Growing ʻŌhiʻa Lehua in extratropical climates
ʻŌhiʻa lehua, the iconic endemic tree of Hawai’i, forms the heart of Hawaiian flora.
ʻŌhiʻa lehua thrive in tropical maritime climates and, although they are tough, are not adapted to survive winters in the UK. The only other ʻŌhiʻa lehua in the UK I’m aware of is resident in the Temperate House at Kew, which stays above 10 degrees Celsius.
This website documents my attempts to grow and propagate ʻŌhiʻa indoors and under glass. Two stock plants were grown from seed collected in 2006, well before the discovery of Rapid Ohia Death (ROD) in 2014, and are strong healthy and pampered. They struggled over many years in less than ideal conditions before being rescued with daily attention and new found knowledge, which might explain why, despite being over 15 years old, they haven’t yet flowered. In their new role as stock plants for cuttings it is unlikely they will be allowed to flower.
The goal is to get the clones, cuttings of the stock plants, to grow strong and produce flowers. When the first flower appears it will be a moment of joy, and the opportunity to collect seeds – small nuggets of genetically diverse potential ʻŌhiʻa.
Am I obsessed? Probably. But the challenges and difficulties drive me onwards. Growing a tropical Pacific plant/shrub/tree in the wrong part of the world is a nice problem to have, and has helped me learn more about plant physiology than I could ever have imagined!
Excitement mounts. The first experiment aims to follow the life of new cuttings and is open-ended … or until all plants expire. It is based upon haphazard knowledge and experience I’ve gained over the last few years. This experiment should act as a guide for the indoor propagation of Ohia using vegetative cuttings. Clicking here …
No idea what you’re doing here, but welcome to my website! It will probably take a while to change the stock food and drink photos into something more appealing, as I’m working out exactly how this website will evolve. The long term aim is to celebrate ʻŌhiʻa lehua and to share useful info on propagation, …
I will be attempting a number of experiments designed to inform readers about aspects of growing ʻŌhiʻa lehua. Some might fail, some might even succeed. Both outcomes are equally valid.
Experiment 1 : Propagation by cuttings. Follow the trials and tribulations of 24 cuttings throughout their formative days, months, and years.
Experiment 2 : How to make ʻŌhiʻa flower. No idea yet!
Who am I? What am I doing here? What is my mission, should I choose to accept it.