52 Growing Plants for Hawaiian Lei agapanthus OTHER COMMON NAMES: African lily, CURRENT STATUS IN THE WILD IN HAWAI‘I: blue lily, lily of the Nile introduced garden plant SCIENTIFIC NAME: Agapanthus afri- CULTIVARS: ‘Albus’, ‘Flore Pleno’ canus FAMILY: Liliaceae (lily family) NATURAL SETTING/LOCATION: native to South Africa Growing your own PREFERRED PRODUCTION CONDITIONS PROPAGATION GENERAL SOIL CHARACTER- FORM: division (easiest and fastest; ISTICS: well drained, use 6" clumps); seeds (seedlings moisture-retentive take longer to flower than plants SOIL PH: 5.0–6.5 from divisions) LIGHT: full sun to partial PREPLANTING TREATMENT: soak seeds in shade water for 24 hours WATER: moderate; PLANTING DEPTH: sow seeds ¼" deep in tolerates drought once medium; keep root crown just below established soil level for divisions TEMPERATURE: tolerates GERMINATION TIME: slow and erratic temperatures down to 25°F, but prefers tem- peratures above 50°F ELEVATION: 10–4500' SALT TOLERANCE: moderate WIND RESISTANCE: moderate MANAGEMENT FERTILIZER NEEDS: medium RECOMMENDED SPACING: 12–18" apart ADAPTATION TO GROWING IN CONTAINERS: yes, SPECIAL CULTURAL HINTS: divide every 5–6 12" pots or larger (prefers crowded years conditions) Growing Plants for Hawaiian Lei 53 agapanthus Plant characteristics HEIGHT: foliage 1½–2' tall; flower stalks 2–5' tall; dwarf cultivars are available SPREAD: 2' GROWTH RATE: moderate GROWTH HABIT: clumps of arching, ever- green leaves FLOWERS SIZE: 1½–3" COLOR: dark blue to pale blue to white SHAPE: tubular FRAGRANCE: none FLOWERS IN FIRST YEAR: yes, if propagated from large divisions FLOWERING PERIOD: summer Notes on lei making References and further Introduced Perennials TIME TO FLOWERING: 2–3 years from seed, reading BEST FOR WHICH TYPE OF LEI: less if from division neck, head, wrist, ankle Ide, Laurie S. 1998. Hawaiian Lei Making: INDUCING AND MAINTAINING FLOWERING: not Step-by-Step Guide. Honolulu: Mutual VASE LIFE: known to 7 days Publishing. CLEANING OF PLANT MATERIALS: place stems Joffe, Pitta. 1993. The Gardener’s Guide PESTS in water to South African Plants. Cape Town, South Africa: Tafelberg Publishers Ltd. STORING RAW LEI MATERIALS: COMMON DISEASES: none serious refrigerate at 40°F for up to 7 days Nowack, Joanna and Ryszard M. Rudnicki. OTHER PESTS: slugs, snails 1990. Postharvest Handling and Storage PREPARING FOR USE IN LEI: if sewing, cut of Cut Flowers, Florist Greens, and Potted flower with 1⁄8" of stem Plants. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. Harvesting STORING A COMPLETED LEI BEFORE WEARING: Still, Steven M. 1994. Manual of Herba- considerations mist lei, shake off excess water, ceous Ornamental Plants. Champaign, Illinois: Stipes Publishing Co. WHAT IS HARVESTED: flowers, buds with place in sealed plastic container and 1–2" stem refrigerate PRESERVING A LEI FOR LONG-TERM STORAGE OR HARVESTING TECHNIQUES: cut, don’t pull DISPLAY: cannot be preserved BEST TIME OF DAY TO HARVEST: early morning BEST WAY TO TRANSPORT FROM PICKING AREA: paper or cloth bag AVOID CONTACT WITH THESE PRODUCTS: smoke, car exhaust, ripening fruits, and wilting flowers 54 Growing Plants for Hawaiian Lei ‘akulikuli-lei — OTHER COMMON NAMES: ʻākulikuli, ice NATURAL SETTING/LOCATION: native to plant, noon flower coasts of South Africa along the SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lampranthus glom- Sahara eratus (magenta), Lampranthus sp. CURRENT