Final Mai'a Planted

Yesterday I planted the last of the 5 mai'a keiki that Travis & Co. set aside for me from the fence clearing. I think it is the least likely of the 4 that started out with intact stalks to continue to grow from the apical tip; it kinda rotted while it was in the holding bundle & I had to cut it off. It does have a fairly energetic looking keiki sprout at the base that is about the size of a golf ball so if the main part rots off completely perhaps a keiki will pop up from the base. 

Last maiʻa is surrounded by laʻi sprouting from roots of large old clump.

All the plants were able to withstand the 15 to 20 mph winds we had yesterday. And that's in spite of the oldest one being in the ground only about 3 weeks & the others only a couple of days. I think the ironwoods along the old road on the other edge of the pasture are still providing an adequate windbreak. The maiʻa that was planted 1st also has a new leaf sprouting!

All looking fine after yesterday's high winds.

New leaf on the 1st plant.

I looked at the Hawaiian moon calendar after the fact to see whether I had planted on good days. I did not consult it earlier since my time was constrained more by when I had time to do the plantings as well as not trying to plant them all in one day & mess up my back. The 1st one was planted on Kāloakūlua & may not do well. The 2nd one was planted on Kāloapau which was a good day but I don't think it will do much since it was only part of a root clump with 2 keiki. The 3rd one was planted on Akua which is supposed to be a good day; it is the largest of the plants. And the last 2 were planted on Hoku which also looks like a good day. We shall see what happens with them.