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.
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 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, April 16, 2025
Location: Bishop Museum – Upper Parking Lot 2
Time: 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Reserve your plant online, starting Monday, April 7th at 12:00 pm, and visit the Grow Aloha Booth at the Kaiwiʻula Night Market to pick up your plant!
Plants available for adoption:
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.
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.
Kou: Kou (Cordia subcordata) is a good shade tree and is able to endure sub-par growing conditions. Kou can be found thriving along the streets in urban areas, as well as in parking lots and commercial landscaping. It can make a great addition to any roomy landscape and doesn’t require much care once it is established. They need partial-full sun with well-draining soil. It’s bright orange flowers bloom year-round and are used to make beautiful lei.
Kou is considered one of the best carving woods, famous for its ability to carve easily without the need for metal tools. It has been used to make a variety of dishes and food utensils because it doesn’t add flavor to food it holds, which is ideal for poi bowls. Its leaves can be used to create red dyes used to make kapa and fish line.
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.
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.
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.
ʻAuhuhu (Tephrosia purpurea) is a small shrub that makes small purple and white pea flowers. Although it has a lifespan of 1-2 years, they reproduce often during their lifetime, ensuring their presence in your landscape for years to come. ʻAuhuhu prefers full sun and doesn’t require much water once they are established.
ʻAuhuhu is also known as the Hawaiian Fish Poisoning Plant because it is sometimes used by fisherman in closed bodies of water to intoxicate fish, making them easier to catch. The same fish intoxicating juice produced by its leaves can be ground and mixed with salt and niu to treat cuts and itchy skin.
ʻAe ʻae: ʻAe ʻae (Bacopa monnieri) is a ground cover plant that can be used in a variety of ways. When planted directly into soil, this plant can make a great addition to your lawn as it can handle some foot traffic and prevents soil erosion. It can also be used as a filler plant or planted on its own in a pot, where it will begin to cascade down the pot as it grows. They can even grow directly on water! If planted in soil, they need lots of water and partial-full sun.
‘Ae ‘ae is a diverse plant that can thrive in a variety of habitats. When water/marsh ecosystems, it can provide home to many different invertebrates that are a food source for native waterfowl including ʻalae ʻula (Hawaiian moorhen) and ʻalae keʻokeʻo (Hawaiian coot).
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.
Kaiwiʻula Night Market Event
We look forward to seeing you!
