Island florists are struggling to meet the high demand for maile lei during this year's prom and graduation season.

The shortage of maile, most of it imported from Tonga and the Cook Islands, is largely due to the interruption last week in Aloha Airlines' cargo service, said Monty Pereira, sales and marketing director for Watanabe Floral.

Watanabe Floral usually receives shipments once a week, but when Aloha's cargo service temporarily stopped, maile shipments were stranded for two weeks in New Zealand, Pereira said.

"We couldn't get anything last week," said Erin Igawa, an administrative assistant at Aloha Flower Leis. "We had to start turning people away. There's no wait list for us."

"I feel extremely disappointed because maile leis, especially for graduation, are so traditional," said Janelle Shimooka, whose boyfriend will be graduating from the University of Hawai'i-Manoa on May 18. "They really stand out in comparison to all the other flower leis."

Shimooka decided not to order a maile lei because of the uncertain supply. "Now I'm going to have to buy one when I'm in Hilo," she said.

Aloha Flower Leis has been receiving maile from Hilo, but the demand is mostly for maile grown in the Cook Islands, Igawa said. She is expecting a shipment this week.

"We were told we should be OK for the weekend," Pereira said. "But we're still going to be very cautious. We'll take orders only if people are comfortable with an alternative."

Pereira said most prom attendees are choosing to buy their male dates boutonnieres or kukui nut leis.