OFFICIALPrOCLAmAtIOn

GOINGNATIVELICH native plant initiative seeks to reverse the decline of native plants

rISK ASSESSmEnt The Invasive Species Initiative is bringing awareness to the industry

Governor Neil Abercrombie proclaims July LICH Water Conservation Month

Landscape Industry Council of Hawai’iP. O. Box 22938 Honolulu HI 96823-2938

PRESORTEDSTANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDHONOLULU, HI

PERMIT NO. 1023

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y I S S U E

JUNE | JULY 2011

$3.95T H E V o I C E o f T H E G r E E N I N d U S T r Y I N H A W A I I

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 3THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

INSI

DEINSIDE

lookT a b l e o f C o n t e n t s

DEPARTMENTS 3 PRESIDENT’S MEMO 4 LICH NEWS 6 TOOL TIPS 8 LICH EVENTS10 LANDSCAPE BUSINESS12 FEATURED PEST18 BOOK REVIEW

FEATURES

14 ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY16 TRACE20 AG DAY22 LYON’S LEGACY24 DEVELOPING WILT RESISTANT KOA28 COMPOST29 IRRIGATION CHECK UP32 RAIN GARDEN34 KAWANANAKOA SCHOOL36 CLT CERTIFICATION & TRAINING INFO38 ‘ILIAHI40 KEEP IT LOCAL! OHIA43 BIOSECURITY

COVER STORIES

26 LICH INVASIVE SPECIES 19 LICH PROCLAMATION30 LICH NATIVE PLANT INITIATIVE

40

34

Hawaii’s landscape industry is one of the fastest growing and largest segments of the green in-dustry with an economic impact of over $520 million annually and full time employment of over 11,000 landscape professionals.

The Landscape Industry Council of Hawai‘I formed in June 1986, is a statewide al-liance representing Hawaii’s landscape associations: Aloha Arborist Association, American Society of Landscape Architects Hawaii Chapter, Hawaii Associa-tion of Nurserymen, Hawaii Is-land Landscape Association, Hawaii Landscape and Irrigation Contractors, Hawaii Society of Urban Forestry Professionals, Kauai Landscape Industry Coun-cil, Maui Association of Land-scape Professionals, Professional Grounds Management Society, Big Island Association of Nurs-erymen, and the Hawaii Profes-sional Gardeners Association.

Landscape Industry Council of Hawai‘iP. O. Box 22938, Honolulu HI 96823-2938www.landscapehawaii.org

EditorChris DacusChris.Dacus@gmail.com

Advertising SalesJay Deputyjaydeputy@gmail.com

DesignerDarrell Ishida

Cover PhotoRichard Quinn

MEM

OMEMOpresident’s

b y C h r i s D a c u s

phot

o: S

haun

Tok

unag

a

This issue features some amazing sustain-ability projects and initiatives happening in our state. Sustainability is the buzz and rightfully it does need to be top of mind for Hawaii and the landscape industry.

n 95% of Hawaii’s energy supply is imported fossil fuel.n 1/3 of all endangered species in the

United States are in Hawaii.n 85% of what we consume is imported.n 64% of Hawai‘i’s streams are

considered “impaired” by pollutants. n 90 year decrease in the recharge

of Hawai‘i aquifers.

Since Captain Cook’s arrival in 1778, there’s been a constant degradation of Hawaii’s environment. And we have reached a low point. The facts are stacked against us and like frogs in water getting hotter and hotter; we are somewhat desensitized. I know in the past, I too use to hope things would improve without me being personally responsible.

The good news is that the Landscape Industry Council of Hawai’i has worked for 5 years on important sustainability initiatives. Three LICH sustainability initiatives are fea-tured in this issue: Invasive Species, Native

Species and Irrigation Water Conservation. But there remains much sustain-ability work to be done and being the only tropical state in the nation; we are literally on our own.

We need each other. Your life is dependent on mine. Each of us has a personal responsibility.

The efforts on tropical sustainability have for the most part dealt with the low hanging fruit and resulted in a marginal slowing of the degradation of the quality of our lives; the environment, the economy and the independence from imported goods.

We live in times that require great change; a paradigm shift to protect our very way of life. If we don’t act; who will? If we wait any longer; what will be left? We cannot afford to wait for someone else to solve sustainability for us.

It’s time to be the great land stewards that we are in our blood and our values and lead Hawai’i by our example towards an environmental tipping point. Take a moment right now; today; and everyday to question your way of doing busi-ness. Ask yourself, what can I do in my next task to achieve zero environmen-tal impact? Can I take it further and assist in the regeneration of our environ-ment?

My life is dependent on yours. Be a passionate leader :)

Aloha,

Chris DacusLICH President

Landscape Industry of Hawai‘i Sponsor

2 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

I ola ‘oe, i ola makou nei “My life is dependant on yours, your life is dependant on mine.”

– Hawaiian story of Hi‘iaka

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 3THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

INSI

DEINSIDE

lookT a b l e o f C o n t e n t s

DEPARTMENTS 3 PRESIDENT’S MEMO 4 LICH NEWS 6 TOOL TIPS 8 LICH EVENTS10 LANDSCAPE BUSINESS12 FEATURED PEST18 BOOK REVIEW

FEATURES

14 ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY16 TRACE20 AG DAY22 LYON’S LEGACY24 DEVELOPING WILT RESISTANT KOA28 COMPOST29 IRRIGATION CHECK UP32 RAIN GARDEN34 KAWANANAKOA SCHOOL36 CLT CERTIFICATION & TRAINING INFO38 ‘ILIAHI40 KEEP IT LOCAL! OHIA43 BIOSECURITY

COVER STORIES

26 LICH INVASIVE SPECIES 19 LICH PROCLAMATION30 LICH NATIVE PLANT INITIATIVE

40

34

Hawaii’s landscape industry is one of the fastest growing and largest segments of the green in-dustry with an economic impact of over $520 million annually and full time employment of over 11,000 landscape professionals.

The Landscape Industry Council of Hawai‘I formed in June 1986, is a statewide al-liance representing Hawaii’s landscape associations: Aloha Arborist Association, American Society of Landscape Architects Hawaii Chapter, Hawaii Associa-tion of Nurserymen, Hawaii Is-land Landscape Association, Hawaii Landscape and Irrigation Contractors, Hawaii Society of Urban Forestry Professionals, Kauai Landscape Industry Coun-cil, Maui Association of Land-scape Professionals, Professional Grounds Management Society, Big Island Association of Nurs-erymen, and the Hawaii Profes-sional Gardeners Association.

Landscape Industry Council of Hawai‘iP. O. Box 22938, Honolulu HI 96823-2938www.landscapehawaii.org

EditorChris DacusChris.Dacus@gmail.com

Advertising SalesJay Deputyjaydeputy@gmail.com

DesignerDarrell Ishida

Cover PhotoRichard Quinn

MEM

OMEMOpresident’s

b y C h r i s D a c u s

phot

o: S

haun

Tok

unag

a

This issue features some amazing sustain-ability projects and initiatives happening in our state. Sustainability is the buzz and rightfully it does need to be top of mind for Hawaii and the landscape industry.

n 95% of Hawaii’s energy supply is imported fossil fuel.n 1/3 of all endangered species in the

United States are in Hawaii.n 85% of what we consume is imported.n 64% of Hawai‘i’s streams are

considered “impaired” by pollutants. n 90 year decrease in the recharge

of Hawai‘i aquifers.

Since Captain Cook’s arrival in 1778, there’s been a constant degradation of Hawaii’s environment. And we have reached a low point. The facts are stacked against us and like frogs in water getting hotter and hotter; we are somewhat desensitized. I know in the past, I too use to hope things would improve without me being personally responsible.

The good news is that the Landscape Industry Council of Hawai’i has worked for 5 years on important sustainability initiatives. Three LICH sustainability initiatives are fea-tured in this issue: Invasive Species, Native

Species and Irrigation Water Conservation. But there remains much sustain-ability work to be done and being the only tropical state in the nation; we are literally on our own.

We need each other. Your life is dependent on mine. Each of us has a personal responsibility.

The efforts on tropical sustainability have for the most part dealt with the low hanging fruit and resulted in a marginal slowing of the degradation of the quality of our lives; the environment, the economy and the independence from imported goods.

We live in times that require great change; a paradigm shift to protect our very way of life. If we don’t act; who will? If we wait any longer; what will be left? We cannot afford to wait for someone else to solve sustainability for us.

