Today I planted a hapuu, a Hawaiian tree fern which in my opinion is the ultimate tropical landscaping plant that provides the perfect environment for shade loving species. It also helps to shade out an area to prevent unwanted weeds (guinea grass) which is what I am trying to do in this particular spot.
The trunk of the hapuu grows extremely slowly, about 3 inches per year. A tall hapuu can be cut at the base at anytime (I use a sawzall) and can be replanted in a deep enough hole to keep it stable. With consistent moisture the fern will continuously unravel new leaves. It’s good to plant hapuu in clusters so that they will provide eachother shade. Solitary grown hapuu ferns tend to not look so happy. We started planting our “hapuu forest” around 2014 and we have about 30 big ones and at least 100+ species of orchids, anthuriums, bromeliads, and many other shade loving and shade tolerant plants growing among it.
The hapuu will continuously grow pups from its sides. You can let the pup grow for a while and cut it off for replanting. This one I planted was growing in a pot in the shade for about 9 months.
Originally posted on 2021-09-10, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.