Cactus in Hawaii

I just got back from my winter vacation in Honolulu. One of my favorite places to visit is the cactus garden at Kapiolani Community College. It is located in the rain shadow of Diamond Head so doesn't get as much rain as it could.

The cactus garden was started in 1988 by Moriso Teraoka, just after he had retired (I think he said from the shipyards). I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Teraoka last year; at the age of 91, he still works in the garden daily. It started as a small plot but has grown into an entire hillside at the south end of the campus.

Although the oldest cactus in the garden are a little less than 30 years old, they are gigantic. I have never seen cactus grow to those proportions! To give you some perspective, the Echinocactus grusonii are 2 to 3 feet across, the trunk of the Pachypodium is about 5 feet and the caudex of the thing in #3 is about 3 feet across.

Daisy

Here are a few close-ups of my favorites and a photo of Mr. Teraoka standing with my daughter. We were adding to Mr. Teraoka's "Memory Tree". He refers to the entire garden as his Memory Garden. The Memory Tree is filled with notes people have written to him. He laminates them and hangs them on tree branches.

Daisy

Wow! Sure wish I could have the luxury of a garden like that. Guess I could move to Hawaii and find a suitable chunk of ground. .......haha!

Thanks for sharing this.

Bill

Daisy,
What a fun place to visit. That Pachypodium knocked me over... are you saying its 5 feet in diameter? That would make the truck about 20+ feet tall. Could that be?
Helen

Sorry if I confused you. The Pachypodium trunk was about 5 feet tall and a foot wide. The branches added another couple feet.

I am late to this thread but I must agree, there are some awesome plants in that garden. And some nice older ones (like the fat plants from Madagascar). Mr. Teraoka evidently has exquisite taste. :)

One thing I noticed when I visited Hawaii was the abundance of agaves, specifically A. attenuata, which they treat like a shrub rather than an agave. Because the plant can handle a good amount of water (and is not threatened by any sort of cold) it does great in that climate.

It is a combination of great climate, incredibly good soil: volcanic rock and rubble with excellent drainage, and probably a person with a huge green thumb!

I'm a bit late to this post but enjoyed the photos you have shared from your trip to Honolulu. I'll be sure to visit if I ever get over there.

Me too. And I sure hope I look that old when I am 91! I better start a cactus garden the day I retire.

Next time you visit Honolulu you should see Koko Crater... has a wonderful botanical gardens full of all sorts of massive and incredible succulents, not to mention an incredible Plumeria and native palm collection. That side of all the islands (east) is ideally suited for a number of succulents and cacti.

Just looked at some photos. It's now on my list.

Thanks!

Ditto what Daisy says