It’s time to be the great land stewards that we are in our blood and our values and lead Hawai’i by our example towards an environmental tipping point. Take a moment right now; today; and everyday to question your way of doing busi-ness. Ask yourself, what can I do in my next task to achieve zero environmen-tal impact? Can I take it further and assist in the regeneration of our environ-ment?

My life is dependent on yours. Be a passionate leader :)

Aloha,

Chris DacusLICH President

Landscape Industry of Hawai‘i Sponsor

2 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

I ola ‘oe, i ola makou nei “My life is dependant on yours, your life is dependant on mine.”

– Hawaiian story of Hi‘iaka

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 5THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

Have you visited landscapehawaii.org recently? Our web editor, Cory Blumerick of Performance Landscapes has been hard at work adding interesting landscape stories to the homepage and posting events on the event calendar. Learn what’s happening!

Landscape Program at Windward Community College

NEW

SNEWSLICH

W h a t s H a p p e n i n g

Students landscaping a campus area. From left to right; Steve Moulden, Vernon Jarvis, Michael Bascuk, Cris Montalla, Kaleo Kahawaii, Rance Watanabe, Shane Miekle, Steve Yoshida.

Photo by: David Ringuette

Mark your calendar!The 2011 LICH Conference is scheduled for October 6, 2011 at the Neal Blaisdell Center. Sign up now for the free electronic edition of the conference proceedings by sending your email address to chris.dacus@gmail.com.

25 thA N N I V E R S A R Y

Celebrate LICH’s 25th Anniversary Contact our advertising sales manager

Jay Deputy at jaydeputy@gmail.com Advertisements due by July 1st

CONGRATULATIONS LANDSCApE INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF HAwAIIUpcoming IssuesTell a great story. Email the editor at chris.dacus@gmail.com.

August/September 2011 IssueTheme: 25th AnniversaryStory Deadline: July 1

October/November 2011 IssueTheme: LICH ConferenceStory Deadline: September 9

October 10th Electronic Edition onlyTheme: Conference ProceedingsProceeding Deadline: September 22

Send us your email address to chris.dacus@gmail.com if you wish to get a copy.

The Landscape Program at Wind-ward Community College offers an accredited Certificate in Plant Landscaping, Turfgrass Manage-ment, and Arboriculture. For pro-gram requirements go to (http://windward.hawaii.edu/Academics/Agricultural_Technology_CC.php).

The program takes a learn-by-do-ing approach to education. Class-

room work is integrated with field work on and off campus. Training and education are interwoven for students to begin their careers in the landscape industry, enhance their employability, and/or begin a business. This is an educational program with a training compo-nent. “Training without education leads to robots. At the same time education alone leads to waste.

Training and education are twins: both are needed” (Dr. Alex Shigo). This approach to learning is the umbrella philosophy of the pro-gram. If plants are your career choice, join us in August.

Dave Ringuette is a professor and coordinator of the Landscape Program at Windward Community College.

4 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 5THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

Have you visited landscapehawaii.org recently? Our web editor, Cory Blumerick of Performance Landscapes has been hard at work adding interesting landscape stories to the homepage and posting events on the event calendar. Learn what’s happening!

Landscape Program at Windward Community College

NEW

SNEWSLICH

W h a t s H a p p e n i n g

Students landscaping a campus area. From left to right; Steve Moulden, Vernon Jarvis, Michael Bascuk, Cris Montalla, Kaleo Kahawaii, Rance Watanabe, Shane Miekle, Steve Yoshida.

Photo by: David Ringuette

Mark your calendar!The 2011 LICH Conference is scheduled for October 6, 2011 at the Neal Blaisdell Center. Sign up now for the free electronic edition of the conference proceedings by sending your email address to chris.dacus@gmail.com.

25 thA N N I V E R S A R Y

Celebrate LICH’s 25th Anniversary Contact our advertising sales manager

Jay Deputy at jaydeputy@gmail.com Advertisements due by July 1st

CONGRATULATIONS LANDSCApE INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF HAwAIIUpcoming IssuesTell a great story. Email the editor at chris.dacus@gmail.com.

August/September 2011 IssueTheme: 25th AnniversaryStory Deadline: July 1

October/November 2011 IssueTheme: LICH ConferenceStory Deadline: September 9

October 10th Electronic Edition onlyTheme: Conference ProceedingsProceeding Deadline: September 22

Send us your email address to chris.dacus@gmail.com if you wish to get a copy.

The Landscape Program at Wind-ward Community College offers an accredited Certificate in Plant Landscaping, Turfgrass Manage-ment, and Arboriculture. For pro-gram requirements go to (http://windward.hawaii.edu/Academics/Agricultural_Technology_CC.php).

The program takes a learn-by-do-ing approach to education. Class-

room work is integrated with field work on and off campus. Training and education are interwoven for students to begin their careers in the landscape industry, enhance their employability, and/or begin a business. This is an educational program with a training compo-nent. “Training without education leads to robots. At the same time education alone leads to waste.

Training and education are twins: both are needed” (Dr. Alex Shigo). This approach to learning is the umbrella philosophy of the pro-gram. If plants are your career choice, join us in August.

Dave Ringuette is a professor and coordinator of the Landscape Program at Windward Community College.

4 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

6 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 7

his is the first in a series of articles starting with troubleshooting and

ending with how to replace the broken tool: 1. It’s broken, 2. Now

what—repair or replace; 3. so what should I buy? We hope that

you will be able to relate to these situations, and that the suggestions will be helpful to you.

WHAT? IT’S BROKEN!

You’re sitting in your office or driving to your next job, when you get the dreaded call—your employee says the piece of equipment he was using stopped working—“it just died”. Your first question—what happened? The invariable re-sponse, “I don’t know; it just stopped”.

THE NEXT FEW QUESTIONS ARE THE KEYS TO UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY.

1. What stopped? Did the engine stop? If it’s a mower, did the mower blades stop? Was it under load when it stopped? It is essential to narrow down the problem. the more specific you can be, the closer you can get to the source of the trouble—ask the right questions.

What were you doing when it stopped? How long was it running before it stopped? Was it running properly before it stopped? Did it really stop, or it never started? Prior to stopping was it hard to start? Asking the right questions requires that you, as the boss, have some working knowl-edge of the machine, and basic understanding of how it works. Until some key questions have been answered you are not ready to attack the

TO

OLS

TIPStool

b y P h y l l i s J o n e s

rowed down to two or three possibilities.4. “Now what boss?” Is the machine fix-

able in the field or does it need to go back to the shop? In either case zero in on what you think the problem is. Be prepared with alternatives to resolve the problem, and you can start working in that direc-tion.

BROKEN EQUIPMENT IS MONEY AND TIME WASTED. The sooner you can solve the problem and get the machine running properly, the better. Troubleshooting takes practice, and requires that you have a working un-derstanding of what makes the machine run, and the variables that can affect its performance. Good, regular maintenance greatly reduces breakage, but as machines age breakdowns become more frequent. (Remember, warrantees do not cover abuse or lack of maintenance.)

Boss, HAVE YOU DONE YOUR SHARE? Do you know your machines history—age, previous repairs or major problems. How much money has been spent on repairs? In the next article, we will discuss—it’s broken; now what. We will discuss some of the factors to con-sider when confronted with this problem and where to look for help.

If you have any questions, or would like clarification on anything discussed in the article, please feel free to contact

me at atozhi@yahoo. com. I welcome your feedback. See

you next time.

Phyllis Jones, A to Z Equip-ment and Sales, formally

A to Z Rental Center, in business for over 25

years.

DAYS OF SUMMER

SAVINGS EVENT

THE

The summer’s best prices on the industry’s best machines.Call or stop by Hawthorne Cat® today to take advantage of special summer prices on these machines and more!

