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gardening in Puna - Lee DeJongh - 04-14-2006
Hi
My wife and I are strongly considering retiring to Puna in 3-5 years and are looking at property, specially in Fern Acres, Fern Forest, Hawaiian Acres and HPP. I wonder if any gardeners in those areas would care to share the pros and cons of their areas? Mostly interested in flowers plus some citrus, hibiscus, stephanotis.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated. thanks.
RE: gardening in Puna - Carey - 04-14-2006
Lee, we have a standard 1/4 ac. lot in Keaau town (about 500 ft, comparable to upper HPP & lower Hawaiian Acres). Our food crops inc. tangerine, navel orange, kava, cassava, bilimbi, pineaple, tomatoes (and was covered with bitter melon), common guava, mango, avacado, papaya, and a couple of trees we don't know (our neighbor harvests the leaves in exchange for eggs, grapefruit and lemons). Ornamentals inc. roses, hibiscus, red, green & varigated varieties of ti & crotons, red & pink ginger, bromeliads (anyone want?), ferns, hala, orchids, bouganvilla, poinsettas & cousins (donia?), a monstor candelabra tree (anyone?? please??), chenille plant, and a bunch of other euphorbias that I have yet to learn (We ain't in Chicago anymore, woohoo!). Oh, and the lot has bare spaces, so this list is from a lot that is overflowing with vegetation!
Aloha, Carey
RE: gardening in Puna - Lee DeJongh - 04-14-2006
Carey Thank you. Sounds wonderful! We are trying to get adjusted to the idea of losing daffodils, roses and lilacs, now that spring is here in Wisconsin. Not sorry to lose the snow, tho!
RE: gardening in Puna - Carey - 04-14-2006
Lee, Roses do well here, I have seen some of the bulbs for sale here, but do not know if they are special, or for the higher elevations, or for forcing...but you could always have a pot or two of forced bulbs! It is weird coming from the upper mid-west (we're from N. Ill.), here there are things that bloom all year round (roses, hibiscus, bouganvilla, and a lot more) and a lot of things that bloom 'in season', I just haven't figured out how the plants figure out the season! (aside from rainy vs. not as rainy!)
As we clean up our yard (I had MEANT to type that our lot is NOT overflowing with plants, over 1/2 the yard was covered with household junk when we bought it) we have found some gems, alot of weeds, and some older, beautiful plant stock. My dream is to have a yard that looks wonderful, but that will take time, pruning & weeding!
Oh, and the other side has the beautiful jacaranda tree that has huge clusters of lilac colored blossoms right now, along with the plumeria that have a heavenly scent.
Aloha, Carey
RE: gardening in Puna - Lee DeJongh - 04-15-2006
Carey
Sounds wonderful. My roses here aren't that good anyway. I would like Plumeria. We are coming to Puna in June with the whole family for a week for a look-see. Earlier this year, We two spent a week on Maui. Liked the weather but didn't like where we were on Maui. We were on the dry southern side. Too manicured Too plastic Disney land looking but beautiful. We are bit more casual. Kula and Hana were were nice as well as Paia.
RE: gardening in Puna - JerryCarr - 04-17-2006
Aloha Lee. I live in HPP, and at this altitude (about 350 feet) we can do most of the things Carey mentioned for Keaau Town. If you have enough room for a lot of fruit trees you can also do mountain apple (not a true apple, but good,) mulberry, and apiu, a non-invasive Brazilian import with caramel flavored fruit.
You didn't ask about this, but it is also fun and economical to grow vegetables if you have the time. We save a lot of money by growing our own green beans, lima beans, corn, cucumbers, zucchini, collard greens, bok-choi, mustard greens, green onions, herbs, eggplant, vine spinach, and hot peppers. I have NOT had luck with tomatoes and sweet peppers due to fungus diseases. Even the varieties of those recommended by the local nursery don't seem to work for me.
If you chose to move here, you will find a wonderful array of gardening opportunities and wonderful people willing to share everything from cuttings to advice.
Hope this helps!
Jerry
RE: gardening in Puna - Hotzcatz - 04-17-2006
Aloha Lee,
Roses grow well, although the Japanese beetles eat them ferociously. Lots of times, there will be flowers on the bush, but no more leaves left. Very odd. They get dusted occasionally and that improves them. There are several "Hawaiian" roses which are almost thornless and aren't bothered by the beetles as much.
For lilac, you can get a Decanso (sp?) hybrid which is a low chill lilac which will grow here. The "Florida Prince" and "Eva's Pride" peach cultivars also will produce fruit as well as several varieties of apple. Just get some that don't require much winter chill.
Oh, and check the specific property you are interested in to see if it has any dirt on it, otherwise, you can bring in a lot of compost from the Hilo landfill.
A hui hou,
Cathy