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Florists’ Review | Hawaii MIDPAC Horticultural Conference & Expo 2018

Hawaii MIDPAC Horticultural Conference & Expo 2018 img1Read this month’s Florists’ Review article, Hawaii MIDPAC Horticultural Conference & Expo 2018! Article: Hawaii MIDPAC Horticultural Conference & Expo 2018!

Excerpt: “Embracing the theme “The Aloha Advantage,” the focus was placed on the quality of product grown in Hawaii thanks, in part, to the unique growing medium of lava rock cinder. However, with the eruption of the Kilauea volcano this year, it took on a new meaning. “Aloha means affection, peace, compassion, mercy. It is in our state laws concerning mutual respect and affection, which is warm and caring and with no intention of being returned,” commented Dawn Kitagawa, president of HENA. “We are ‘ohana’ [family] in the Islands. We share information. We work together for the common good of everyone. We were heartbroken with the eruption. Some companies lost their operations. They came to our conference, even with their losses, to help. They worked the conference even though they do not have plants to sell.”

“The Aloha spirit is not just a slogan; it is a way of life in Hawaii,” explained Enrique Martinez, owner of California & Hawaii Foliage Growers. “In two hours, friends lost their nurseries. Friends have lost everything.”

One such farmer was Robert Stearns, owner of Leilani Palms & Foliage, in Pahoa. “I’ve worked with foliage farms in Hawaii since 1983. I lost 100 percent of my inventory, which was on 11 acres. It is sad knowing the property is gone. It is a life-changing experience, which is bittersweet. We were told we had until Saturday to get plants out. The lava came in on Friday and, in hours, wiped out the farm,” relived Stearns. “This is not exclusive to the foliage farms. It is taking papaya fields, avocado orchards, orchid nurseries. Green Lake is now evaporated. As a farmer, you need to be resilient, or you don’t last long.”

2018 Aloha Plantscape Award Winner

Audra Danzak, Owner & Founder of A Garden Inc., won the 2018 Aloha Plantscape Award for her multiple lavish installations at the Bellagio Resort & Casino Hotel in Las Vegas Nevada!

To see the winning entry, click here.

North American Press Syndicate | Hawaiian Plants For Good Health

Read the North American Press Syndicate’s article on the healthfulness of Hawaiian plants here: Hawaiian Plants for Good Health

Excerpt: “One NASA researcher, Dr. B. C. Wolverton, even went so far as to list the 50 plants best suited to purify your personal space. Lucky for lovers of the lush and lovely, 11 of these come from Hawaii. Hawaiian-grown, premium-quality tropical potted foliage and flowers offer an “Aloha Advantage”: They not only provide a beautiful, picturesque piece of paradise, but Hawaiian-grown plants also tend to be very difficult to kill and, therefore, require less overall maintenance and replacement costs.”

2017 Aloha Plantscape Award Winner

Emma Galvez, Ambius San Francisco, won the 2017 Aloha Plantscape Award for her outstanding installation at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco! Congratulations Emma!

To see the winning entry, click here.

2017 TPIE HENA Booth Exhibit

2017 TPIE HENA Booth

HENA represented our Hawaii Growers and their vast array of Hawaiian Potted Foliage & Flowers available commercially at this year’s 2017 Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE), the largest US plant interiorscape show held in January in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

2016 Aloha Plantscape Award Winner

GKentia Palmary Cramer, the Director of Horticulture for the Wynn Encore, won the 1st Inaugural Aloha Plantscape Award at the 2016 Hawaii MIDPAC Conference & Expo!

To see the winning entry, click here.

HENA’s New Website!

HENAThe Hawaii Export Nursery Association has launched a new website!  We are pleased to offer visitors with a variety of new website features, including:

  1. Searchable Product and Membership Directories
  2. Calendar of Hawaii Industry Events
  3. MIDPAC Event Section with Online Registration
  4. Aloha Plantscape Awards Event Section with Online Entry

And, keep checking back at HENA’s News Section for the latest industry information!  If you have any thoughts about our new website, please Let Us Know!

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