Backhoe LoadersCompact Track Loaders

Compact Wheel LoadersMini Hydraulic Excavators

Multi Terrain Loaders

Skid Steer LoadersSmall Hydraulic ExcavatorsSmall Track-Type Tractors

Small Wheel Loaders

www.hawthornecat.com

808-677-9111

www.catrentalstore.com/hawthorne-rent-it-service

A NEW WAY TO

RENT

*Offer good from June 1 to August 31, 2011 on select new models at Hawthorne Cat. Offer is available to customers in the USA and Canada only and cannot be combined with any other offers. Suggested retail 60-month payment does not necessarily reflect the exact model and configuration shown. The preconfigured machine represents financ-ing through Cat Financial and does not include taxes, freight, set-up, delivery, additional options, or attachments. Financing and published rate are subject to credit approval through Cat Financial. Lease usage (hour limits) and application restrictions apply. Leases require a minimum of $1 million in liability coverage. Additional terms and conditions may apply. Subject to change without prior notice.

problem. As a matter of fact, you may be creating an additional layer of problems which may be totally unrelated to the

original problem.2. What part of the ma-

chine has the problem—the engine or the part that does the work? If the engine stopped in the middle of the field while he was mowing, this leads you in one direction. If it

stopped two minutes after it started you might want to

know how it was running the last time it ran. Or more commonly – It never started. “I pulled and

pulled, and then the starter broke.” (Hint: there was a problem, which

caused it not to start. so now you have two problems—a broken starter and an engine problem.) Always confirm when the last regular maintenance was done, and how it operated at that time. Did any parts need to be changed, and why.

3. “Boss, I don’t know; it just stopped.” By this time, and after asking all these questions, you should have a mental list of where to start looking for the problem –fuel, air, ignition, engagement, electrical, carburetion, etc. If you don’t, keep asking questions until you have the problem nar-

THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

BrOKEIt JUSt

Quick assessment in troubleshooting the problem makes all the difference

6 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 7

his is the first in a series of articles starting with troubleshooting and

ending with how to replace the broken tool: 1. It’s broken, 2. Now

what—repair or replace; 3. so what should I buy? We hope that

you will be able to relate to these situations, and that the suggestions will be helpful to you.

WHAT? IT’S BROKEN!

You’re sitting in your office or driving to your next job, when you get the dreaded call—your employee says the piece of equipment he was using stopped working—“it just died”. Your first question—what happened? The invariable re-sponse, “I don’t know; it just stopped”.

THE NEXT FEW QUESTIONS ARE THE KEYS TO UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY.

1. What stopped? Did the engine stop? If it’s a mower, did the mower blades stop? Was it under load when it stopped? It is essential to narrow down the problem. the more specific you can be, the closer you can get to the source of the trouble—ask the right questions.

What were you doing when it stopped? How long was it running before it stopped? Was it running properly before it stopped? Did it really stop, or it never started? Prior to stopping was it hard to start? Asking the right questions requires that you, as the boss, have some working knowl-edge of the machine, and basic understanding of how it works. Until some key questions have been answered you are not ready to attack the

TO

OLS

TIPStool

b y P h y l l i s J o n e s

rowed down to two or three possibilities.4. “Now what boss?” Is the machine fix-

able in the field or does it need to go back to the shop? In either case zero in on what you think the problem is. Be prepared with alternatives to resolve the problem, and you can start working in that direc-tion.

BROKEN EQUIPMENT IS MONEY AND TIME WASTED. The sooner you can solve the problem and get the machine running properly, the better. Troubleshooting takes practice, and requires that you have a working un-derstanding of what makes the machine run, and the variables that can affect its performance. Good, regular maintenance greatly reduces breakage, but as machines age breakdowns become more frequent. (Remember, warrantees do not cover abuse or lack of maintenance.)

Boss, HAVE YOU DONE YOUR SHARE? Do you know your machines history—age, previous repairs or major problems. How much money has been spent on repairs? In the next article, we will discuss—it’s broken; now what. We will discuss some of the factors to con-sider when confronted with this problem and where to look for help.

If you have any questions, or would like clarification on anything discussed in the article, please feel free to contact

me at atozhi@yahoo. com. I welcome your feedback. See

you next time.

Phyllis Jones, A to Z Equip-ment and Sales, formally

A to Z Rental Center, in business for over 25

years.

DAYS OF SUMMER

SAVINGS EVENT

THE

The summer’s best prices on the industry’s best machines.Call or stop by Hawthorne Cat® today to take advantage of special summer prices on these machines and more!

Backhoe LoadersCompact Track Loaders

Compact Wheel LoadersMini Hydraulic Excavators

Multi Terrain Loaders

Skid Steer LoadersSmall Hydraulic ExcavatorsSmall Track-Type Tractors

Small Wheel Loaders

www.hawthornecat.com

808-677-9111

www.catrentalstore.com/hawthorne-rent-it-service

A NEW WAY TO

RENT

*Offer good from June 1 to August 31, 2011 on select new models at Hawthorne Cat. Offer is available to customers in the USA and Canada only and cannot be combined with any other offers. Suggested retail 60-month payment does not necessarily reflect the exact model and configuration shown. The preconfigured machine represents financ-ing through Cat Financial and does not include taxes, freight, set-up, delivery, additional options, or attachments. Financing and published rate are subject to credit approval through Cat Financial. Lease usage (hour limits) and application restrictions apply. Leases require a minimum of $1 million in liability coverage. Additional terms and conditions may apply. Subject to change without prior notice.

problem. As a matter of fact, you may be creating an additional layer of problems which may be totally unrelated to the

original problem.2. What part of the ma-

chine has the problem—the engine or the part that does the work? If the engine stopped in the middle of the field while he was mowing, this leads you in one direction. If it

stopped two minutes after it started you might want to

know how it was running the last time it ran. Or more commonly – It never started. “I pulled and

pulled, and then the starter broke.” (Hint: there was a problem, which

caused it not to start. so now you have two problems—a broken starter and an engine problem.) Always confirm when the last regular maintenance was done, and how it operated at that time. Did any parts need to be changed, and why.

3. “Boss, I don’t know; it just stopped.” By this time, and after asking all these questions, you should have a mental list of where to start looking for the problem –fuel, air, ignition, engagement, electrical, carburetion, etc. If you don’t, keep asking questions until you have the problem nar-

THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

BrOKEIt JUSt

Quick assessment in troubleshooting the problem makes all the difference

8 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 9

Tall, straight forest grown Koa (Acacia koa) of the type used for canoe logs. Mauna Kea, Hawaii Island.

Photo credit: Dr. J. B. Friday, http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/

Hundreds of forestry and natural resource professionals will convene on O‘ahu during November 2nd to 6th, 2011 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Hawaii Conven-tion Center.

The event will open with Hawaii’s own Nainoa Thompson, Program Director of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, and the closing keynote will be the US Forest Service Chief, Tom Tidwell.

The contemporary challenges our profes-sion faces are serious and the content of the event will be as well. There will be more than 250 sessions on topics such as:

n Pacific Rim Forestry — Ecological, eco-nomic, energy, and resource management issues of common interest around the Rim. n Urban Ecosystems — Opportunities

in urban and community forestry to create healthier, more livable, and sustainable com-munities. n Agroforestry — Economic or ecological

interactions between woody perennials and crop and animal production systems.n Biosecurity — Forest health and long-

term sustainability of forests.

This event also will offer:n Solutions for invasive species, water-

shed and ecosystem management, and rare species conservationn Regional insight into new global models

for sustaining forestsn Integrating traditional culture and

knowledge with modern science n Geospatial applications workshopsAnyone interested in forests as a source of

global health and human welfare is welcome to attend. Registration and full event details are available at www.safconvention.org. Early-bird discounts end August 26. For questions or to request a brochure, call (866) 897-8720 or e-mail membership@safnet.org.

LandscapeHawaii.org

CalendarJune 16th 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.LICH Meeting on O‘ahu: Industry Research Needs

June 23rd 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.LICH Board Meeting on O‘ahu

July 21st16th Annual Hawaii MIDPAC Horticultural ConferenceKomohana Agricultural Complex in Hilo.

August 24thAloha Arborists AssociationPlant Doctoring: Science vs. Snake OilHonolulu at McCoy Pavilion

October 6thLICH Annual Conference at the Neal Blaisdell Center

November 2 to 6th The Society of American Foresters National Convention Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Hawaii Convention Center.

