Single-strung orchid
$12.00 each


Wrist/ankle lei
$8.00 each

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Double-strung orchid

 (thicker) $24.00 each

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Loose orchid blossoms

$ 0.15 each

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Wedding haku

 Orchid & Baby's Breath (head lei), backed by ferns
$30.00 each

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White, lavender & purple orchid haku

(head lei) with rosebuds, backed by ferns. $35.00 each

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Vanda Orchids

Vanda orchids are the popular lei orchid from 50 years ago. The flowers have beautiful lavender petals with a gold throat. The Lani is strung sideways so the throat shows, while the Maunaloa is made of the lips only. Unfortunately, the Lani is a little more fragile in the outer petals than the dendrobium orchid, while all Vanda leis turn white if exposed to too much heat very quickly. More...

 Lani: vanda orchids single-strung

$15.00 each  
 

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Maunaloa: vanda orchid "lips"

$30.00 each   

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Long grown as a hobby flower, dendrobium orchids began to replace all other orchids for cut stems, lei flowers, and potted plants by the 1950's in Hawaii. They have a greater range of colors, particularly among the potted varieties, and the cutflower varieties are outstanding for their longevity and hardiness. The University of Hawaii has had an extensive breeding program since the 1950's, in addition to the hundreds of dedicated commercial growers and hobbyists who have delighted in developing new cultivars year after year.

The dendrobium flowers we use for leis are the culmination of decades of research with a good leavening of obsession. These flowers may be handled to excess, squished, hugged, exposed to wilting levels of heat and still perform. The white varieties will still show signs of crushing, but the purples hide bruising very well. They ship and store remarkably well, which makes them ideal for commercial lei production. Lei makers continue to find new ways to to string them - new styles range from the Christina lei made of the lips, to various petals-only leis that are very full and delicate.

More about Vanda Orchids...

The Vanda orchid "Miss Joaquim" that we make into the two most popular Vanda leis is an indigenous Vanda hybrid discovered in the late 1800's in Singapore - it's actually the national flower of Singapore. This hybrid was introduced to Hawaii, and became very popular and widely grown by the 30's. Slightly larger and more three-dimensional than the Dendrobium orchid, the Vanda hybrid was a lei-maker's favorite for many years. The body of the flower is very firm, but the outer petals are frilly and more delicate than the Dendrobium's. The darker purple lip of this orchid is fairly large, and easily detached to create the Maunaloa lei, which is very sturdy and beautiful. The Lani lasts up to three days after delivery, while the Maunaloa will last a bit longer. Both leis will turn white if exposed to heat.