I anxiously await the first blossoms of my favorite orchid, the Honohono. It is one of the most fragrant of orchids and actually quite easy to grow.
The smell sends me back to my childhood. My mother used rice rinse water to feed her plants. She said it was the talc in the water that made them grow well. The honohono name, in Hawaiian, refers to the alternate growing leaf pattern, however, it is the fragrance of the flower that everyone remembers.
It’s scientific name, dendrobium anosmum, is odd since anosmum means scentless in Latin. They got that one wrong. The long, thin spikes can grow up to 4-5 feet. The flower’s color ranges from lavender, light pink to white. Some think that their plant is dying when it drops all its leaves, but that is how the bloom cycle begins.
The blooming season is from March to May so you get lots of time to experience the Honohono. Water and fertilize them heavily in the summer and not so much during the winter.
This is just one of the many reasons I enjoy living the Hawaii Life.
Ilona Coffey, RS
March 25, 2010
Oh my,,,my Honohono orchids are ready to bloom now too,,and I feel so blessed to be here amoung them
Ilona Coffey, RS
March 25, 2010
Oh my,,,my Honohono orchids are ready to bloom now too,,and I feel so blessed to be here amoung them
Erik Hinshaw RS
March 30, 2010
Mine we’re early. I hate to see them fade. My fav too!
Erik Hinshaw RS
March 30, 2010
Mine we’re early. I hate to see them fade. My fav too!
Patty
March 14, 2011
Where is the best place to put my honohono orchids that I recently got? What kind of fertilizer do you recommend?
Patty
March 14, 2011
Where is the best place to put my honohono orchids that I recently got? What kind of fertilizer do you recommend?
Ken Molina R(S)
March 14, 2011
Is it starting to bud yet? It should be in it’s bloom cycle so you don’t water too much and you don’t fertilize. I’m not an expert but that is what I got out of the articles that I’ve read, now is the time to shock it to produce lots of blooms.
Ken Molina R(S)
March 14, 2011
Is it starting to bud yet? It should be in it’s bloom cycle so you don’t water too much and you don’t fertilize. I’m not an expert but that is what I got out of the articles that I’ve read, now is the time to shock it to produce lots of blooms.
Linaka Maile
April 6, 2011
How do you plant honohono? My friend gave me 6 tiny plants in a small planter. I may need to buy hapu fibers and mix it in with the soil???
kevin
March 19, 2012
I’ve found it easy to grow the honohono in wood basket’s. So that the water can drain from it very well. First get your hapu which the sell in bags that are already cut into blocks. Then get your basket and put your honohono inside the middle and start to build around it with the hapu. make sure that it’s snuged so that your hapu and honohono don’t fall out. You can use gardening wire to also hold them inplace. Then hang your basket in a shaded area. Honohono don’t like alot of sunlight. You can water it everyday if not in bloom. If in bloom water it 2 to 3 times in a week. Tip, Use rice water every other day with a spray bottle. Good luck.
Linaka Maile
April 6, 2011
How do you plant honohono? My friend gave me 6 tiny plants in a small planter. I may need to buy hapu fibers and mix it in with the soil???
kevin
March 19, 2012
I’ve found it easy to grow the honohono in wood basket’s. So that the water can drain from it very well. First get your hapu which the sell in bags that are already cut into blocks. Then get your basket and put your honohono inside the middle and start to build around it with the hapu. make sure that it’s snuged so that your hapu and honohono don’t fall out. You can use gardening wire to also hold them inplace. Then hang your basket in a shaded area. Honohono don’t like alot of sunlight. You can water it everyday if not in bloom. If in bloom water it 2 to 3 times in a week. Tip, Use rice water every other day with a spray bottle. Good luck.
Erik Hinshaw
April 6, 2011
My honohono is bursting with blossoms. Just amazing!
Erik Hinshaw
April 6, 2011
My honohono is bursting with blossoms. Just amazing!
Ken Molina, RS
April 6, 2011
I’m envious. I have no blooms this year.
Ken Molina, RS
April 6, 2011
I’m envious. I have no blooms this year.
Ken Molina, RS
April 6, 2011
@Linaka – I have mine in a hanging pot, with large vermiculite pebbles. My mother planted them in hollowed out coconuts with hapu. Anything that will not keep too much water in the planter.
Ken Molina, RS
April 6, 2011
@Linaka – I have mine in a hanging pot, with large vermiculite pebbles. My mother planted them in hollowed out coconuts with hapu. Anything that will not keep too much water in the planter.
Tove Estabrook
May 22, 2011
I have had this plant many years ago and I would like to know where I can buy them from and how much they are?? Can you help me with this?? Please let me know
Tove Estabrook
May 22, 2011
I have had this plant many years ago and I would like to know where I can buy them from and how much they are?? Can you help me with this?? Please let me know
Ken Molina R(S)
March 20, 2012
@kevin, thanks for all that useful information. I wonder what in rice water helps. My mother used rice water also.
Ken Molina R(S)
March 20, 2012
@kevin, thanks for all that useful information. I wonder what in rice water helps. My mother used rice water also.