EVEN

TSEVENTS

LICH The Society of American Foresters

Hilo Host Horticultural Conference

Plant Doctoring Workshop

National Convention Arrives in Hawai‘i November 2011

THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

Check the website for full event details

“Sustaining Hawaii’s Green Industry from Farm to Market” is the theme of the 16th annual Hawaii MIDPAC Horticul-tural Conference and Expo being presented by the Hawaii Export Nursery Association on July 21st at the Komohana Agricultural Complex in Hilo. Topics to be covered in the conference range from composting in Hawaii to market research, California and Hawaii quarantine issues (including a coqui frog update), vegetable research in Hawaii, regaining Hawaii’s strategic position in the global market, as well as a buyers’ forum to update growers on what the current trends are in the marketplace. Concurrent to the conference will be the HENA Agricultural Marketplace in the courtyard of the Komohana Ag Complex. The Marketplace was debuted at last year’s MIDPAC Expo and will include displays of products from our growers and farmers including foliage and flowering plants, fruits, vegetables and coffee as well as educational exhibits from County, State and Federal entities. HENA members will open their nurseries and farms on July 20th and 22nd for visitors to tour their facilities and have one-on-one discussions on the superior quality and beauty of their products as well as care and handling and to take orders. The MIDPAC Expo will close with our annual Net-working Reception being held the evening of July 21st at the Hilo Yacht Club. All of the MIDPAC events are sponsored by industry and the Hawaii County Department of Research & Development, Hawaii Department of Agriculture, UH Manoa CTAHR and UH-Manoa CTAHR Cooperative Exten-sion Service. For more information on the Hawaii MIDPAC Conference and Expo, please contact HENA through email to info@hena.org or HENA’s website, www.hena.org.

A r o u n d T o w n

The Aloha Arborist Association (AAA) and Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture (WCISA) will be hosting a workshop for landscape professionals, Plant Doctoring: Science vs. Snake Oil, on August 24, 2011, in Honolulu at McCoy Pavilion. Dr. Jim Downer of the U.C. Davis Cooperative Extension Ventura County will be the lead speaker, assisted by local talents Steve Nimz and Dr. Scot Nelson. Pesticide CEUs will be applied for in addition to ISA CEUs. Registration will open about a month prior to the event on www.wcisa.net.

8 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 9

Tall, straight forest grown Koa (Acacia koa) of the type used for canoe logs. Mauna Kea, Hawaii Island.

Photo credit: Dr. J. B. Friday, http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/

Hundreds of forestry and natural resource professionals will convene on O‘ahu during November 2nd to 6th, 2011 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Hawaii Conven-tion Center.

The event will open with Hawaii’s own Nainoa Thompson, Program Director of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, and the closing keynote will be the US Forest Service Chief, Tom Tidwell.

The contemporary challenges our profes-sion faces are serious and the content of the event will be as well. There will be more than 250 sessions on topics such as:

n Pacific Rim Forestry — Ecological, eco-nomic, energy, and resource management issues of common interest around the Rim. n Urban Ecosystems — Opportunities

in urban and community forestry to create healthier, more livable, and sustainable com-munities. n Agroforestry — Economic or ecological

interactions between woody perennials and crop and animal production systems.n Biosecurity — Forest health and long-

term sustainability of forests.

This event also will offer:n Solutions for invasive species, water-

shed and ecosystem management, and rare species conservationn Regional insight into new global models

for sustaining forestsn Integrating traditional culture and

knowledge with modern science n Geospatial applications workshopsAnyone interested in forests as a source of

global health and human welfare is welcome to attend. Registration and full event details are available at www.safconvention.org. Early-bird discounts end August 26. For questions or to request a brochure, call (866) 897-8720 or e-mail membership@safnet.org.

LandscapeHawaii.org

CalendarJune 16th 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.LICH Meeting on O‘ahu: Industry Research Needs

June 23rd 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.LICH Board Meeting on O‘ahu

July 21st16th Annual Hawaii MIDPAC Horticultural ConferenceKomohana Agricultural Complex in Hilo.

August 24thAloha Arborists AssociationPlant Doctoring: Science vs. Snake OilHonolulu at McCoy Pavilion

October 6thLICH Annual Conference at the Neal Blaisdell Center

November 2 to 6th The Society of American Foresters National Convention Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Hawaii Convention Center.

EVEN

TSEVENTS

LICH The Society of American Foresters

Hilo Host Horticultural Conference

Plant Doctoring Workshop

National Convention Arrives in Hawai‘i November 2011

THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

Check the website for full event details

“Sustaining Hawaii’s Green Industry from Farm to Market” is the theme of the 16th annual Hawaii MIDPAC Horticul-tural Conference and Expo being presented by the Hawaii Export Nursery Association on July 21st at the Komohana Agricultural Complex in Hilo. Topics to be covered in the conference range from composting in Hawaii to market research, California and Hawaii quarantine issues (including a coqui frog update), vegetable research in Hawaii, regaining Hawaii’s strategic position in the global market, as well as a buyers’ forum to update growers on what the current trends are in the marketplace. Concurrent to the conference will be the HENA Agricultural Marketplace in the courtyard of the Komohana Ag Complex. The Marketplace was debuted at last year’s MIDPAC Expo and will include displays of products from our growers and farmers including foliage and flowering plants, fruits, vegetables and coffee as well as educational exhibits from County, State and Federal entities. HENA members will open their nurseries and farms on July 20th and 22nd for visitors to tour their facilities and have one-on-one discussions on the superior quality and beauty of their products as well as care and handling and to take orders. The MIDPAC Expo will close with our annual Net-working Reception being held the evening of July 21st at the Hilo Yacht Club. All of the MIDPAC events are sponsored by industry and the Hawaii County Department of Research & Development, Hawaii Department of Agriculture, UH Manoa CTAHR and UH-Manoa CTAHR Cooperative Exten-sion Service. For more information on the Hawaii MIDPAC Conference and Expo, please contact HENA through email to info@hena.org or HENA’s website, www.hena.org.

A r o u n d T o w n

The Aloha Arborist Association (AAA) and Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture (WCISA) will be hosting a workshop for landscape professionals, Plant Doctoring: Science vs. Snake Oil, on August 24, 2011, in Honolulu at McCoy Pavilion. Dr. Jim Downer of the U.C. Davis Cooperative Extension Ventura County will be the lead speaker, assisted by local talents Steve Nimz and Dr. Scot Nelson. Pesticide CEUs will be applied for in addition to ISA CEUs. Registration will open about a month prior to the event on www.wcisa.net.

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 11THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

BU

SIN

ESS

ing obvious is that saving money and using BMPs does not have to be an all or nothing activity. For example, some people push native vegetation. If the cus-tomer accepts this practice and it fits the intended use of the property that’s great. However, if you want to have other plants like turfgrass, what needs to be taken into consideration is the correct variety for the climate and its location in the landscape. Then, you should consider how it is cared for and what inputs are needed.

Sustainability is defined as, “The ability to continue a defined behavior indefi-nitely.” However, sustainable practices

are defined as, “Meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Another fundamental way of looking at it is doing unto future genera-tion as you would have them do unto you. Architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart talk about

sustainability as cradle to cradle practice. “It is time for our civilization to rethink the way we live, work, travel, design, build, and consume. To think that we are doing our part simply by driving a hybrid car and recycling our paper, bottles, and cans is a dangerous

illusion. For years, environmentalists have been telling us to do more with less in order to make change happen. This is simply not enough. We are going to have to fundamentally change the way we design our products, industries, and cities. Our current recycling methods are inef-ficient and only serve to perpetuate the “cradle-to-grave” manufacturing model we’ve been using for hundreds of years.

PLANET’s Crystal Ball Report #30 — Innovate (or Die): How Green Indus-try Companies Will Thrive in the New Economy, talks about sustainability as meaning good business:n Reducing operating costsn Better risk managementn Creating value through enhanced

and positive customer responsen Increased ability to attract and retain

employeesn Continuing innovation and im-

provement

We should also add “Reduced govern-ment intervention,” which is a necessity to all green industry members. But where is the public on this sustainability. An Oct. 4, 2008, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ALSA) Landscape survey revealed the following about those with yards, lawns, or gardens and their take one sustainable landscape practices: n 13 percent disagreed with the state-

ment, “I would use more ‘green’ yard prac-tices if I knew more about them.”n 16 percent disagreed with “Using

‘green practices in my yard takes little extra effort and time.”n 19 percent disagreed with “Using

‘green’ practices in my yard saves me money.”n 96 percent of U.S. adults have

personally adopted sustainable or energy efficient practices at home, comparatively fewer (58 percent) use energy or water saving techniques in their yard, lawn.

n only 29 percent planted shade trees to lower energy costs.n 23 percent used maintenance

methods that reduce fuel consumption, exhaust, and emissions, such as using a rake instead of a leaf blower.n 15 percent harvested rainwater or

used recycled water for watering plants.n 11 percent used drip irrigation.What we can glean from this data, is

that change, for everyone, is hard, and in-dividuals and businesses have to evaluate their own situation. Following that evalu-ation a measurable plan must be made to achieve the results, and, more important-ly, along the way, we have to reevaluate and consider what is best for us and our companies at the present time.

