Carnation lei on Oʻahu

Carnation lei are strung from whole blooms, packed close so the strand is dense and slightly springy. Red and white are the usual colours, with pink and variegated available at larger shops. The scent is mild and a little spicy, closer to clove than to jasmine, and it does not fade the way a plumeria lei's does over an afternoon.

Durability is why carnation turns up so often at graduations. A ceremony can run for hours, much of it outdoors, and a carnation lei will still look worn-on-purpose at the end of it, where a plumeria lei will not. It also stacks well, which matters when a graduate ends up wearing six or seven at once, and it holds up to being taken off, put in a bag and put back on.

Like orchid, carnation is commercially grown rather than gathered, so it is available through the year and its price is steadier than the seasonal flowers. Some of what shops use is grown in Hawaiʻi and some is flown in, and shops do not generally advertise which.

Carnation is often doubled, braided, or combined with ribbon and with ti leaf for graduation lei, and money lei are frequently built on a carnation base. If you want something specific for a ceremony date, order it rather than expecting it on the rail, particularly in May.