Hawaiians strung the yellow or golden flowers of hala pepe into lei. Hala pepe produces clusters of grape-like red to brown fruits that hang below its leaf crowns. (Photographs of flowers and fruits courtesy of Edward Rau, Sustainable Bioresources LLC, CC BY-NC 4.0.). An old wild hala pepe surviving in the dry open forest and grassland of North Kona, Hawai‘i. This relatively young cultivated hala pepe is already producing fruits. 

Growth Requirements

General

    Here on O‘ahu, I (Koebele) have had much greater success growing the O‘ahu hala pepe, Draceana forbesii and D. halapepe, than I've had growing the Hawai‘i Island endemic D. konaensis. And, now, I think I (might) know why. Wild D. konaensis grow exclusively (as far as I've seen) in lava/cinder "soil" on Hawai‘i Island. And, I've always been able to keep them alive in pots filled primarily with black cinders. The problems started when I transferred them to the ground. These transfers were always to primarily clay-based soil, sometimes quite rocky, sometimes not. These soils drained water rather quickly, but probably not as quickly as a 100% lava/cinder substrate. In any case, within a year or two, if the hala pepe wasn't killed by some pest (e.g., rat, snails) chewing at its base and girdling it, then it died because of some form of fungal or bacterial rot that turned the base of the plant into mush. So, my hypothesis is that it's all about the soil when growing D. konaensis. Grow it in lava/cinder and you're good; grow it in anything else and you're not. I don't know why. Perhaps it's simply drainage, or maybe it's differences in soil chemistry, or maybe it's the different microbial communities the two soils can support. What has been your experience(s) growing D. konaensis? Do they support my hypothesis or refute it? Please contact us at EickhoffandKoebele@gmail.com and let us know so we can improve this webpage and share your knowledge.

    With the above preface, here are my recommendations when growing D. konaensis. If you live on either Maui or Hawai‘i Island and can plant your hala pepe in soil made up of mostly lava rock and cinder, then go for it. If you live on one of the other Islands, it's likely best you keep your D. konaensis in a container filled with black cinders and lava rocks.

    I've always seen wild Draceana konaensis growing in full sunlight for all or most of the day. Therefore, duplicate this light level with your cultivated hala pepe. If you plant your hala pepe in the ground, water it about once a week until its roots are established (i.e., a couple of months) and you see new growth. Then, reduce your watering to once a month in hot dry sites or even less or no watering in places with more rainfall. Your waterings should be long and deep rather than short showers. Overwatering is deadly, and the soil or media around your plant should be surface dry most of the time. 

    Dracaena konaensis grows rather quickly in comparison to D. forbesii and D. halapepe, and you can expect a three foot (1 m) tall plant in just a few years. D. konaensis also seems to begin flowering sooner than the other two species (see photograph above); I have seen plants less than five feet (1.5 m) tall with fruits. However, if your hala pepe fails to grow, or you are keeping it in a container, try applying a balanced controlled-release fertilizer once or twice a year. Alternatively, you can apply an organic or inorganic foliar fertilizer at ½ to ⅓ the recommended strength two to three times a year. All hala pepe species seem to 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. 

    Dracaena konaensis is both heat- and drought-tolerant. 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 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. 

Pests and 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, so refer to the Pests & Diseases page for the best way(s) to battle each of these pests. 

    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.

    Occasionally, hala pepe are infested by scale insects. Refer to the Pests & Diseases page for ways to eliminate them.

    Overwatering, 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.

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 (2025), there are approximately 3,170 species within 126 genera in the family [WikipediA;Asparagaceae].

    All the Hawaiian hala pepe were recently reclassified and moved to the genus Draceana. Meanwhile, Draceana was moved from the Agavaceae family to Asparagaceae based on recent DNA analysis [WikipediA;Dracaena]. 

    There are currently seven recognized species of native Dracaena in the Hawaiian Islands, with each species limited in range to one or two islands. 

• Dracaena aurea — Kauaʻi 

• Dracaena auwahiensis — Moloka'i and Maui

• Dracaena fernaldii — Lānaʻi

• Dracaena forbesii — Oʻahu 

• Dracaena halapepe — Oʻahu

• Dracaena halemanuensis — Kauaʻi

• Dracaena konaensis — Hawaiʻi Island

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, konaensis, refers to the Kona (leeward) region of Hawaiʻi Island where this endangered species is endemically found. The suffix, -ensis, was added to Latinize the name [A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin].