Flowers of every hue adorn Hawaii’s trees in June, and the weather we’ve experienced has made for a particularly glorious year.
Some plants love the combination of hot, voggy, windless weather mixed with rainy days.
Gold trees and other Tabebuia — including silver and gold trumpet trees, the roble and even pink tecoma trees — are blooming wildly this year. Many of these non-native trees come from regions where monsoons are plentiful and are used to conditions that are very dry and then very wet. The extended rain after last summer’s super-hot conditions was not so good for us, but nice for flowering trees.
Check out East-West Road at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where the Queen’s White variety of rainbow shower trees is in full bloom. If you get up early, before 7:30 a.m., and walk through the area, the perfume of these trees is epic. The watermelon-shaded rainbow showers on Maile Way are still straggling; expect fuller blooming later in the month.
Plumerias came early, just in time for Memorial Day and graduation season. Plumerias make such a great lei — classic perfume, lightweight to wear — a favorite for many kamaaina.
We were helping pick plumerias for veterans’ graves at Punchbowl and Hawaii Veterans Cemetery this year with our crews in high-lift trucks. It brought back such small-kid-time memories. Back then we were all expected to bring lei to school. Even if you didn’t have a tree, your neighbors did. I remember going with Susan and Kathy Largosa and picking from our trees and then hitting the neighbors. We would politely ask if we could pick flowers. If trees were too tall, we would borrow a ladder. We were so happy to bring the lei to Lincoln Elementary School and contribute them to adorn the graves and honor our veterans.
Usually May is the month for gardenias, and we still have lots of those. My pakalana bloomed late this year — I got my first flowers in May. Puakenikeni were early and are still growing strong (and fragrant).
Popcorn orchids with their bright, cheerful yellow flowers used to bloom reliably in February, but this year they came out in May. Lots of nice Phaleonopsis, or butterfly orchids, are doing well, too.
Each narra, or Philippine rosewood tree, with its small yellow fragrant flowers, seems to bloom at a slightly different time through May and June. They drop most of their leaves, put out fresh leaves and then flower. I think narra are prettiest with those fresh, green leaves and subtle golden flowers, but they don’t last long, so be observant.
True kamani, carried here from Southeast Asia by the ancient Hawaiians, is flowering, white and fragrant pretty clusters among the dark green shiny leaves. There is a nice grove of them at the old quad at UH-Manoa. This is a classic tree that I wish were planted more widely. It is easy to care for and grows slowly.
Kukui, our state tree, are in bloom with creamy white flowers and silvery leaves that are always attractive. Symbolic of enlightenment, many schools have planted kukui trees, including UH, which has quite a few of them on campus.
Heidi Leianuenue Bornhorst is a sustainable landscape consultant specializing in native, xeric and edible gardens. Reach her at heidibornhorst@gmail.com.