STATUS IN THE WILD IN HAWAI‘I: FAMILY: Aizoaceae (fig-marigold not found family) Growing your own PROPAGATION FORM: cuttings from stems with spent flowers PREPLANTING TREATMENT: allow cut end to air-dry 1–2 days, treat with mild rooting hormone PLANTING DEPTH: insert base of cutting 1–1½" into medium CUTTING ROOTING TIME: 1 month PREFERRED PRODUCTION CONDITIONS GENERAL SOIL CHARACTERISTICS: well drained SOIL PH: 5.5–6.5 LIGHT: full sun MANAGEMENT and cold nights (Kula, Waimea cli- mates are ideal); do not overwater WATER: sparingly; tolerates drought FERTILIZER NEEDS: medium; apply after flowering and in late summer TEMPERATURE: 40–70°F RECOMMENDED SPACING: 18–24" apart Plant characteristics ELEVATION: common magenta form 300–3200', orange form 3000–4000' ADAPTATION TO GROWING IN CONTAINERS: not HEIGHT: to 18" recommended SALT TOLERANCE: good SPREAD: to 36" PRUNING: not necessary WIND RESISTANCE: good GROWTH RATE: moderate SPECIAL CULTURAL HINTS: likes hot days GROWTH HABIT: low groundcover Growing Plants for Hawaiian Lei 55 ‘akulikuli-lei — FLOWERS SIZE: 1½–2½" COLOR: magenta, white, orange to brownish orange SHAPE: daisy-like FRAGRANCE: very light FLOWERS IN FIRST YEAR: yes FLOWERING PERIOD: depends on trans- planting time TIME TO FLOWERING: cuttings flower in less than 9 months INDUCING AND MAINTAINING FLOWERING: if attempting to produce flowers for graduation time (May–June), transplant or make cuttings for planting in August through October The lei shown also contains cymbidium orchid and anthurium. (depending on elevation); flowers will emerge starting in early May; natural flowering will be later by 1 Introduced Perennials month AVOID CONTACT WITH THESE PRODUCTS: STORING A COMPLETED LEI BEFORE WEARING: smoke, car exhaust, ripening fruits, place lei in paper box and refriger- PESTS and wilting flowers. ate; no water PRESERVING A LEI FOR LONG-TERM STORAGE OR COMMON DISEASES: nematodes, root rot, DISPLAY: cannot be preserved southern blight Notes on lei making OTHER PESTS: scales BEST FOR WHICH TYPE OF LEI: neck, head, wrist, ankle, horse References and further reading Harvesting CLEANING OF PLANT MATERIALS: no water considerations STORING RAW LEI MATERIALS: store in paper Ide, Laurie S. 1998. Hawaiian Lei Making: box and refrigerate at 40°F for up to Step-by-Step Guide. Honolulu: Mutual WHAT IS HARVESTED: flower buds with Publishing. 1–2" stem 10 days Joffe, Pitta. 1993. The Gardener’s Guide PREPARING FOR USE IN LEI: clip stems at HARVESTING TECHNIQUES: cut or break by to South African Plants. Cape Town, South poepoe hand different sizes, then sew; for Africa: Tafelberg Publishers Ltd. (circular) style, sew closed flow- BEST TIME OF DAY TO HARVEST: early morn- ers—open flowers not usually used; Mathias, Mildred E. 1973. Color for the ing before flowers open no water Landscape: Flowering Plants for Subtrop- ical Climates. Los Angeles: Los Angeles BEST WAY TO TRANSPORT FROM PICKING AREA: Beautiful, Inc. metal can 56 Growing Plants for Hawaiian Lei asparagus fern OTHER COMMON NAMES: asparagus CULTIVARS: A. densiflorus var. sprengeri is light yellow-green, SCIENTIFIC NAME: Asparagus setaceus coarse, and has recurving spines; var. plumosus; Asparagus densi- A. densiflorusvar. myersii has florus var. sprengeri, myersii elongated, foxtail-like shoots; FAMILY: Liliaceae (lily family) A. setaceous var. plumosus has dark green, finely divided branch- NATURAL SETTING/LOCATION: