Laurel nursery in California. Partly because they list how many chill hours each variety requires in order to set fruit. Usually I try for 200 chill hours or less and I don't expect a full fruit set. Here's their description of chill hours: What are Chill Hours? - Fruit Trees Online from Bay Laurel Nursery
Our "spring" would probably be February or March, it's kinda late in the season for the early season flowers. We'd probably be in what would be equivalent to an early summer mode here at the moment.
Currently what's going on in my yard are flowering jasmine - very fragrant, ripe peaches (some sort of mountain peach, not sure of the variety. Very aromatic and very tart but makes a great jam), flowering azaleas, ripe strawberries, ripe and flowering tangerines (that tree just never seems to quit), ripe grapefruit, the avocado (Lehua variety) has just finished flowering and has set a huge amount, it should be a bumper crop this year, one banana flowering, one half ripe, pineapples starting to make pineapples, Sea Island white cotton just finished flowering, ready to harvest lettuce, small grape fruits set on the vine but still very tiny, some sort of pink creeper vine in flower but that never really seems to stop, orange tree air layer in flower (it's been taken off the parent tree and set into a large pot to harden it up to get ready to be planted in the yard at the new house), nasturtiums and bougainvillea in flower, beans flowering.
A lot of stuff isn't really seasonal but has more to do with when it was planted, such as lettuce and beans. Orange, grapefruit trees and pineapples seem to run in seasons, although the tangerine and papaya just seem to continuously set flowers and have fruit at the same time. Pineapple season is summer time, oranges seem to be fall/winter. Although a lot of that has to do with the variety as well. You can have avocadoes for most of the year, but you'll need about three different varieties of avocado to do it. Right now the big strawberries are giving fruit, the itty bitty ones pretty much go all year.
We have about three planting seasons during the year. After the winter solstice is a good time to plant crops that like cooler weather. I usually plant Manoa lettuce, green leaf lettuces, peas, cole crops and such around then. (Most of my planting is for food as opposed to flowers but there are some flowers.) Early summer can have the plants that like heat planted, although usually they will need a bit of irrigation in late July and August. I'll plant watermelons, pumpkins, sunflowers, corn and such like. In the fall, we have another sort of semi-cool season to plant. As the day light lessens, the plant growth will slow down, so for things like leafy greens, I'll plant more than usual to make up for the slow growth.
A lot of the gardening is semi-permanent plantings. Papaya are good for about three to four years before they die off. Bananas take over a year to produce, but once they start, they pretty much keep going. Indeterminate tomatoes will last for years while their determinate cousins will die off within a year. Green beans produce and die within a year, lima beans just keep going.
oh, yeah, I forgot the "Kona snow", which is the lovely white flowers that bloom on the tops of the branches of the coffee plants.
And LOVE the fragrance of the night blooming jasmine.
Yes, and did you know that night blooming jasmine is very poisonous! For my money white ginger is the most seductive fragrance. I know it's an indigenous plant, as opposed to endemic, and considered a weed. The Jacaranda are beautiful if not a bit messy - in a Perfect World. The white flies are the bane of many vegetable garden plants and stateside spring flowers.
I always remember returning to Pearl Harbor in the Navy, on board the ship. Usually it happened if we were gone for a while.
You can smell the fragrance of all the flowers. While coming into pearl Harbor out at sea. You knew you were home when you smelled the Fragrances!.
Yes, and did you know that night blooming jasmine is very poisonous! For my money white ginger is the most seductive fragrance. I know it's an indigenous plant, as opposed to endemic, and considered a weed. The Jacaranda are beautiful if not a bit messy - in a Perfect World. The white flies are the bane of many vegetable garden plants and stateside spring flowers.
Like the title says, I'm curious about what kinds of plants--especially flowering, decorative plants--people grow in Spring in Hawaii. I know that the grand majority of the state doesn't have proper seasons like Spring and Autumn, but I'm still curious.
For the past several months, I have looked at literally thousands of photos of the islands. In none of them do I see the "usual suspects" that cheer up our Spring days: Bulb plants (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, lilies of the valley, snowdrops, etc.); Quince; Flowering Crabapples, Plums, Cherries, etc. No Hydrangeas, no Lilacs, no Skunk Cabbage (ubiquitous here on the coast, with its many swampy freshwater areas), no Rhododendrons or Azaleas; not a single Fuchsia to be seen....
I can only assume one of two things. That either 1), these and similar Spring-flowering plants and bulbs aren't allowed into the state, or 2), they simply don't grow well in your climate.
So, since I have seen no photos anywhere of those kinds of flowers, flowering shrubs, and flowering trees, what DO you guys grow there, if and when anything even vaguely resembling Spring comes along?
I see a ton of photos of things like Ohia when it's in bloom, Hibiscus, Anthrium, Bird of Paradise, Plumeria, Orchids, Protea, and even Bougainvillea and Passion Flower vines. But do you have the kinds of plants, trees, shrubs, and flowers that, here on the mainland, would be considered Spring flowering plants?
Just curious, 'cause I'm nosy like that :-).
It's pretty much "spring" all year round here. In fact, I've often remarked that our climate in Kona is much like May in Missouri which I about the only month that I ever enjoyed in the 30 some years I lived in that state.
Nothing that requires true winter will grow here although some variations will grow in elevations where it is cooler. But no luck with things like tulips and daffodils. I've seen some azaleas. Fuscia should grow fine here, it's a tropical plant. Hydrangeas grow in abundance at higher cooler elevations ("up Kaloko" here in Kona),
Thank you for all of the wonderful responses! The more I hear about what one can grow, there, the more I like it!
KonaKat--have you ever tried chilling your bulbs in the fridge for a period of time, and then trying to grow tulips and daffodils? That's what a lot of us do when necessary in climates where it doesn't get cool enough for long enough outdoors. Of course, that requires digging up your bulbs every year and chilling them for awhile, but I, for one, don't mind doing things like that. I LOVE growing things, especially flowers. My little 5,000 sq. foot yard here on the coast is filled to the rim with plants. I even have some ginger from Hawaii that is growing up against a retaining wall where it's protected from the fierce, cold winter winds. It does fantastic, but, OH, how I'd love to garden in a place like Hawaii! One of many reasons I think we'd love it there, and if I'm right, I hope we can purchase a home on the Big Island, someday....
Hotzcatz, thank you for all the detailed descriptions of what you can grow, and when, over there. I enjoyed reading your post immensely! I suppose for people who like "low maintenance" yards, a tropical setting would be a nightmare, but I'd love having the ability to grow so many food and flowering plants! I grow as many as will stand up to our windy, salty air and sandy soil, but I know I could really increase the number and kinds of plants I could grow, exponentially, if we lived in Hawaii :-).
Yes you can chill them. I gave a friend a hyacinth last year for Persian New Year and she kept it, planted it this year and it did grow and bloom. I enjoy all the possibilities here and even more, the dozens of plants that literally grow wild that we might have it a pot in our living room on the mainland, like orchids, philodendrons, ferns etc. Hope you can have your home here
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
