Festive Plants for the Holidays
Posted on Dec. 29, 2024 / Nursery / Subscribe 0
By: Jessica Higashi and Tina Lau
The Oʻahu Master Gardener Program held its annual holiday gathering on December 18 for volunteers who got creative, making wreaths, swags, and table runners with foliage from the Urban Garden Center (UGC). Long-time volunteers Bea Sailer and Merlinda Oania gathered foliage from plants that can be grown in a home garden: juniper, pine, parsley panax (Polyscias fructicosa), mgambo, lipstick tree, song of India, ʻākia, grandleaf seagrape, Ficus umbellata, lavender, and more (Figures 1 and 2)! Many plants can add colorful accents to your special holiday decoration!
Figure 1. Wreaths created by UGC volunteers (Photograph credit: Dana Anne Yee, FASLA)
Figure 2. (right to left) Jessica Higashi, Bea Sailer, and Tina Lau above the assortment of wreaths and table runners created with plant materials from the gardens. (Photograph credit: Dana Anne Yee, FASLA)
Junipers are evergreen trees adapted to tolerate heat and drought, such that the trees survive at low elevations without irrigation. The needle-like leaves provide contrasting texture to broadleaf shrubs or trees, making it visually appealing in a landscaped garden.
To complement the rough textured juniper, plant a magambo or black pearl tree (Majidea zanguebarica) that has glossy green compound leaves. Its most attractive feature is the 3-sided fruit capsule that opens at maturity to reveal a bright red lining and a purplish black seeds (Figure 3). The tree can grow to 80 feet in height so annual pruning is recommended.
Figure 3. Caption: Fruit from the mgambo, or black pearl tree.
The lipstick tree (Bixa orellana) flushes with softly spiny red fruit under direct sunlight (Figure 4). The bush-like small tree is easy to care for and can be grown from seed or cuttings. The bright red seeds are crushed to produce an orange-red dye called annatto which is used for cooking and coloring fabric (Figure 5).
Figure 4. Lipstick tree 1. Caption: Lipstick tree
Figure 5. Lipstick tree 2. Caption: Red fruit of the lipstick tree contains seeds used as a dye.
Song of India (Dracaena reflexa) grows tall and the leaves have creamy white leaf borders that enhance the green midrib. It is easily grown from branch cuttings and the leaves can be used in decorations ranging from wreaths to lei.
ʻĀkia (Wikstroemia uva-ursi) is a Hawaiian endemic shrub with delicate yellow flowers interspersed between symmetrically arranged oval leaves. The flowers turn into red drupes containing a single seed that is easy to propagate when freshly harvested (Figure 6). The low growing sprawling shrub acts as a ground cover that beautifies the landscape and deters weed growth.
Figure 6. The yellow flowers and red drupe of ʻākia
The grandleaf seagrape tree (Coccoloba pubescens), also known as the leathercoat tree, grows to 80 feet tall and sheds large oval leaves that remain pliable as backing for table decorations (Figure 7). The light green fruit hang like grape clusters from the branches and provide eye catching focal points in the canopy.
Figure 7. The grandleaf seagrape, or leathercoat tree leaf is used in decorations after it has dried.
Jessica Higashi, Academic Support/Program Specialist, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience
Tina Lau, Jr. Extension Agent, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience
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