Making matters worse, florists on Kauai will only use maile from Kauai because consumers refuse to buy anything but Kauai-grown, Blanco said. People come from all around to Kauai to pick them. They have smaller leaves and they are more fragrant than any other. When we wear our maile leis to other islands, people want to buy them off our necks. Marshals with guns have taken to guarding some areas of Kauai maile from pickers, said Alan Tada, owner of Flowers Forever in Lihue.
Most people have friends who know where to go.
But you can't pick too much. If you overpick, you kill the plant and that's our future. The store only buys maile from the Big Island. I know there's been a water shortage, but it hasn't affected our supply. People who place advance orders for the prom flower, Shikuzawa said, should be able to get the maile.