Anyone know the name of the large bushes with pink

[unknownjulie]

Are they rodedendrums gone wild? I seem to have huge bushes with pink flowers all over my lot and also I saw some that appear to be the same type of plant, but with dark purple blossems up in Hawaiian Acres. Are they the same?

[Carey]

rhododendrons gone wild sounds like a really good band name, or more like vireya (OK, I think they are the same...not positive if one is the other or more like a square is a rectangle, but not the other way..)

Anyhoo, Jane & Pete from White Cloud (in your neighborhood) are on Punaweb & also in many Vireya Vine newsletters, inc. this one, which has some photos of pink & darker purple vireya:
http://rhodygarden.org/cms/wp-content/up...1/VV92.pdf

[unknownjulie]

So, is this what is growing all over orchidland? Did they escape out of someone's yard? Why are there so many? (like was there a rhodedendrum nursery there in the past or something) Why are there pink ones in orchidland, and dark purple ones up in HA? I would actually like to plant 2 of the dark purple ones, but I assume they are invasive? (given that I have 12 foot bushes all over my lot) Can you actually buy these at the store, or do people just take cuttings? thanks for the link and info!

[Lee M-S]

Sounds like Glory Bush, an invasive plant. I only have pink, my neighbor has pink and purple.
They get really ratty looking sometimes, and the wood is very brittle.

I heard that the CCC seeded a lot of "barren" areas years ago, and suspect that one of their choices was this darn weed. I think bamboo orchid was another.

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[Carey]

Julia, there are rhododendron nurseries in your neighborhood, as I explained in the last post (White Clouds web link is here, with many of their varieties: http://www.whitecloudnursery.com/ ) & people have planted them, but these are not likely to ever get our of hand....& are not on the invasive list (too bad the HEAR list is no longer supported, so it will be harder to check plants in the future)

If it is Tibouchina ('Glory bush' as Lee stated), then yes, that has a very invasive nature... It looks like this (and my sneaking suspicion NOW is that this is what you have, based on the height you gave):
http://www.hawaiiinvasivespecies.org/pes...china.html

Are any of these images like your plants?

If not, perhaps giving a little more info than just color of flowers, even shape of leaf, arrangement of leaves, look of the flower, # of petals, color of bark... these are things that you normally need to ID a plant.... & of course an image is always helpful... otherwise all you will get are guesses, and my vireya guess was only because you stated "rhododendron gone wild"... but if the flowers are not trumpet shaped with 5 petals that form a scalloped rim, long stemmed stamen appearing out of the trumpet throat, flowers arranged in a whorl or ball & the leaves are not ovalate, dark green & glossy... might not be the vireya...

[unknownjulie]

I do believe it's "glory bush". Now Carey (thankyou!), I just read on your link that these are illegal to sell or transport, but the reason I dont have total infestation with Strawberry Guava, is because I have these huge bushes, which I also like. There are so so many on and around my lot, that it seems unlikely that they grew there without being planted. I am just trying to work with what I have. I have chopped down a number of these bushes as well. Just because I like the various plants I have growing on my property, doesnt mean I "planted them, or intended for them to overrun the Ohia forests". Someone else evidently did this long ago...

[dayna]

We have a glory bush infestation on our lot here in orchidland. I hate the darn things! I keep yanking them up and try to get the goats to eat them.

I wanted to edit also to say that no one planted them here. We have a three acre guava orchard that was ripped and rolled then guava'd. They migrated in from other places in orchid land.

Dayna

www.E-Z-Caps.com

[janeadams]

Aloha all,

Yep, definitely NOT rhododendrons! The rhodies that grow here are extremely unlike to be invasive. They produce huge amounts of seed, but the only place we've seen volunteers is in the moss under various ones planted in the garden. Vireya Rhododendrons comprise 1/3 of the genus rhododendron, and are native to the western pacific region -- Borneo, Sumatra, New Guinea and such. There are a few native to SE Asia. They do love our weather in East Hawaii, and grow very well for showy year-round displays in your garden.

White Cloud Nursery (that's us!) is located just mauka of Pahoa. We are in a general hiatus to allow us to renovate the 2 acre garden, shift our focus to Vireya Conservation (with nursery as support), and complete a major building project. We expect to re-open in 2014.

If you want to see a good public planting and display of Vireyas, the Zoo has a major area planted with them, which is maintained by the local chapter of the American Rhododendron Society. The chapter will also be putting on an international seminar on Vireyas in Feb. 2014. Chapter meetings are the 3rd Sunday of the month at the Kea'au Community Center starting at noon.

Jane and Pete
White Cloud Nursery

[bluesboy]

no one planted anything on your lot, they are an invasive species that spreads naturally, and better than the native forest.

i remember the first time i saw an a`a flow - it was the 55 flow between kapoho and pohoiki. i thought it was the work of a bulldozer ripping up the ground - but why would they have bulldozed so much? our brains have funny ways of trying to make sense of what we don't understand.

[james weatherford]

Try this one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melastoma