I wanted grow a Ohia tree. I bought a plant that died but now I going to the Hilo and My brother in law has plenty land on the Big Island and Ohia on it woooo hooo lol.

My question is I would like to uproot one, but I don't know what I am doing lol. I don't want to destroy the land or the Ohia, so am I looking for a big stump with roots on it? or small starters? Is seed what I have to start with?

And since I visiting how may I keep it until I reach home?
When would it be ready for the pot?

I'm not ready for the ground yet I would like to start off in the pot. When I do put it in the pot what kind of soil and fertilizer does it need to keep up in the Waianae weather and keep it strong?

Mahalo for reading

Aloha, Haku

Hilo ohia are used to being very wet. It's easier to just buy one that's been doing well on Oahu. Kind of hard to lug a potted plant on the plane. I don't think you can take soil between islands. But anyway, your brother's plants are free right?

Maybe you can get seeds from a plant already growing on Oahu. Shake the seed capsule over a pot of moist potting soil. Transplant keiki when they have 2 sets of leaves. Ohia grows pretty slowly. It could take a year to get a 2-foot plant from seed.

You can use 2 parts potting mix to 1 part cinder to grow ohia in a container.

Use a slow release fertilizer like Osmocote, the one that has all the numbers the same (like 14-14-14, for example)

I recommend Heidi Bornhorst's book, "Growing Native Hawaiian Plants." Good luck!