Tom Delaney is the PLANET Director of Government Affairs and writer for PLANET News.

BUSINESSlandscape

b y T o m D e l a n e y WhAt IS yOUr dEFInItIOn OF SUStAInABILIty?

eing sustainable means many things to many people. As a

business person, what is your definition of sustainability? Do you practice sustainability? Do

your customers care about your sustainable business practices? Have you

told them about your practices? Is there a connection between sustainability

and government affairs?The answer is yes there is.

One of the key aspects of sustainability in govern-ment affairs activity is in using best management practices (BMPs) in your

agronomic or environ-mental practices. Many of the best practices have to do with the protection of water quality; some with saving water through how the landscape is designed. Within the in-

dustry, many are concerned that if these practices get de-fined for us by others, it’ll be

through laws or regulations. Some people think they can save money by close scru-

tiny and adoption of the right BMPs.

What is becom-

Lic #C23741 1082 SAND ISLAND PARKWAY 841-7433 WWW.FUTURASTONEHAWAII.COM INFO@FUTURASTONEHAWAII.COM

Interlocking Concrete Pavers

Aesthetic value, minimum 30 yr life, 8000 psi

Paving Slabs

Variety of sizes, colors and textures

Fiberglass Pergolas

Will not rust, corrode, pit or sag. Can span

longer distances than wood or vinyl. Long life.

Brazilian Quartzite

Smooth surface, non heating, long lasting

Aquapave Permeable Pavers

Earn up to 12 LEED points, Complies with NPDES

Infiltrates up to 354 inches water/hr

Easy to Install Garden Walls

Easy to create curves or straight lines

10 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

“It is time for our civilization to rethink the way we live, work, travel, design, build, and consume.”

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 11THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

BU

SIN

ESS

ing obvious is that saving money and using BMPs does not have to be an all or nothing activity. For example, some people push native vegetation. If the cus-tomer accepts this practice and it fits the intended use of the property that’s great. However, if you want to have other plants like turfgrass, what needs to be taken into consideration is the correct variety for the climate and its location in the landscape. Then, you should consider how it is cared for and what inputs are needed.

Sustainability is defined as, “The ability to continue a defined behavior indefi-nitely.” However, sustainable practices

are defined as, “Meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Another fundamental way of looking at it is doing unto future genera-tion as you would have them do unto you. Architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart talk about

sustainability as cradle to cradle practice. “It is time for our civilization to rethink the way we live, work, travel, design, build, and consume. To think that we are doing our part simply by driving a hybrid car and recycling our paper, bottles, and cans is a dangerous

illusion. For years, environmentalists have been telling us to do more with less in order to make change happen. This is simply not enough. We are going to have to fundamentally change the way we design our products, industries, and cities. Our current recycling methods are inef-ficient and only serve to perpetuate the “cradle-to-grave” manufacturing model we’ve been using for hundreds of years.

PLANET’s Crystal Ball Report #30 — Innovate (or Die): How Green Indus-try Companies Will Thrive in the New Economy, talks about sustainability as meaning good business:n Reducing operating costsn Better risk managementn Creating value through enhanced

and positive customer responsen Increased ability to attract and retain

employeesn Continuing innovation and im-

provement

We should also add “Reduced govern-ment intervention,” which is a necessity to all green industry members. But where is the public on this sustainability. An Oct. 4, 2008, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ALSA) Landscape survey revealed the following about those with yards, lawns, or gardens and their take one sustainable landscape practices: n 13 percent disagreed with the state-

ment, “I would use more ‘green’ yard prac-tices if I knew more about them.”n 16 percent disagreed with “Using

‘green practices in my yard takes little extra effort and time.”n 19 percent disagreed with “Using

‘green’ practices in my yard saves me money.”n 96 percent of U.S. adults have

personally adopted sustainable or energy efficient practices at home, comparatively fewer (58 percent) use energy or water saving techniques in their yard, lawn.

n only 29 percent planted shade trees to lower energy costs.n 23 percent used maintenance

methods that reduce fuel consumption, exhaust, and emissions, such as using a rake instead of a leaf blower.n 15 percent harvested rainwater or

used recycled water for watering plants.n 11 percent used drip irrigation.What we can glean from this data, is

that change, for everyone, is hard, and in-dividuals and businesses have to evaluate their own situation. Following that evalu-ation a measurable plan must be made to achieve the results, and, more important-ly, along the way, we have to reevaluate and consider what is best for us and our companies at the present time.

Tom Delaney is the PLANET Director of Government Affairs and writer for PLANET News.

BUSINESSlandscape

b y T o m D e l a n e y WhAt IS yOUr dEFInItIOn OF SUStAInABILIty?

eing sustainable means many things to many people. As a

business person, what is your definition of sustainability? Do you practice sustainability? Do

your customers care about your sustainable business practices? Have you

told them about your practices? Is there a connection between sustainability

and government affairs?The answer is yes there is.

One of the key aspects of sustainability in govern-ment affairs activity is in using best management practices (BMPs) in your

agronomic or environ-mental practices. Many of the best practices have to do with the protection of water quality; some with saving water through how the landscape is designed. Within the in-

dustry, many are concerned that if these practices get de-fined for us by others, it’ll be

through laws or regulations. Some people think they can save money by close scru-

tiny and adoption of the right BMPs.

What is becom-

Lic #C23741 1082 SAND ISLAND PARKWAY 841-7433 WWW.FUTURASTONEHAWAII.COM INFO@FUTURASTONEHAWAII.COM

Interlocking Concrete Pavers

Aesthetic value, minimum 30 yr life, 8000 psi

Paving Slabs

Variety of sizes, colors and textures

Fiberglass Pergolas

Will not rust, corrode, pit or sag. Can span

longer distances than wood or vinyl. Long life.

Brazilian Quartzite

Smooth surface, non heating, long lasting

Aquapave Permeable Pavers

Earn up to 12 LEED points, Complies with NPDES

Infiltrates up to 354 inches water/hr

Easy to Install Garden Walls

Easy to create curves or straight lines

10 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

“It is time for our civilization to rethink the way we live, work, travel, design, build, and consume.”

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 13THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

PEST

PESTfeatured

b y C h r i s t y M a r t i n

reventing new pests from entering our islands pro-tects our environment,

economy, and health, and it is a building block to a

sustainable Hawai‘i. Here are some prevention initiatives.

New Pest Poster AvailableThe landscape industry provides

our state with more than 11,000 on-the-ground eyes and ears that can help protect Hawai‘i from new pests. To help identify some of the most unwanted landscape and nursery pests in the United States, the University of Hawai‘i Col-lege of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) has produced a new poster. The poster contains photos and descriptions of sixteen insect pests, their host plants, and known distribution. Some of the featured pests include palm-killers like the red palm weevil (Rhyn-chophorus ferrugineus) and coconut rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros), and the lobate lac scale (Paratachardina pseudolobata), which officials in Florida

consider one of the

most devastating pests of trees and shrubs ever introduced. New detections of these or other pests should be reported to the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture Pest Hotline at 643-PEST (643-7378). For a free copy of the poster, please contact your nearest CTAHR Extension office or email Dr. Arnold Hara at Arnold@hawaii.edu.

Saving the Ōhi‘a HDOA has announced its intention to

go through the formal rulemaking process to restrict the importation of Myrtaceae (myrtle) family plants, which are known to carry Ōhi‘a rust (Puccinia psidii). One strain of Ōhi‘a rust entered Hawai‘i and killed virtually all of the rose apple trees statewide, and this rust was intercepted several times on cut flowers in the myrtle family. Research confirms that there are multiple strains of this rust, and the fear is that new introductions of the rust could prove devastating to Ōhi‘a trees. HDOA will be working with CTAHR and nurseries to provide local-grown alterna-tives to high-risk imports. Work is also underway to look at a diagnostic tool that may be used to screen commodities like imported eucalyptus seeds for the forest industry. Your help is important! Please refrain from importing myrtle family

plants, consider providing local-grown alternatives, and participate in the

public meetings that will be held in each county later this year.

