In The Garden
Friday, January 7, 2000
By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Douglas DeMoss tends the orchids remaining in the
historic English-style Wrane nursery.
J. Milton Wrane Orchid Nursery has seen better days. The nursery sign is barely readable on the side of a house with peeling paint and old-fashioned brown trim. By the entrance, a modest carport with termite-eaten beams is giving way to an old kukui nut tree. Weeds, aged trees and shrubbery are beginning to take over the yard. Wrane wrought flower history
But looks don't tell the whole story. In its heyday, which began after World War II and lasted through most of the 1980s, the nursery was a leader in Hawaii's burgeoning orchid industry. The owner, Milton Wrane, was a respected pioneer of hybridized cattleya orchids, creating showy and unusual blossoms that won him numerous top honors.
ORCHID SALE AND
GROUP TOURSWhere: Milton Wrane Orchid Nursery, 260 Jack Lane
With Wrane's death in November, the property, which is tucked away in a residential neighborhood in Nuuanu, will be put up for sale, thus closing an early chapter in the history of orchid growing in Hawaii.
Orchids made affordable
"It's too bad. This place really has history. Once it's gone, so will the history. I am afraid this is the end," said Douglas DeMoss, Wrane's former partner who plans to operate the nursery for about two more months. During that time, he will be selling the orchids and other plants directly to the public. He also will lead group tours through the traditional English-style green houses and talk about the history of the nursery for a nominal fee."I want people to know about this place and what Milton has done for orchids. He was one of the guys who made it possible for more people to enjoy orchids, not just by hybridizations for bigger and prettier flowers but by making them affordable.
"Orchids used to be considered extremely exotic. They were extremely expensive. You didn't just go out and buy an orchid plant. It was like buying a puppy. You had to be committed to spend that kind of money."
DeMoss has worked at the nursery for nearly 20 years, first as an employee, then as a partner and finally as the owner. He bought the nursery operations 10 years ago, after Wrane suffered a stroke. DeMoss owns the orchids, green houses and other nursery equipment, but does not own the property itself. After the nursery is closed, he will move the remaining plants to his other nursery in Pupukea.
"I first met Milton about 1972. I got bitten by the orchid bug after I saw a paphiopedilum (lady slipper orchid.) I heard there was this old guy who really knew his orchids, so I sought him out. He was this grouchy old guy who didn't even care about paphiopedilum. His thing was cattleyas," DeMoss said.
Wrane belonged to the old school of orchid growers who were tight lipped about their practices, DeMoss said. It took some time for Wrane to warm up to a inquisitive "hippie surfer," but eventually the two struck up a friendship.
"When I first came to work for Milton, I thought I was going to be growing orchids with a leading hybridizer. I was really excited, but he had me pulling weeds. I remember vividly being on my knees with my nose to the ground, pulling weeds. I had to pay my dues, I guess."
Wrane himself had to pay his dues. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in agriculture in the middle of the Depression. He took a job milking cows at a California dairy until his brother, Robert who was working for Del Monte in the Philippines and saw the potential of orchids, asked him to come to Hawaii in 1931 to start an orchid nursery.
Plants from the Philippines
His brother supplied orchid plants from the Philippines while Wrane worked as a landscaper and nurseryman full time and operated the orchid nursery on the side. Wrane lived at a residential hotel on Beretania Street, where Schuman Carriage car dealership is located now, and rented a space for the nursery next door.Robert returned to Honolulu in 1938 and the two bought about an acre of land in Nuuanu to set up the current nursery. The brothers decided to specialize in vanda and cut orchids. After World War II, orchids became a lucrative business for the few early commercial growers.
"There was a lot of money to be made then, even during the war. Every GI who came here wanted to buy an orchid corsage for his girlfriend," DeMoss said. Wrane served during the war in the War Department while his wife, Erma, operated the nursery.
The brothers' experiments at creating hybridized orchids were remarkably successful. Soon they were known as the producers of high-quality cattleya orchids that produced large blossoms with beautiful colors.
"Theirs was really the first commercial orchid grower in the state," DeMoss said. "Milton was the guy who did the growing. He had an affinity for orchids. His brother Robert was more the business guy, and he retired in the 1950s after he made his money (in real estate as well.)"
Although Wrane was the expert who set new standards of beauty for cattleya orchids, his brother also made important contributions. Robert Wrane imported "Miss Joaquim," the vanda orchid now commonly used as garnish in food and tropical drinks. He also was the first person to string them up in a lei, creating a popular lei tradition in the islands, DeMoss said.
"Another person who didn't get enough credit is his wife, Erma," DeMoss said. For many years, she registered and indexed hybrids, helping to fill out paperwork for growers and keeping central records on Oahu. She supported her husband's work until her death in 1989. At about the same time, Wrane's health began to fail, beginning with his eye sight. He retired in the early 1990s but continued to live in the house on the property until his death. A memorial service will be held 10:30 a.m., Jan. 15 at Borthwick Mortuary, 1330 Maunakea St.
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