You can also sometimes find frozen durian sections for sale in clear plastic boxes for about $6. It’s not quite the same as fresh durian, any more than thawed frozen strawberries are the same as fresh, but it’s pretty close — as fruit-freezing goes, durians freeze and thaw quite well. 

Also, it is increasingly possible to find fresh Hawai`i-grown durians, in season (usually and mostly early November), if you know the right people and places. Mike Strong of Kahili Farm on Kaua`i (808) 828-1292) has probably the largest bearing durian plantation in the Island so far, with enough harvest in recent years to sell the fruits at Kaua`i farmers' markets. More will be coming. Ono Farms in Kipahulu, Maui (808) 248-7779 info@onofarms.com has some bearing durian trees now also and may have some available in season. And mostly non-commercial growers on the Big Island are known to be harvesting durians lately. So ask around in late October/early November, you may get lucky!

When King Kalakaua made a trip around the world in 1881, seedlings of trees suitable for fruit bearing and economic use were sent back on his behalf from many different countries. Among these was Hawai‘i’s first durian tree, planted by George N. Wilcox, which can still be seen living at Grove Farm Homestead Museum on Kaua‘i.(Hawai`i's Merry Monarch did have a very friendly visit with the King of Siam ... I don't know, but that first tree may very well have come from Siam [Thailand]). Hawaiian durian trees and fruits have since remained relatively rare, however. In such a tropical fruit paradise like Hawai‘i, abundant with thriving tropical fruit trees and plants introduced from all over the world, what happened (or not happened) to bring about this Hawaiian durian deprivation?

 horticultural challenges — 

• Durian is an ultratropical tree, and Hawai‘i is on the edge of the zone where it is possible for the trees to thrive 

• Only some areas of the Islands are suitable for their growth

• The seeds remain viable for only a few days outside of the fruit (or a week with refrigeration) unless immediately sprouted or planted, which necessitates quick transport from any Southeast Asia location to Hawai`i

• Grafted young trees of the best Southeast Asian varieties are not always easy to find in Hawai`i fruit tree nurseries

• Importing young trees of the best varieties from Southeast Asia is logistically challenging and hampered by governmental red tape

• Growers in Hawai`i are usually unfamiliar with what varieties are best

• The trees are highly susceptible to wind damage when young 

• Hand pollination is necessary for good fruit production (partially due to missing natural pollinators like bats found in Southeast Asia). 

When I first became aware of durians in the late 1980's, while working on my Hawaiian Organic Growing Guide book, I was not really sure if it was possible in Hawai‘i to grow durians very well. Since then, Stephan Reeve and Chuck Boerner on Maui, Ed Johnston on the Big Island, Mike Strong on Kaua‘i,and other enthusiastic durian pioneers have demonstrated that it is indeed very possible.

Stephan Reeve, Kipahulu, Maui

Ed Johnston, Hamakua Coast, Big Island

unknown — Large numbers of people in Hawai‘i probably have never even have heard of durians (not including, however, the approximately half of Hawai‘i’s modern population that is of Asian or Southeast Asian ancestry)

 unfortunate encounters — Some people have tried a durian while on a journey in Southeast Asia but it happened to be a low-quality or mediocre one; or in a closed indoors space they encountered spoiled durian fragrance (which, though not the original fragrance, is indeed capable of resembling rotten eggs) ...so they assume all durians are like that

 reputation — Among people who have never had the good fortune to experience eating a high-quality durian, the fruit’s exaggerated or mistaken reputation as bad-smelling (often spread by people who have had the above unfortunate encounters) makes many people shy away\

 it simply has yet to happen — It's easy to take it for granted that surely by now all the great fruit crops of Hawai‘i have already been introduced to the Islands — but that isn’t necessarily so!

 seeds and trees not readily available, and if so of uncertain variety — Young durian trees have been available to some extent from Island nurseries for many years, but sporadically and all too often with a generic "durian" tag, with little or no care given to variety ... like buying a young tree marked "Mango," with no indication as to what kind

 not much cultivation information available — I know very well how little English-language cultivation information for durians has been available, researching these articles. I’m aiming to rectify that situation here!

The King of Fruits in my opinion has great potential for Hawai‘i. Half the population has Asian roots and large numbers of people would buy durians in the markets at goodly prices if they were available...the trees are beautiful, majestic, and very productive...and the fruit is exquisitely delicious and very nutritious. 

And though it’s definitely fun to travel to Southeast Asia to eat durians, I’d rather regularly eat Hawaiian durians in Hawai‘i. So...