Grow Aloha
Third Wednesday | Every Month | 5:30 – 7 p.m.

Grow Aloha
Third Wednesday of every month

Kaiwiʻula Night Market Event

Grow Aloha
Third Wednesday | Every Month | 5:30 – 7 p.m.

Grow Aloha is a hui of plant adoption partners working together to restore Hawaiian plants and our relationships with them in urban areas. Bishop Museum is a proud partner and plant adoption site on Oʻahu.

In 2025, every second Wednesday of the month, drop by Bishop Museum at the Kaiwiʻula Night Market from 5 – 9 p.m. to adopt native plants for free.

Go here to learn more about the Grow Aloha partners across the pae ʻāina and how you can be a part of community-based biocultural restoration in 2025.

Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Location: Bishop Museum – Upper Parking Lot 2
Time: 5 – 9 p.m.
Reserve your plant online here and visit the Grow Aloha Booth at the Kaiwiʻula Night Market to pick up your plant!

Plants Giveaways:

Milo: Milo (Thespesia populnea) is a large native tree that creates yellow flowers with maroon centers, starting around 2 years of age. It is tolerant to both drought and waterlogged soils, does best at low elevations (0-3,000 feet), in relatively dry areas (0-50 in rain per year) and is typically found near coastal areas. It prefers full sun but can tolerate partial sun. Grows about 1-3 feet per year in the first 7-10 years and then slows down and can reach about 35-65 feet at maturity.

Milo is considered a canoe plant brought over by Polynesians when settling on the Hawaiian Islands. While it provides a lot of shade, milo can be utilized in a variety of ways. Its bark can be stripped to make cordage, and its wood to carve out bowls and other utensils. The entire plant can be used when making lei and its fruits can be used to create a yellow-green dye.

Kalo: Kalo, also known as taro, is a root vegetable that grows well when planted in lo’i (fishponds) or rich, well-drained, and consistently moist soil. It does best when exposed to bright, indirect sunlight, as direct sunlight can burn the leaves. Kalo can be grown in both lowland and upland environments.

Kalo is an important aspect of Hawaiian culture. It was a staple in the diet of the Polynesians who first settled onto the Hawaiian Islands and is still eaten throughout the islands today, typically as poi. Kalo has been used as medicine, dye, fishing bait, as part of both spiritual and religious rituals, and more.

ʻIlima: ʻIlima (Sida fallax) is a flowering plant that grows in dry and mesic forests at a multitude of elevations. It can take on many forms from a small groundcover plant, when grown in lowlands, to a tall shrub, when grown upland. It prefers full-partial sun and to dry out in between waterings until it’s established and does not need extra watering.

ʻIlima is the official flower of Oahu. It is useful as a groundcover, especially in beach areas. ‘Ilima is often used for its medicinal qualities and for its aesthetic in lei making.

In 2025, every third Wednesday of the month, drop by Bishop Museum at the Kaiwiʻula Night Market from 5:30 – 7 p.m. to adopt native plants for free.

Go here to learn more about the Grow Aloha partners across the pae ʻāina and how you can be a part of community-based biocultural restoration in 2025.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Location: Bishop Museum – Upper Parking Lot 2
Time: 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Reserve your plant online, starting Monday, March 10th at 12 pm, and visit the Grow Aloha Booth at the Kaiwiʻula Night Market to pick up your plant!

Plants available for adoption:

Pōhuehue: Pōhuehue (Ipomoea pes-carpe) is a vine that grows in dry, beachy areas. This vine does well filling in lots of space quickly, making it ideal for groundcover and erosion control. Because of its growth speed, it may require some maintenance if you want to contain it to certain areas of your property. Pōhuehue needs to be in a spot with good water drainage and to get as much sun as it can. They are tolerant to heat, salt-spray, wind, and drought. Pōhuehue creates pink-white flowers that bloom all year round.

Pōhuehue is considered a weed by some due to its fast growth, but in the right conditions and care it can be a great groundcover plant, especially in areas with poor growing conditions. Its vine-like stems have been used to make cordage for fishing and to make lei.

Kō: Kō, or sugarcane, is a tall grass introduced to Hawai’i by the Polynesians who first settled onto the islands as one of their ‘canoe plants’. This plant does best in full sun, with moist soils that have good aeration and drainage. Ko grows best when given nitrogen-rich fertilizer regularly.

Kō has been used for centuries as a sweet snack and holds an important spiritual value in some ceremonies. It can be consumed either by juicing it and using it as a sweetener or chewing on the raw stalk as a snack. The fibers on the stalks have also been used to scrub teeth and gums.

Lonomea: Lonomea (Sapindus oahuensis) is a tree belonging to the soapberry family and can grow upwards of 20-50 feet tall – growing about 1-2 feet per year. It’s endemic to Hawai’i and only found on the islands of Kaua’i and Oʻahu. It can be found in dry and moist environments from 200-2000 feet in elevation. This plant grows in full to partial sun and is drought tolerant, so it does not require a lot of water, especially once it gets established. It grows best when provided with some slow-release fertilizer.

The wood of lonomea has been used to carve spears and make other various tools. It has hard, black seeds that have been used both medicinally and in making a permanent lei.

Beach naupaka: Beach naupaka (Scaevola taccada) is a small shrub and is one of the most widely used landscaping shrubs across Hawaiʻi. This plant thrives in almost any environment. Naupaka doesn’t require much maintenance, but it will grow best if planted in an area with full sun and well-draining soil and does not require much water. It does well in a pot or as ground cover to help prevent erosion and produces small, fragrant, white flowers year-round.

The fruit produced by naupaka has been eaten as refreshments during long journeys or times of famine in Hawaiʻi. Naupaka serves as a Hawaiian legend, representing the sad story of lovers who were separated, one banished to the mountains, the other to the beach. Both the flowers and fruits of naupaka are used in lei making while the fruits and roots have been mixed with salt to apply to cuts, skin diseases, or wounds. Local divers sometimes use the fruit, flowers or leaves of naupaka by rubbing them inside of their masks to prevent fogging (instead of using their saliva).

Reserve Your Plant Below!

Unfortunately, we have reached the maximum number of inquiries for this month’s giveaway. If people let us know they can’t pick up their plant, we will be able to accept more submissions, so we encourage you to check back at your convenience.