Anthuriums Out Of The Lava

The UH anthurium variety ‘Kauai’ received a Blue Ribbon at the Society of American Florists (SAF) Outstanding Varieties Competition. Entered by CTAHR grower-cooperator Green Point Nurseries, ‘Kauai’ was praised by Floral Management, the trade magazine of the SAF, as offering "both novelty and design versatility” and “exotic touches that blend beautifully with more traditional florist flowers.” 

Green Point was also praised for its ‘Melemeie’ oncidium orchids, which boast “[i]mpressively large sprays” and “graceful, bright green stems … laden with abundant flowers in pure yellow.”

The win was a welcome boost for Green Point, which along with other Big Island orchid growers and other floriculture producers was hit hard by the Kilauea vent eruptions. In a recent Star-Advertiser editorial, Green Point’s president and the president of the Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association (HFNA), Eric Tanouye, described the importance of the industry to the Islands’ economy and to the sense of Hawai‘i’s beauty and mystique, as well as the massive losses that growers experienced when their plants were inundated by lava or blighted by vog. 

To read the rest of the story, please go to: University of Hawai'i