More than 30 years ago, Barrie Moss and Ken Boche decided to feature native Hawaiian plants at their new venture, Aikane Nursery in Hawi.
At the time, they were one of the first nurseries to promote natives for commercial settings as well as for homeowners and the resorts. That was 1989. In 2015, Gov. David Ige signed a law requiring the inclusion of native Hawaiian plants in the state’s new and renovated landscape projects. What started at Aikane Nursery 33 years ago has grown to a widespread interest in planting and cultivating native Hawaiian plants.
From the early 1990s until 2006 Barrie and Ken promoted native plants everywhere and to everyone they met. Their enthusiasm was carried forward when Betsy Garties and Victoria Paul bought the nursery in 2006. The pair were deeply challenged to keep a nursery business viable during the severe economic downturn of the next few years and they finally decided to pass the business on.
In 2010, Brad Belmarez was ready to leave his cooking career and try something new. He loved plants and decided to jump into nursery work with both feet. He leased the land and took over Aikani Nursery after a lot of study. He talked to everyone who knew anything about growing native plants and spent an intense few months learning the nursery business ropes from Betsy.
“I really like to dig into new experiences,” he reports as he describes his year on a very steep learning curve.
Today, Aikane Nursery continues to feature a variety of native Hawaiian plants at the 3-acre nursery at 55-3472 Akoni Pule Highway in Hawi. During the 12 years at this location, they have been able to expand their services to meet the needs of their clients. They are also a certified Plant Pono-endorsed business, which means they do not sell any invasive plants.
After managing the nursery himself, Brad finally convinced his twin brother, Brandon, to come help with the business. Brandon arrived in 2014 with lots of business savvy and some good ideas about ways to expand the nursery’s offerings. In 2015, they established themselves as Aikane Nursery & Landscaping, LLC. The twins and their families, originally from Austin, Texas, have fully relocated and become active members in the Kohala community.
In 2020, they decided to enlarge the nursery and hired Grace Bowman. She and her husband moved here from Mississippi. Through propagation, Grace has been able to expand the nursery’s selection of native Hawaiian plants, ornamentals and tropical edibles.
“I love the challenge of propagating native plants and promoting native landscaping,” she reported.
I was curious how the nursery had done during the height of the pandemic. Grace reported that their business had actually increased substantially as many people were staying at home, gardening and growing their own food.
The Belmarez brothers are now licensed contractors and Brandon has become a certified arborist. This meant they could establish a landscaping branch to provide a wide variety of services.
They continue to take on contract growing of plants as well as offering design, installation and landscape maintenance services for residential and commercial clients. They often do one-time clean-up jobs as well as regular scheduled maintenance work including irrigation installation and repair.
As an ISA certified arborist, Brandon is well-prepared to offer evaluations of tree problems and has a knowledgeable crew that can serve tree care needs including disease treatment, pruning and removal.
Recently, Aikane has included fencing and road work in their services. They can do custom fencing designs to enhance your landscape as well as install fences to protect your property from wild pigs. They also have the equipment and know how to put in new roads where needed or repair existing ones.
They have also added a baseyard to store and sell a variety of soil additives and construction materials. Their yard is near the end of Old Kohala Mill Road, near the lighthouse. I went down to take a look and found lots of trucks and earth-moving equipment as well as the piles of material including compost, sand and cinder as well as gravel and other aggregates. They even make a soil blend using screened compost and EM1. They sell that and mulch and the additives by the yard. They even have space here for some large potted trees. It is easy to see that they have enough work to keep their 55 employees busy.
The day I met with Brad, Brandon and Grace, they gave me a brief tour of the nursery and wanted to såhow me some of their favorite native plants. One that Grace was particularly proud of was their small rare alula (Brighamia insignis) in their native demonstration garden. They were also proud of several other hard-to-find natives in their collection including: aweoweo, hala pepe, pohinahina, hibiscus kokio ula and the native sandalwood.
They also had a great story to tell about one of Aikane’s founders, Ken Boche. He came by for a visit to see what they were doing.
Brad told me the story, “So, Ken shows up the day before Thanksgiving a few years ago. We showed him around and asked what he was doing for Thanksgiving. He had no plans so we invited him to join our families for Thanksgiving dinner. He did and we had a great time, reviewing old stories about Aikane Nursery over the years.”
Despite their recent expansions, I got the feeling that Aikane Nursery is still very dedicated to offering native Hawaiian plants and information that can help grow and maintain them. With the variety of plants that they have in stock, it is a great place to go to select native plants to add to your landscape. I also enjoyed a day in Hawi with its beautiful scenery, fun shops and great eateries. Take the trip, you won’t be disappointed.
Diana Duff is a plant adviser, educator and consultant living part time in Kailua-Kona.
Gardening Events
Saturdays: “Work Day at Amy Greenwell Garden,” 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Meet at the Garden Visitor Center across from the Manago Hotel in Captain Cook. Come with a mask and be prepared to practice social distancing. Volunteers can help with garden maintenance and are invited to bring a brown bag lunch. Water and snacks provided. Visit the website www.amygreenwell.garden/get-involved/volunteer-1/ and sign up for the weekly email for more information on work days.
Saturday, August 6: “Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers“ Talking about tools. Starting at 10 am at the HTFG office, 81-6393 Mamalahoa Highway. Tony from All tools will explain how to keep power tools in top shape and show the latest battery and gas-powered tools. Free. Members and guests are encouraged to bring fruit for sharing. Non-members are welcome to attend. The HTFG office is a white wooden building on the makai side across from the Department of Transportation yard. Park in front or on the north side. For more information, contact Ken Love at hawaiifruit@gmail.com.
Ongoing: Greenwell Farms coffee leaf rust resistant tree replacement program for Kona coffee cherry farmers who sell to Greenwell Farms or will sign a contract to sell to them. Resistant trees are also for sale. Contact their Administrative Office at 808) 323-9616 for more information.
Soil and Plant Tissue Analyses available now
The Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center (ADSC) is again offering the full suite of Soil and Plant Tissue analyses. Contact Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, 1910 East West Road, Sherman Lab 134, Honolulu or call 808-956-6706
Farmer direct markets
(check websites for the latest hours and online markets)
Wednesday: “Ho’oulu Farmers Market” at Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay
Saturday: “Keauhou Farmers Market” 8 a.m. to noon at Keauhou Shopping Center
Information on their online market: keauhoufarmersmarket.com/onlinemarket
“Kamuela Farmer’s Market” 7:30 a.m. to noon at Pukalani Stables
“Waimea Town Market” 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Parker School in central Waimea
“Waimea Homestead Farmers Market” 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Waimea middle and elementary school playground
Sunday: “Pure Kona Green Market” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Amy Greenwell Garden in Captain Cook
“Hamakua Harvest” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Highway 19 and Mamane Street in Honoka’a
Plant Advice Lines
Anytime: konamg@ctahr.hawaii.edu; Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon at UH-CES in Kainaliu at (808) 322-4893. Walk-in from 9 a.m. to noon Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays at the UH-CES at Komohana in Hilo or call (808) 981-5199 or email himga@hawaii.edu