Hawaii-grown flowers in the spotlight: New variety of anthurium presented at event

Floral lovers of all types recently spent a weekend learning about Hawaii’s tropical flowers and how to make them even more beautiful.

The Hawaii Floriculture Nursery Association, or HFNA, hosted a Fresh Look Expo all about designing with Hawaii-grown flowers.

The three-day event at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, held Sept. 19-21, included a nursery tour, a lei-making workshop, presentations, floral design workshops and demonstrations on making sustainable plant structures.

Canadian floral designer Hitomi Gilliam from the American Institute of Floral Designers gave a presentation about the “Principles and Elements of Design and Mechanics” before leading a hands-on workshop for attendees working on their own arrangements.

“This is the biggest workshop you’ll see. We had 60 people here today,” Gilliam said. “We have a lot of locals, people from other islands, a huge contingent from California, I’m from Canada and I had a student from Rome, Italy, come, too.”

On Saturday, Teresita D. Amore, a professor, researcher and floriculture breeder from the University of Hawaii at Manoa Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Department, presented a new anthurium they bred, which was named “Hitomi” after Gilliam.

“She has bred so many varieties of florals and named them for different people, and some of them are here now,” Gilliam said. “We do feel really special. It’s kind of awesome.”

When it comes to breeding floriculture, it takes a village, according to Amore. The Hitomi anthurium itself took 24 years from pollination to distribution.

Breeding begins with a lot of research and many attempts of cross-pollination until a seedling grows into something that starts to look interesting. Breeders and researchers then send photos to their cooperators, which include growers and designers, to get their opinion.

“Growers are an important component to the process. They test seedlings in larger numbers and tell us if this is something that would be feasible,” Amorea said. “If they like the seedlings, they will test 20-50 plants, ship them to other growers and designers and decide if the flower has consumer accessibility.”

To make the process the most cost-efficient, working with growers and designers is crucial for breeders who want to ensure that they are cloning something that will be bought.

“It’s a long journey, and if we commit such a long time, we better be doing something right. That’s why the professional advisory is so important,” Amore said. “We have had less growers participating with many aging farmers, but the cooperators we do work with are great partnerships.”

One of those partners is HFNA, which has been in existence sine 1948 and represents over 350 members of the Hawaii floral community across the state.

HFNA works to promote better conditions that will create and sustain an economically viable flower and plant industry and enhance its members’ business success through education, marketing, research and services.

“The amount of flowers sold in and around Hawaii has decreased in the last few years, with some of that due to aging farmers and the effects of the 2018 lava flow and COVID-19,” said President Eric Tanouye. “We do have some younger people getting involved, and there is a wide range of ages here this weekend, which is exciting to see.”

With the new anthurium bred from research at UH, Hawaii growers will already have a market set up, and designers that will share the novel flower with their communities in California, Canada and elsewhere.

“This is something unique and the first of its kind, it’s not the same old same old,” Amore said. “You don’t see this shape in anthurium, and you don’t often see transitional colors, so there is a novelty there.”

Even for the most skilled and experienced breeder, grower or designer, the three-day Fresh Look Expo provided new opportunities for networking and personal growth.

“I’m here learning as a breeder, because I have to know what designers want, and it’s an excellent way to get feedback while learning some techniques,” Amore said.

“The expo is always a great time to get together as a community and celebrate the beautiful flowers we get to play with,” Gilliam said.

Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.