“The World of Bananas in Hawaii: Then and Now” by Angela Kepler and Francis Rust was published last year and has received worldwide praise. Stupendous, monumental, spectacular, masterpiece, encyclopedic opus, definitive, awe-inspiring, fantastic, and amazing are just some of the
“The World of Bananas in Hawaii: Then and Now” by Angela Kepler and Francis Rust was published last year and has received worldwide praise. Stupendous, monumental, spectacular, masterpiece, encyclopedic opus, definitive, awe-inspiring, fantastic, and amazing are just some of the words that professionals have used to describe this book. I was prepared to be impressed, but now that I am holding it, I’m overwhelmed. It will influence landscape and agricultural plantings in Hawaii and throughout the tropical world. Nothing even remotely close to this body of knowledge has existed before, and it was written specifically for Hawaii gardeners.
In addition to being comprehensive, the book is irresistible, and that’s a rare combination. When you open it, the first thing you see is a two-page spread of the pure white and green variegated leaves of the traditional aeae plantain, also known as manini. The intense beauty of this plant makes it a perfect exotic accent for tropical edible landscaping. What a wonderful way to begin this journey into the world of bananas. The thoughtfulness of the book’s design is evident in many ways thanks to its producer, Kona’s own Craig Elevitch. Within its 583 pages are over 1,800 color pictures as well as plenty of sidebars and drawings. The photography and art, historic and contemporary, are by a wide variety of artists including Herb Kane. The book remains visually appealing throughout, and is never repetitive or boring. Even the edges of the pages are color-coded for each chapter making the book very user-friendly and lovely, as there are 28 chapters and no repeated edge colors.
The authors are a husband and wife team from Maui who self-published the book under the imprint of Pali-O-Waipio Press. It is distributed by the University of Hawaii Press. Angela Kepler is a prolific author who has been enriching our appreciation of nature in Hawaii for decades. Her previous books are published by Mutual Publishing as well as the University of Hawaii Press.
The information in this banana book is historical, cultural, biological, and culinary, including a large number of recipes. Ornamental bananas are included, as well as cordage bananas that are used to make textiles. Six different methods of harvesting bananas are carefully described, and the saw triumphs over the machete as the preferred tool because it can create a more controlled fall. Problems such as banana bunchy top virus are well covered. I’m now going to rip out all of our short Chinese bananas, because bunchy top is extremely attracted to that particular variety. We’ll replace them with dwarf apple bananas, which are not as susceptible. Dwarf apple bananas (also called dwarf Brazilian) are also excellent for windy areas.
I recently showed the book to my neighbor and she said that she had resisted buying it because of the $80 price, but once she saw it she realized it was well worth the money. Everyone feels that way when they hold it. And please note that the authors are making no profit whatsoever on the book, at least not on this first printing. The price is cheap at $80, because the book is so utterly complete. It’s impossible to know how much there is to know about bananas until someone who has spent decades researching it tells you.
The book is currently available at Kona Stories in Keauhou and at Tropical Edibles Nursery located just south of Captain Cook on the mauka side of the Mamalahoa Highway. Other stores that will be carrying it are Kona Bay Books in Kailua-Kona and Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in their new location closer to Yano Hall in Captain Cook. This book will never be on Kindle or in Costco. And I doubt it will end up in your guest room because it will probably stay on you own coffee table.
Clear Englebert is a local author and feng shui expert whose new book, “Feng Shui for Hawaii Gardens,” is now available in stores.
Tropical
gardening helpline
Dede asks: The leaves on my New Guinea impatiens are curling under and have small brown spots that grow larger and run together, especially around the edges of the leaves. Some leaves are dying prematurely and breaking off from the stem. The stems seem to be softening and collapsing. What’s going on and what can I do about it?
Answer: Impatiens thrive on frequent watering. They grow best in consistently high humidity where diseases easily grow. A bacterial leaf spot caused by the bacterial xanthomonas campestris can become a problem.
This disease spreads easily and quickly in warm, humid environments. You can try removing the infected plant parts and applying a copper-based compound at weekly intervals to prevent the spread of the disease. If you use shears to cut the plant, be sure to disinfect them after each cut (alcohol works well) to avoid spreading the pathogen.
The best plan, however, is to remove and discard all infected leaves, plants and soil in which they were grown. This will, hopefully, get rid of the disease-causing pathogen. You can then replant, probably with a different species that can tolerate a drier environment to discourage reinfection.
Regardless of what you plant, you should avoid crowding plants, leaving plenty of space for air circulation. Do not overwater and try to avoid conditions where water stands on the leaves. With our warm rainy season, hopefully around the corner, diseases will become more prevalent. Prevention and early treatment are the keys to control.
Email plant questions to konamg@ctahr.hawaii.edu for answers by certified master gardeners. Some questions will be chosen for inclusion in this column.