Christy Martin is the Public In-formation Officer for the statewide

Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS), a public-private partner-

ship working to protect Hawai‘i from invasive species.

PEStrOUndUP

12 LANDSCAPE HAWAII

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 13THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

PEST

PESTfeatured

b y C h r i s t y M a r t i n

reventing new pests from entering our islands pro-tects our environment,

economy, and health, and it is a building block to a

sustainable Hawai‘i. Here are some prevention initiatives.

New Pest Poster AvailableThe landscape industry provides

our state with more than 11,000 on-the-ground eyes and ears that can help protect Hawai‘i from new pests. To help identify some of the most unwanted landscape and nursery pests in the United States, the University of Hawai‘i Col-lege of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) has produced a new poster. The poster contains photos and descriptions of sixteen insect pests, their host plants, and known distribution. Some of the featured pests include palm-killers like the red palm weevil (Rhyn-chophorus ferrugineus) and coconut rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros), and the lobate lac scale (Paratachardina pseudolobata), which officials in Florida

consider one of the

most devastating pests of trees and shrubs ever introduced. New detections of these or other pests should be reported to the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture Pest Hotline at 643-PEST (643-7378). For a free copy of the poster, please contact your nearest CTAHR Extension office or email Dr. Arnold Hara at Arnold@hawaii.edu.

Saving the Ōhi‘a HDOA has announced its intention to

go through the formal rulemaking process to restrict the importation of Myrtaceae (myrtle) family plants, which are known to carry Ōhi‘a rust (Puccinia psidii). One strain of Ōhi‘a rust entered Hawai‘i and killed virtually all of the rose apple trees statewide, and this rust was intercepted several times on cut flowers in the myrtle family. Research confirms that there are multiple strains of this rust, and the fear is that new introductions of the rust could prove devastating to Ōhi‘a trees. HDOA will be working with CTAHR and nurseries to provide local-grown alterna-tives to high-risk imports. Work is also underway to look at a diagnostic tool that may be used to screen commodities like imported eucalyptus seeds for the forest industry. Your help is important! Please refrain from importing myrtle family

plants, consider providing local-grown alternatives, and participate in the

public meetings that will be held in each county later this year.

Christy Martin is the Public In-formation Officer for the statewide

Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS), a public-private partner-

ship working to protect Hawai‘i from invasive species.

PEStrOUndUP

12 LANDSCAPE HAWAII

While the mature coconuts at 70’ plus trunk height are assessed regularly and removed when warranted, a grove of younger coconuts grow as companion plantings along the beach in Waikiki.

Sergio Vasquez flashes a shaka and a smile through a cavity in the buttress root of the Moreton Bay fig.

Abner Undan and Steve Nimz share their experiences in assessing Coconut Palms (Cocos nucifera).

Instructor Brian Gilles discusses a Rainbow Shower Tree (Cassia x nealiae) with a spiraling wound along the trunk located by the walkway to a comfort station.

Stan Oka explains past management practices for the Exceptional Ironwoods (Casuarina equisetifolia) along Kalakaua Avenue and the City’s current management plans for these historical trees.

Sergio Vasquez resonance tests a lower trunk wound on the shower tree while Lake Gibby probes at the base of the wound.

Steve Nimz tests the Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) with a Resistograph while participants check out the graph results.

THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRYPHO

TO

STRACE

held

The Hawaii Society of Urban Forestry Professionals (HSUFP), WCISA, and Pacific Northwest-ISA presented a Tree Risk Assessment Course & Exam (TRACE) on April 18-19, 2011, in Honolulu. Twenty arborists participated from across the State. Instructor Brian Gilles gave a whirlwind tour of the subject matter to help attendees prepare for the exam. Check out photos of the event.

Carol Kwan is the President and Certified Arborist of Carol Kwan Consulting LLC.

[ ]

14 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 15

p h o t o s C a r o l K w a n

While the mature coconuts at 70’ plus trunk height are assessed regularly and removed when warranted, a grove of younger coconuts grow as companion plantings along the beach in Waikiki.

Sergio Vasquez flashes a shaka and a smile through a cavity in the buttress root of the Moreton Bay fig.

Abner Undan and Steve Nimz share their experiences in assessing Coconut Palms (Cocos nucifera).

Instructor Brian Gilles discusses a Rainbow Shower Tree (Cassia x nealiae) with a spiraling wound along the trunk located by the walkway to a comfort station.

Stan Oka explains past management practices for the Exceptional Ironwoods (Casuarina equisetifolia) along Kalakaua Avenue and the City’s current management plans for these historical trees.

Sergio Vasquez resonance tests a lower trunk wound on the shower tree while Lake Gibby probes at the base of the wound.

Steve Nimz tests the Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) with a Resistograph while participants check out the graph results.

THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRYPHO

TO

S

TRACEheld

The Hawaii Society of Urban Forestry Professionals (HSUFP), WCISA, and Pacific Northwest-ISA presented a Tree Risk Assessment Course & Exam (TRACE) on April 18-19, 2011, in Honolulu. Twenty arborists participated from across the State. Instructor Brian Gilles gave a whirlwind tour of the subject matter to help attendees prepare for the exam. Check out photos of the event.

Carol Kwan is the President and Certified Arborist of Carol Kwan Consulting LLC.

[ ]

14 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 15

p h o t o s C a r o l K w a n

16 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 17THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

EKO Compost is made in Hawaii . It ’s an integral part of theislands ’ ecosystem. It ’s also one of the Founding Members of the

U.S. Composting Council ’s Seal of Testing Assurance Program.

You can find EKO Compost at :Maui EKO ’s Plant

Central Maui Landfill - Pulehu Rd . Puunene8 0 8 - 5 7 2 - 8 8 4 4

Hawaii Grower ProductsMaui , Lanai & Molokai : 8 0 8 - 8 7 7 - 6 6 3 6

Big Island : 8 0 8 - 3 2 6 - 7 5 5 5

Pacific Agricultural Sales & ServiceOahu & Kauai : 8 0 8 - 6 8 2 - 5 1 1 3

MadeOn

Maui

C O M P O S T I N GC O U N C I LUS

Seal of Testing Assurance rubens.mauieko@gmail.comPuunene, Maui

PM (integrated pest manage-ment) is a good choice for

sound solutions in dealing with pests. IPM promotes safe, least-

toxic solutions to both pest and pesticide problems.

What can IPM do for you? IPM helps you deal with pests, insects, and plant diseases with methods that help keep health and environmental risks as low as possible. IPM is integrated because it brings together, or integrates, a range of biological, organic, cultural, mechanical, and chemical options for pest problems. And it’s about management because you can only manage pests, you can’t elimi-nate them.

Integrated pest management rarely re-lies on just one tactic, it integrates tactics to reduce pests to levels you can live with.

The basics of IPM are as follows:n Step 1: Be prepared, know your pests: What pests can you expect and how

can you avoid them? Learn which tactics work, and under which conditions, when pests show up in your landscape. Learn about the beneficial organisms that can help you out.

n Step 2: Think prevention: It’s the first step in IPM. Don’t

provide safe harbor for pests, keep landscapes clean, and remove dead and dying foliage. Keep plants and lawns healthy so they can resist pests better.n Step 3: Monitor your landscape,

no surprises: Scout routinely, keeping tabs on

potential pests. Know your thresh-old, the point when a few pests become a few too many.n Step 4: Analyze, think

strategy: Every tactic costs something.

Will your benefits justify the costs? Know all the options before you commit.n Step 5: Manage, choose and

use: Choose tactics and tools that

provide the best results while keeping environmental costs as low as possible and staying within your budget. Whatever option you settle on, do it right.n Step 6: Apply, think

again:

How did it work? What did you learn? How much has the situation changed?

Now let’s break down each step in detail.

Step 1: Prepare: Know your pests n Which pests can you expect? What

do they look like? What kind of damage can they cause? When and how should you watch for them? What can you do to avoid them? Which tactics should you use to manage them? What are your strengths and limitations in terms of skill and equipment? What beneficial species will help you?n Think of pests as populations in-

stead of as individuals. Populations have: density, how many are in the lawn and garden, and age distributions, a pest may be susceptible to treatment at one point in its life cycle, but not at another, and are the pests at that point, or not?

Step 2: Prevent:Protect landscapes for the long term.

