In The Garden
Friday, November 9, 2001
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Maile plants are for sale at Star Garden Supply.
The Hawaiians have long prized the fragrant maile. The sweet scent was a natural perfume for kapa. The vines were fashioned into lei and other decorations to honor the goddess Laka. Fragrant maile moving
from lei shops to gardensToday, maile leis are musts for graduations, weddings, proms, public dedications and other celebrations. While maile is a common sight in lei shops, the plant is seldom seen in island gardens, but that's beginning to change. The once difficult-to-find plant is becoming more available in nurseries, thanks to small-operation growers like Marvin Hata.
Hata is a full-time firefighter at the Kawailani Fire Station in Hilo. On his days off he tends to his backyard nursery, growing plants ignored by large commercial operations.
Last week, he shipped hundreds of maile in 4-inch pots for sale at Star Garden Supply on Oahu. The plant sells for $3.99 each, and larger sizes also are available. Star Garden manager Elton Hara said maile, when available, normally sells for $5.99, but the large supply from Hata allows the store to price it cheaper.
Hata has found a niche cultivating native Hawaiian plants such as mamaki and maile. He's even tried Japanese green tea plants, and plans to begin cultivating vanilla bean orchids.
"I never thought plants would be something I'd get into," said Hata, who grew up fishing and hunting. His younger brother, Trent, who studied agriculture in college, is the gardening expert in the family.
"I had to learn a lot and make a lot of mistakes. I didn't know anything about growing plants," Hata said. He didn't listen to his younger brother's warning about overfertilizing and learned his lesson the hard way.
"I thought the more you use, the better the plant will grow. But it doesn't work that way. The fertilizer burned the plants and they died," he said.
Hata became interested in plants in 1993 when a friend whose hobby was palm cultivation encouraged him to try it. Hata realized that gardening could be lucrative, and began using his mother's back yard as a nursery.
His maile population began several years ago with two keiki plants he found in the forest. At that time he was focused on growing specialty palms, which fetched high prices, and didn't pay much attention to the maile plants.
But the maile, left to fend for themselves next to his greenhouse, took root, grew strong and produced seeds. Always looking for a new product, Hata thought he'd give maile a try. He grew seedlings from the seeds about two year ago and found the plants sold well at Star Garden Supply.
"Maile is really easy to grow. The thing grows wild; I don't have to do much to it," he said.
Maile likes shade and moisture, Hata said. He gives his plants a balanced fertilizer every few weeks. Maile tends to grow in a single stem, so lei makers will want to trim the plant to make it send out multiple branches.
While the plant is vinelike, maile is classified as a shrub by botanists. The branches can grow very long, reaching high into the forest canopy. Maile produces fruit in the fall and winter from tiny white and yellow tubular flowers. The fruit looks like olives, and the seed inside is football-shaped, hence the plant's scientific name, Alyxia oliviformis.
Maile seeds sprout easily in a few weeks, and after a somewhat slow initial growing period will become a fast-growing plant. Hata said maile can do well as a potted plant as long as the pot is large enough to accommodate the plant as it matures.
Gardening Calendar
Suzanne Tswei's gardening column runs Saturdays in Today.
You can write her at the Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI, 96813
or email stswei@starbulletin.com
