Giving flower don’t have to be so serious.  Just pick what you like and bunch them together.  Everyone loves flowers.  Regardless.

Gardenias season on the island is between April and July. Season peaks right about now in June. If you want them in August, pray for heavy rain in July:) Not recommended. Care of gardenias is simple. When you bring home fresh gardenias from the florist, blossoms are usually tight and off-white with a light touch of green in color. To speed up the bloom and release of fragrant, display your gardenias in the warmer part of the house with bright light. To keep unused bunches dormant, place them in a small short glass of water, place a plastic bag over them to keep the buds from drying out and keep them in the lower shelf of your refrigerator. You can do similar to displayed gardenias when you’re out and about. Upon return, take them back out from the refrigerator, remove plastic bag and continue to enjoy the fragrant of these beautiful summer blossoms. Replace browned flowers with new buds, and change water often. Enjoy the summer. With gardenia around, you’re sure to be in paradise.

It’s time to dispose your Christmas tree and wreaths and it’s tempting to just throw them all in the trash. But it is worth while to separate them out for reuse and recycle first. In Kapahulu area, our next green waste (green bin) pick up is on January 8, Thursday.

Tabletop Christmas tree (topiary) – Pull off all ornaments, save them for next year to be reused. Pull all the greens and dispose them in the (green waste) green bin. Dispose the oasis in the (refuse) gray bin. The vase can be reuse or donate to Goodwill.

Wreath with metal base. – Pull off all ornaments, save them for next year to be reused. The remaining metal base and green is best just thrown in the gray bin. H-power will pick out the metal before burning the rest.

Wreath with natural twig basePull off all ornaments, save them for next year to be reused. Or call your local florist to see if they would take back the wreath. Some would certainly take the time to unwire the greens and save the twig base for future use.

Norfolk Christmas tree is rather easy to set up for treecycle.
1. Take off all the hung ornaments first and store them for future use.
2. Snap off the branches as you untangle the lights, wrapping the lights into a ball and store for next year use.
3. Snap off the remaining branches and bunch them in a pile.
4. Saw the main trunk in two or three pieces.
5. bundle everything and place them in the green bin.

Vase Arrangements

Keep vase filled with water containing flower food (follow instruction on package)
When water become cloudy, change water. Re-cut stems with a sharp clippers. Place flowers back in water right away after cutting.
Keep floral arrangement in a cool spot and stay away from direct heat and drafts.
Pull foliage as they die.
Dispose along with your green waste.  Check www.opala.org for your green waste pick-up schedule.

Oasis Arrangements
Flowers are thirsty, every other day add water until oasis is moist.
Keep floral arrangement cool and stay away from direct sun or heat and drafts.
Pull foliage as they die.
Dispose along with your green waste.

Check www.envhonolulu.orgfor your green waste pick-up schedule.

Other Care Posts

Usually flower arrangements from the flower shop are refrigerated. So, treat flower arrangements like cold drinks.  When place on wood surface, such as an antique dining table or hallway table,  use a “coaster” so condensation will not damage the wood surface. 

• Flowers are thirsty, add water every other day until oasis is moist.
• Keep floral arrangement cool and stay away from direct sun or heat and drafts.
• Pull foliage as they die.
• Dispose along with your green waste.  Check www.envhonolulu.orgfor your green waste pick-up schedule.

• Hang protea or Christmas wreath at your front door
  or other location and let it dry naturally.
• Before dispose along with your green waste, untie and remove all wire. Metal wire will demage the chipper. Check www.envhonolulu.org for treecycle information.
• You can also bring you dry wreath back to us. We are happy to get our wreaths off the landfill.

Add water daily or until oasis is moist.
Keep protea away from direct sun or heat and drafts.
Protea can be dried by hanging them upside down in a dark place