11-12-2008, 04:17 PM
Glen, we got a purple leaf hibiscus a couple of months ago & it is taking off (but not planted yet..... bad me!) It also makes for a really nice lemony leaf to add to salads & such & the dark maroon leaf is really neat looking... have seen many in HPP, some which have keiki spreading out to public areas!
Coffee trees are usually kept lower, for easier picking & do well to pruning... just have no idea if the adjacent ocean would make a happy coffee - but it wouldn't hurt too much to try... they do like full sun (shade planting is only to double up the crop with a taller overstory tree, but shade cuts down on the amount of cherry
Next visit, why not plant a few things & see what takes & what doesn't (this has been my whole strategy, unfortunately pots do not seem to contain my plants enthusiasm....)
Edit to Add
Coffee in Kona was added as an understory tree t mac nuts... back when mac nuts were more valuable than Kona coffee.... left untended the coffee trees would grow 14 feet or more into the overstory of the mac nuts.... about 30'... neither one is a really tall tree.... but those that were tended were kept in the 5-7 foot max height...
for an interesting look at coffee in Hawaii, the Amy Greenwell historic coffee farm is a fun & educational stop if in Kealakekua area...
Coffee trees are usually kept lower, for easier picking & do well to pruning... just have no idea if the adjacent ocean would make a happy coffee - but it wouldn't hurt too much to try... they do like full sun (shade planting is only to double up the crop with a taller overstory tree, but shade cuts down on the amount of cherry
Next visit, why not plant a few things & see what takes & what doesn't (this has been my whole strategy, unfortunately pots do not seem to contain my plants enthusiasm....)
Edit to Add
Coffee in Kona was added as an understory tree t mac nuts... back when mac nuts were more valuable than Kona coffee.... left untended the coffee trees would grow 14 feet or more into the overstory of the mac nuts.... about 30'... neither one is a really tall tree.... but those that were tended were kept in the 5-7 foot max height...
for an interesting look at coffee in Hawaii, the Amy Greenwell historic coffee farm is a fun & educational stop if in Kealakekua area...