Koolau Farmers is a locally owned/operated nursery and garden supply business that are home…read moregardening experts. It was started in 1938 by East Oahu farmers and a Kailua papaya cooperative as a farmer-founded business entity that shifted from farming to home gardening. Today, it supplies plants, floral arrangements, fertilizers, pesticides, garden tools, etc. for home gardeners.
There are currently two locations for Koolau Farmers: Kaneohe and Honolulu (McCully). This review is for the Honolulu location.
Items that the McCully location carry include: bromeliads, flowers, fruit, orchids, palms, fruit trees, peppers, tropical fruits, shrubs, soil, trees, veggies, hono hono orchids, dwarf fruit trees (Meyer lemon, Tahitian limes, Naval oranges, jabong, grafted mango, avocado). It also offers seed starting supplies, fertilizers for plants and flowers, worm composting bins; and info re growing and care of indoor potted plants, organic gardening, soil testing, and proper lighting.
What brought us to Koolau Farmers is my lilikoi vine that I've had in my back yard for a number of years. With the help of bees, the vine had flourished and produced many delicious fruits for homemade lilikoi desserts, such as lilikoi chiffon pie, lilikoi curd, lilikoi bars, and more. But in recent years, the flowers would bloom, but because there are no bees to pollinate the lilikoi flowers, no fruits are produced. Questions to Koolau Farmers confirmed that there is a lack of nesting sites for carpenter bees (I think they're known as the black bumblebees that we no longer see) to pollinate the lilikoi flowers, resulting in a lack of fruit. According to Koolau Farmers, the flowers must be hand-pollinated instead. Staff provided instructions to my hubby on how to hand-pollinate the beautiful lilikoi flowers. A work in progress, and I'm sure more questions to follow.
Then the next project will be our dwarf local orange tree. Where is the fruit? There's a single tiny orange on it, yes, only one! Hope Koolau Farmers can help us on this one! Another work in progress.
Staff is very knowledgeable, helpful, and provides helpful guidance.
An unlikely spot in urban Honolulu to have a nursery and garden supply store, but I'm glad that it's there! The interior space is not that big, but houses boxes of fertilizers and various home gardening equipment for home gardeners. There may be displays of seasonal items on how to grow certain plants, such as hono hono orchids. Open daily from 8a to 5p. Free parking in the private lot. On the outside private lot are scattered variety of healthy local plants, herbs, orchids, and fruit trees.
We look forward in working with Koolau Farmers and knowing that they are there to help us with our home gardening needs!