Reportedly, Dracaena halapepe rarely flowers, so this is a rare sight captured by Joel Lau, an expert botanist known for his rare finds and analysis (all flower photographs courtesy of Joel Lau ©). Almost as rare is to find this species of hala pepe bearing its red grape-like fruits (photograph courtesy of Andrew Evans CC BY-NC 4.0). The strap-like leaves of hala pepe can vary a bit, with some plants like this one having short spike-like leaves, while others have longer drooping leaves (photograph of spike-like leafed plant courtesy of Andrew Evans CC BY-NC 4.0). This large wild hala pepe, growing in the Ko‘olau Mountains of O‘ahu, has multiple basal, ascending branches, a common feature of this species. An encouraging site, hala pepe keiki (seedlings) beneath the parent tree. (photograph courtesy of Karl Magnacca CC BY-NC 4.0).

Growth Requirements

General

    There are a handful of native Hawaiian plants that I (Koebele) have only grown or propagated a few times or sometimes only once, usually because of the scarcity of propagules (i.e., seeds, cuttings). Normally, I avoid writing about these species until I have had more experience growing them. Here, I am breaking that "rule" with Dracaena halapepe because of the very long-term (over 25 years) success I have had with this species. Therefore, please follow my recommendations below with caution, since in most cases, they are based on one or two plantings. 

    Alien Dracaena species such as the Dragon tree (D. marginata) and Corn plant (D. fragrans) have long been kept as container plants or planted in a landscape as an accent because of their distinctive look — one or more long, thick stems with a cluster of strap-like leaves at their tips. Dracaena halapepe is the perfect native Hawaiian substitute. 

    Dracaena halapepe does best in a site with full sunlight for all or most of the day. However, I have seen young wild plants growing under more shaded conditions. Keep the surface soil surrounding your D. halapepe moist, but not wet, at all times. I nearly lost one of my plants when the automated sprinklers malfunctioned for two weeks. The top half of this hala pepe died, but it was able to recover after I repaired the sprinklers and remoistened the soil.

    In the ground, I have only grown Dracaena halapepe in rocky clay and organic soil that drained water quickly. In a container, my plants grew in a two-to-one mix of sphagnum peat moss and black cinders.

    Dracaena halapepe grows slowly, less than a foot (30 cm) per year at best. While my plants grew a single main trunk with multiple upper branches, it's not uncommon to see wild hala pepe with multiple main branches ascending from near their base (see photograph above). I never saw my 25-plus-year-old hala pepe flower. Nor have I ever seen a wild D. halapepe flowering. According to Wagner et al. [1990], this species rarely flowers. (This is in contrast to the other native Hawaiian Dracaena, which typically flower once a year.) However, thanks to some fortunate botanists like Joel Lau who have seen D. halapepe blooming, I can share with you photographs (above) of its beautiful hanging inflorescence. 

    I never fertilized my in-the-ground hala pepe with anything more than an infrequent (i.e., once a year) top dressing of compost. For my containerized hala pepe, I applied either a balanced controlled-release fertilizer with minor elements every six months or gave the plant a foliar feeding every couple of months with an inorganic water-soluble fertilizer diluted to half the recommended strength. It seems that at least some hala pepe species (e.g., D. konaensis) need more potassium than many other native Hawaiian plants (see Pests and Diseases below). Therefore, make sure your fertilizer contains a significant amount of potassium.

    Hala pepe branches are brittle and will break in high winds (or careless hands), so you should keep your plant in a semi-protected site. Fortunately, healthy plants will usually recover from even major breaks (e.g., the top of a single-stemmed plant breaks off) and will put out new stem shoots from the remaining branch(es).

    Avoid pruning your hala pepe except to remove dead lower leaves or old fruit stems. (When the top half of my hala pepe died, I cut off the dead stem with a handsaw.) Hala pepe bark and wood are soft. Therefore, it's a good idea to protect the base of your plant from trimmers and chewing pests with a wire cylinder, 2L plastic bottle, or other means. 

Pests and Diseases

    All of the endemic Hawaiian Dracaena can be a challenge to maintain in the landscape because of their shared above-ground pests and soil-borne diseases. Chewing pests such as cockroaches, snails and slugs, and rats and mice are always a serious and potentially lethal concern with hala pepe, even with large, mature plants. Therefore, inspect the base of your plant regularly since this is normally the first area attacked. Unfortunately, there is no universal defense against chewing pests, so refer to the Pests & Diseases page for the best way(s) to battle each of these pests. Occasionally, hala pepe are infested by scale insects. Refer to the Pests & Diseases page for ways to eliminate scale insects. 

    For the longest time, I incorrectly diagnosed the leaf spotting on the older leaves of hala pepe (see photographs below) as some type of fungal infection. Then I came across Scot Nelson's photographs on Flickr. Scot Nelson is a Plant Pathologist at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, so I trust his diagnosis. Dr. Nelson states that these spots are a symptom of potassium deficiency. Therefore, the proper treatment if you see these spots is to apply a potassium-rich fertilizer to your hala pepe. Several suitable options are available for purchase online or at your local garden shop.

    Now, if you see leaf spotting on the newest leaves or if the center of the leaf crown starts to rot, then your hala pepe probably does have some type of fungal disease. This can be promoted by water getting trapped in the crown or between the leaves. To avoid this, water the soil, not the plant. If you use sprinklers in your landscape, make the necessary adjustments to avoid this watering mistake.

    Overwatering or poor drainage, resulting in constantly wet soil, can promote harmful soil-borne fungi and bacteria that can infect the base and roots of your hala pepe and kill it. Therefore, don't overwater, and keep the surface soil around your plant dry most of the time.

Potassium deficiency in cultivated hala pepe (Dracaena konaensis). Photographs courtesy of Scot Nelson Public Domain.

Special Features and Information

General

    Asparagaceae includes species that vary widely in their appearance and growth form but is based on the edible garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis). The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species native to all continents except Antarctica. Its taxonomy has undergone several revisions, including some recent changes since 2000. Currently (2026), there are approximately 3,170 species within 126 genera in the family. Based primarily on recent molecular genetic research, members of the old Agavaceae (Agave family) such as the genus Dracaena, along with all the endemic Hawaiian species, were reorganized within Asparagaceae [WikipediA;Asparagaceae]. In Hawai‘i, the only native species within Asparagaceae are members of the genus Dracaena [Flora of the Hawaiian Islands].

Hawaiian Name

    In Hawaiian, Pepe can mean "small," while Pēpē can mean "baby" [Pukui & Elbert 1986]. Therefore, it is generally believed that Hala pepe means "small or baby hala," hala (Pandanus tectorius) being a common and important plant to Hawaiians. Likely, it was the similarity in the shape of the two trees and their leaves, along with the observation that hala pepe trees and their leaves are generally smaller than those of hala, that led to this naming. Pepe can also mean "flat," which leads to an alternative explanation for the name proposed by Karl Magnacca: that the name refers to the flat leaves of hala pepe compared to the ridged leaves of hala. Halapepe, as one word, occasionally appears in the literature in reference to these plants. 

Etymology

    Dracaena is the Latinized form of the Greek word drakaina, meaning "female dragon," and likely is a reference to the dragon tree (with its red resinous sap), described by Carl Linnaeus, who assigned it to the new genus [WikipediA;Dracaena draco]. The species name, halapepe, is a direct reference to the Hawaiian name, Hala pepe, used for this and the other native Hawaiian Dracaena species.