Planting Spring Bulbs in Hawaii: What Will Come Back, and What Will Not
No spring bulb blooms reliably here without help, because Hawaii’s winter never gets cold enough to trigger flowering.
Gardening in Hawaii
Everything we have worked out for Hawaii: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Honolulu, the last spring freeze falls around no freeze occurs in inhabited areas and the first fall freeze falls around no freeze occurs in inhabited areas, USDA zones 9a-13a, 9,934 growing degree days in the year.
Heat, not frost, is what shortens the season here: above 86 °F tomato pollen goes sterile, so growers run a spring crop and an autumn one rather than a single long season. Garlic is the awkward one: only 0 weeks below 40 °F, where it needs six to split into cloves. Chill the cloves before planting, or grow a softneck type.
Elsewhere on the property in Hawaii: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
The Best Apple Varieties for Hawaii
Apple trees need winter chill to flower and Hawaii’s lowlands rarely provide it. This explains what elevation and site choice can change.
Firewood in Hawaii: Which Woods Your Winter Actually Needs
Firewood in Hawaii isn’t about survival. With winter lows that barely dip below 67°F, a woodstove here is closer to a fireplace on a cruise ship than a…
When to Carve a Pumpkin in Hawaii
Hawaii doesn’t have a frost season to plan around, so the calendar that works in Ohio or Vermont doesn’t apply here.
Growing Onions in Hawaii: Which Varieties Actually Bulb
Onions bulb by day length, not by heat, and Hawaii’s day never gets long enough for most of the varieties sold in stores.
Growing Apples in Hawaii: Varieties, Timing and Frost Risk
Apples can grow in Hawaii’s cooler upland regions using low-chill varieties, though lowland heat keeps most trees from flowering or fruiting reliably.
Heating a Home in Hawaii: What the Winter Actually Costs
Hawaii’s mildest winters still cost something to heat against. Here’s what the Honolulu numbers say about wood, seasoning time, and what to skip buying.
Gardening in Hawaii: What the Season Actually Allows
There’s no frost season to plan around in lowland Hawaii, and that changes everything about how a garden year works here.
Aphids in Hawaii: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Aphids don’t take a season off in Hawaii. Because the islands never see a hard freeze, these soft-bodied insects reproduce year-round, with the heaviest…
Garden Pests in Hawaii: What Shows Up, When, and How to Stop It
CTAHR’s IP-13 guide identifies the fruit flies, beetles, thrips and ants that trouble Hawaii home gardens, plus which controls actually reduce damage.