  |
 |
Anthuriums in
Hawaii
One of the first persons to grow the anthurium
in Hilo was Mr. Herbert Shipman who cultivated a plant
given to him by Mrs. Damon of Honolulu. Other pioneers locally
were Mr. L.W. Bryan of the Board of Agriculture, Mr
Y. Hirose of Hirose Nurseries, Mr. Scott B. Pratt
of Kohala, and Mr. Kisataro Kono. Among these, Mr.
Hirose was the only commercial grower whereas Mr. Kono
produced anthurium seedlings which were purchased by Mr.
Katsuto Hayashi of Pahoa, Mr. and Mrs. George Hara
of Kukuau and Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Hill of Keaukaha and
several other persons. Hobbyists of that time were: Dr.
E. Yoshimura, Mr. S. Kawasaki, Mr. K. Kagawa, Mr. R. Hoota,
Mr. Alex Anderson, Miss Margaret Shipman, Mr. Herbert Smale,
Mr. Z. Yamashita, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Carlsmith, Dr. E. Mitchell,
Mrs. A Ruddle, Mr. Lindo Matsu, Mr. Harold Yamayoshi, Mr. Ikeda,
and Mr. Hayato Tanaka. There were others, but through the
process of trial and error, these hobbyists and other anthurium
fanciers cultivated and developed a growing collection of different
cultivars.
One of the first to see the potential of the anthurium as an
export crop was Mr. Hill. After a few years of operation,
the Doc Hill Nursery was purchased by Mr.
Carl Saito and Mr. Masayuki Matsuda. Although
the knowledge in cultivation began advancing in those early
years, it was difficult to get the product to market (which
was mainly to the continental United States). Shipping was mostly
by mail cargo on Matson ships and the results were more often
disappointing.
It was not until November 1935 when Pan American Airways inaugurated
service to Hawai'i that much of the shipping problems were overcome.
Although service was only once a week and flight time was still
19 to 24 hours, all flower shipments (leis, orchids, anthuriums)
arrived at their destinations in somewhat better condition.
This opened up an entirely new venue for the flower market,
despite problems emanating from support services. Through cooperative
efforts of the airline and shippers, new packing methods were
developed and post harvest handling experiments were tested.
The results gradually showed that flowers could be transported
by air without impairing their attractiveness, freshness and
saleability.
In looking back over time, mention should be made about the
thousands of military personnel who were stationed or passing
through Hawai'i in the early 1940's who unwittingly played a
part in developing the Hawai'ian mail order market. For in their
desire to share a bit of the beauty of Hawai'i, they had boxes
of exotic Hawai'ian flowers sent to their loved ones across
the breadth of the United States. Today, that practice has grown
so that the anthurium with its long lasting quality is the leading
cut flower export from Hawai'i throughout the world.
Copyright © 2003 HiloWeb
All rights Reserved. |
|
|
  |