Learn what pests need to thrive, then don’t give it to them. Examples:n Remove hiding places, thin orna-

mentals to provide airflow.n Mow correctly to keep down weeds,

help prevent diseases, and keep lawns healthy.

n Promote biological diversity in the landscape to give beneficial organisms a helping hand.n Utilize plant varieties that resist

common disease and insect pests.n Improve your soil for healthier

plants.

Step 3: Monitor Scout landscapes to find out which

pests are present. n Landscapers can use University of

Hawaii, Landscape Hawaii and CGAPS reports to decide if, when, and where to scout.n Monitor plants and turf regularly to

determine new infestations or the status of existing infestations.

Step 4: Analyze:n Your scouting data, your IPM

threshold, tells you if it’s time to act. Many ornamental plants can tolerate some pests before you incur losses. Will your benefits justify the costs? Know all the options before you commit. Changing the planting to an insect resistant type of plant is an option.

Step 5: ManageIf action is called for, choose among

those that provide the best balance of

economic and environmental cost and effect while reducing risk. Examples:n Plant disease-resistant, insect resis-

tant plants and turf (genetic).n Judicious, careful use of herbicides,

insecticides, and fungicides (chemical).n Release parasitic beneficial insects

(biological).

Step 6: ApplyWhen management is justified, do it

right. n If you use a pesticide, be sure you

READ THE LABEL, follow the directions, and wear protective clothing and equip-ment.n Pesticides may only work during a

certain part of a pest’s life cycle.n Biological control agents, “good

bugs”, need to be released in the proper place, at the proper time.

Integrated pest management can be an effective tool for landscape maintenance specialists to maintain high quality land-scapes in a sustainable manner. Through the use of IPM we can all malama our aina and be a part of a greener future.

Christopher McCullough is the Head Hor-ticulturist for DFI Resources LLC and past president of HILA.

EnVIrOnmEntALLy

FrIEndLy

pHoTo: CHrISTopHEr McCULLoUGH

16 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 17THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

EKO Compost is made in Hawaii . It ’s an integral part of theislands ’ ecosystem. It ’s also one of the Founding Members of the

U.S. Composting Council ’s Seal of Testing Assurance Program.

You can find EKO Compost at :Maui EKO ’s Plant

Central Maui Landfill - Pulehu Rd . Puunene8 0 8 - 5 7 2 - 8 8 4 4

Hawaii Grower ProductsMaui , Lanai & Molokai : 8 0 8 - 8 7 7 - 6 6 3 6

Big Island : 8 0 8 - 3 2 6 - 7 5 5 5

Pacific Agricultural Sales & ServiceOahu & Kauai : 8 0 8 - 6 8 2 - 5 1 1 3

MadeOn

Maui

C O M P O S T I N GC O U N C I LUS

Seal of Testing Assurance rubens.mauieko@gmail.comPuunene, Maui

PM (integrated pest manage-ment) is a good choice for

sound solutions in dealing with pests. IPM promotes safe, least-

toxic solutions to both pest and pesticide problems.

What can IPM do for you? IPM helps you deal with pests, insects, and plant diseases with methods that help keep health and environmental risks as low as possible. IPM is integrated because it brings together, or integrates, a range of biological, organic, cultural, mechanical, and chemical options for pest problems. And it’s about management because you can only manage pests, you can’t elimi-nate them.

Integrated pest management rarely re-lies on just one tactic, it integrates tactics to reduce pests to levels you can live with.

The basics of IPM are as follows:n Step 1: Be prepared, know your pests: What pests can you expect and how

can you avoid them? Learn which tactics work, and under which conditions, when pests show up in your landscape. Learn about the beneficial organisms that can help you out.

n Step 2: Think prevention: It’s the first step in IPM. Don’t

provide safe harbor for pests, keep landscapes clean, and remove dead and dying foliage. Keep plants and lawns healthy so they can resist pests better.n Step 3: Monitor your landscape,

no surprises: Scout routinely, keeping tabs on

potential pests. Know your thresh-old, the point when a few pests become a few too many.n Step 4: Analyze, think

strategy: Every tactic costs something.

Will your benefits justify the costs? Know all the options before you commit.n Step 5: Manage, choose and

use: Choose tactics and tools that

provide the best results while keeping environmental costs as low as possible and staying within your budget. Whatever option you settle on, do it right.n Step 6: Apply, think

again:

How did it work? What did you learn? How much has the situation changed?

Now let’s break down each step in detail.

Step 1: Prepare: Know your pests n Which pests can you expect? What

do they look like? What kind of damage can they cause? When and how should you watch for them? What can you do to avoid them? Which tactics should you use to manage them? What are your strengths and limitations in terms of skill and equipment? What beneficial species will help you?n Think of pests as populations in-

stead of as individuals. Populations have: density, how many are in the lawn and garden, and age distributions, a pest may be susceptible to treatment at one point in its life cycle, but not at another, and are the pests at that point, or not?

Step 2: Prevent:Protect landscapes for the long term.

Learn what pests need to thrive, then don’t give it to them. Examples:n Remove hiding places, thin orna-

mentals to provide airflow.n Mow correctly to keep down weeds,

help prevent diseases, and keep lawns healthy.

n Promote biological diversity in the landscape to give beneficial organisms a helping hand.n Utilize plant varieties that resist

common disease and insect pests.n Improve your soil for healthier

plants.

Step 3: Monitor Scout landscapes to find out which

pests are present. n Landscapers can use University of

Hawaii, Landscape Hawaii and CGAPS reports to decide if, when, and where to scout.n Monitor plants and turf regularly to

determine new infestations or the status of existing infestations.

Step 4: Analyze:n Your scouting data, your IPM

threshold, tells you if it’s time to act. Many ornamental plants can tolerate some pests before you incur losses. Will your benefits justify the costs? Know all the options before you commit. Changing the planting to an insect resistant type of plant is an option.

Step 5: ManageIf action is called for, choose among

those that provide the best balance of

economic and environmental cost and effect while reducing risk. Examples:n Plant disease-resistant, insect resis-

tant plants and turf (genetic).n Judicious, careful use of herbicides,

insecticides, and fungicides (chemical).n Release parasitic beneficial insects

(biological).

Step 6: ApplyWhen management is justified, do it

right. n If you use a pesticide, be sure you

READ THE LABEL, follow the directions, and wear protective clothing and equip-ment.n Pesticides may only work during a

certain part of a pest’s life cycle.n Biological control agents, “good

bugs”, need to be released in the proper place, at the proper time.

Integrated pest management can be an effective tool for landscape maintenance specialists to maintain high quality land-scapes in a sustainable manner. Through the use of IPM we can all malama our aina and be a part of a greener future.

Christopher McCullough is the Head Hor-ticulturist for DFI Resources LLC and past president of HILA.

EnVIrOnmEntALLy

FrIEndLy

pHoTo: CHrISTopHEr McCULLoUGH

18 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

he water that runs off roofs, driveways and other

hard surfaces in our landscape is both a wasted resource and a

potential problem when it carries soil, nutrients and other pollu-

tion to streams and coastal waters. This colorful and readable how-to guide on designing, constructing and maintaining rain gardens provides a solution to urban and residential runoff by focusing on the use of that water in an attractive garden feature. Rain gardens are being designed and built across the country but are new to Hawaii and this book written in non-technical language and lavishly illustrated is a good introduction for home garden-ers and landscape designers. As stated by the authors, “… a rain garden is designed to capture rainfall flowing through your yard (known as runoff), store that water to nurture its plants, and cleanse runoff, thus removing the pollution it carries with it.” It’s informative, but also presents rain gardens in a way that gets you excited to build one.

Written by two North Carolina State horticulturists, the book focuses on environmental con-ditions and plants appropriate to the southeastern states, but its usefulness extends beyond southern gardens. The book pro-vides details on soil assessment, garden design and placing a rain garden in a typical suburban lot which can be applied to any

climate. While the plants listed and described are mostly unfamiliar in Hawai-ian gardens, the full color illustrations allows one to picture how the textures, colors and sizes of plants combine in a visually appealing garden. Substituting tropical plants would be fairly simple for R

EVIE

WREVIEWbookb y C a r l E v e n s e n

PrOCLAmAtIOn

an experience local gardener. Clearly and simply described landscaping principles can give gardeners and homeowners insights into creating their own rain gardens. The illustrations and plant lists focus exclusively on ornamental gardens using perennial plants and considerations for edible plantings are not provided.