southern es and looks fern-like and eastern Africa CURRENT STATUS IN THE WILD IN HAWAI‘I: not found Growing your own HANDLING CAUTIONS: some have thorns PROPAGATION FORM: seeds; division PREPLANTING TREATMENT: remove seeds from fleshy pulp, plant fresh, germi- nate at 85/70°F (day/night) PLANTING DEPTH: sow seeds on surface of medium or slightly below (¼"); keep division root crown just below soil level GERMINATION TIME: 60–90 days PREFERRED PRODUCTION CONDITIONS SALT TOLERANCE: avoid direct salt spray; PRUNING: harvest recently matured GENERAL SOIL CHARACTERISTICS: well tolerates slightly brackish water shoots twice a week; old shoots lose drained, light, sandy; in pots, 1:1 their leaves quickly after harvest, WIND RESISTANCE: tolerant, but S. seta- peat:perlite and young shoots wilt; experience ceus varieties develop brown leaf will determine the best stage to cut; SOIL PH: 6.0–7.0 tips when dehydrated by wind allow at least 6–8 developing shoots LIGHT: full sun to partial shade (best per plant to remain quality with up to 50% shade) MANAGEMENT SPECIAL CULTURAL HINTS: may become WATER: high quality best, though FERTILIZER NEEDS: medium weedy if left unchecked tolerant of slightly brackish water. RECOMMENDED SPACING: A. densiflorus: 3' SUGGESTED COMPANION PLANTINGS: could be Irrigate deeply about once a week— apart; A. setaceus: 1–2' apart used as an underplanting or border more frequently in light soils during plant in landscape; sprengeri and dry weather. ADAPTATION TO GROWING IN CONTAINERS: yes, pots or planter boxes, container size myersii varieties are useful accent TEMPERATURE: 70–80°F (day), 60–70°F 8" or larger and 8–12" deep; plants plants in the landscape (night) can split plastic and cement contain- ELEVATION: 10–1000' ers as they grow Growing Plants for Hawaiian Lei 57 asparagus fern Plant characteristics HEIGHT: A. setaceus to 8–10', A. densi- florus to 36” SPREAD: A. setaceus to 6–8', A. densiflorus to 5–6' GROWTH RATE: fast GROWTH HABIT: erect, climbing, or trail- ing woody herb FOLIAGE TEXTURE: fine COLOR: green SHAPE: needle-like FRAGRANCE: none PESTS The lei shown also contains pakalana, globe amaranth, plumeria, bougainvillea, and Spanish moss. COMMON DISEASES: leaf spot and root rot Introduced Perennials OTHER PESTS: mites, scales, thrips PREPARING FOR USE IN LEI: clip off wrin- cific Weed Risk Assessment (HPWRA). kled, limp, or poor-quality areas The HPWRA predicts whether any before adding to lei; stem length given plant is at low or high risk of be- Harvesting should be 3–4" coming invasive in Hawai‘i or similar considerations STORING A COMPLETED LEI BEFORE WEARING: Pacific islands and is about 95% accu- WHAT IS HARVESTED: mature stems soak lei, drip dry, wrap in damp rate. Any score above 6 indicates the newspaper, place in sealed plastic potential for invasiveness, though there HARVESTING TECHNIQUES: break or cut; bag or container, and refrigerate are varying levels of concern. The HP- leave 6–8 shoots per plant WRA score does not necessarily mean PRESERVING A LEI FOR LONG-TERM STORAGE OR BEST TIME OF DAY TO HARVEST: you should remove established plants DISPLAY: cannot be preserved early morning from urban landscapes or avoid planting them at all, but A. setaceus and A. densi- BEST WAY TO TRANSPORT FROM PICKING AREA: florus should not be introduced to areas paper or cloth bag References and further reading where they are not already growing.