Readers are provided step by step instructions on siting the garden (taking into account slope, water flow and build-ings), preparing the soil, selecting proper combinations of plants (including shady and sunny locations), and troubleshoot-ing problems like drainage, excess runoff, and dying plants. Photos of rain gardens at planting time as well as several years later are shown to illustrate how they mature and fill in over time. One weak-ness of the book is that the sizing of the rain garden was presented in a rather confusing way (with detailed calculations or an optional table of sizes to capture an inch of rain). Due to difference in soils in Hawaii, a simple infiltration test should be conducted to both pick the site and size the garden. Also, the book did not adequately discuss how to deal with ex-tremely heavy rainfall and how to channel excessive runoff safely. But for a simple and beautiful presentation of the value, design and care of rain gardens, this book is a great introduction and a worthy addi-tion to your library.

Carl Evensen, Associate Director of Exten-sion at the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources and a member of the LICH Board of Directors.

Buying the BookSoft cover:7.5 x 9.25 inches, 144 pages9 color plates, 127 imagesRetail price:$19.95 plus shipmentTo order: www.enopublishers.org./Site/Rain_Gardening.htmlTo get a feel for the text and beautiful illustrations see: www.enopublishers.org/Site/RG_pages.html

Rain Gardening in the South: Ecologically Designed Gardens for Drought, Deluge, and Everything in Between.By Helen Kraus and Anne Spafford2009Eno PublishersHillsborough, North Carolina144p.

t our October 2009 LICH conference, at the Blaisdell, while still LICH President, I called for a new committee to see what could be done to improve water

conservation, especially in landscape uses, for Hawaii. Several dedicated commit-tee members stepped up, including Alan Schildknecht, of Irrigation Consultants, Mel Villoria of HISCO, Lanky Morrill of DLNR, Cat Sawai of BWS, and Neal Fujii of the State Water Commission.

We met every month and discussed what could be done. I was especially interested in finding ways to encourage the use of simple but effective sensors and new timers that automatically adjust watering cycles to local weather condi-tions. Others who came and participated in the discussions included Richard Quinn of Helber, Hastert & Fee, and Matt Flach, the landscape architect for Pearl Harbor, ands at the 2010 conference, Elson Gushiken of Irrigation Technol-ogy Corporation. We participated in the County of Maui’s development of new landscape codes. We provided text for a possible Hawaii legislative resolution in 2010. After Chris Dacus came on board, we surveyed LICH members and others, created extensive lists of possible BMP’s (best management practices), then ranked them for ease of early adoption or im-portance for eventual adoption. This list was referred to in another, 2011, proposed resolution for the Hawaii legislature. Neither resolution went through, but now, at President Chris Dacus’ request, the Governor has officially proclaimed July “LICH Water Conservation Month,” a milestone in public recognition of our conservation efforts. Also, and in part due to these discussions, Neal Fujii conferred with the State Water Commission and the result is that this year a contract has been let through the Corps of Engineers to prepare a statewide Water Conserva-tion Plan as called for in the 1978 Hawaii Constitutional Convention.

In my own company we helped the Ke Kumulani community retrofit to one of the latest low-cost sets of conservation tools: we installed flow sensors, master valves, evapotranspiration (ET) sensor/calculator units, and new timers capable of interacting with these. Besides saving water we saved a lot of customer grief: formerly various minor mishaps or worn out sprinkler heads would cause geysers at night that would fall into residents’ yards down below, sometimes even enter-ing homes through open windows. Now the zone valve for the section with a gey-ser is re-tested, then shut and bypassed, when the excess flows from the geyser occur and are confirmed, while the timer contin-ues to water the rest of the zones. The cost was affordable and Ke Kumulani’s Board and management has fewer after-hours headaches, while watering at night for lowest evaporation losses, can continue.

Each of us can find ways, in our nurseries, through the Natural Re-source Conservation Service, or in our golf courses or land-scapes, through our irrigation suppliers, to install water saving equipment. When we design a system, for example, we can make appropriate use of drip irrigation, especially for shrub or certain groundcover plantings, and low-flow efficient stream-spray nozzles, now newly more reli-able and effective than

some of the earlier versions. Let’s all do what we can to observe LICH Water Con-servation Month in July 2011, and use our normal landscape activities to further the cause of water conservation, effectively and systematically, in Hawaii.

Together we can make outdoor water conservation something that is built into our landscapes, not just the outcome of often-disregarded rhetorical admonitions. The day when a geyser along a roadside has to be called in, again and again, to the BWS trouble-call line, can come to an end: the sensors & timer will do it for us!

Boyd Ready is the Vice President of the Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii and also Vice President, RME, Certified Arborist of Akahi Services, Inc.

Governor Abercrombie proclaims July LICH Irrigation Conservation Month

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 19

18 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

he water that runs off roofs, driveways and other

hard surfaces in our landscape is both a wasted resource and a

potential problem when it carries soil, nutrients and other pollu-

tion to streams and coastal waters. This colorful and readable how-to guide on designing, constructing and maintaining rain gardens provides a solution to urban and residential runoff by focusing on the use of that water in an attractive garden feature. Rain gardens are being designed and built across the country but are new to Hawaii and this book written in non-technical language and lavishly illustrated is a good introduction for home garden-ers and landscape designers. As stated by the authors, “… a rain garden is designed to capture rainfall flowing through your yard (known as runoff), store that water to nurture its plants, and cleanse runoff, thus removing the pollution it carries with it.” It’s informative, but also presents rain gardens in a way that gets you excited to build one.

Written by two North Carolina State horticulturists, the book focuses on environmental con-ditions and plants appropriate to the southeastern states, but its usefulness extends beyond southern gardens. The book pro-vides details on soil assessment, garden design and placing a rain garden in a typical suburban lot which can be applied to any

climate. While the plants listed and described are mostly unfamiliar in Hawai-ian gardens, the full color illustrations allows one to picture how the textures, colors and sizes of plants combine in a visually appealing garden. Substituting tropical plants would be fairly simple for R

EVIE

WREVIEWbookb y C a r l E v e n s e n

PrOCLAmAtIOn

an experience local gardener. Clearly and simply described landscaping principles can give gardeners and homeowners insights into creating their own rain gardens. The illustrations and plant lists focus exclusively on ornamental gardens using perennial plants and considerations for edible plantings are not provided.

Readers are provided step by step instructions on siting the garden (taking into account slope, water flow and build-ings), preparing the soil, selecting proper combinations of plants (including shady and sunny locations), and troubleshoot-ing problems like drainage, excess runoff, and dying plants. Photos of rain gardens at planting time as well as several years later are shown to illustrate how they mature and fill in over time. One weak-ness of the book is that the sizing of the rain garden was presented in a rather confusing way (with detailed calculations or an optional table of sizes to capture an inch of rain). Due to difference in soils in Hawaii, a simple infiltration test should be conducted to both pick the site and size the garden. Also, the book did not adequately discuss how to deal with ex-tremely heavy rainfall and how to channel excessive runoff safely. But for a simple and beautiful presentation of the value, design and care of rain gardens, this book is a great introduction and a worthy addi-tion to your library.

Carl Evensen, Associate Director of Exten-sion at the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources and a member of the LICH Board of Directors.

Buying the BookSoft cover:7.5 x 9.25 inches, 144 pages9 color plates, 127 imagesRetail price:$19.95 plus shipmentTo order: www.enopublishers.org./Site/Rain_Gardening.htmlTo get a feel for the text and beautiful illustrations see: www.enopublishers.org/Site/RG_pages.html

Rain Gardening in the South: Ecologically Designed Gardens for Drought, Deluge, and Everything in Between.By Helen Kraus and Anne Spafford2009Eno PublishersHillsborough, North Carolina144p.

t our October 2009 LICH conference, at the Blaisdell, while still LICH President, I called for a new committee to see what could be done to improve water

conservation, especially in landscape uses, for Hawaii. Several dedicated commit-tee members stepped up, including Alan Schildknecht, of Irrigation Consultants, Mel Villoria of HISCO, Lanky Morrill of DLNR, Cat Sawai of BWS, and Neal Fujii of the State Water Commission.

We met every month and discussed what could be done. I was especially interested in finding ways to encourage the use of simple but effective sensors and new timers that automatically adjust watering cycles to local weather condi-tions. Others who came and participated in the discussions included Richard Quinn of Helber, Hastert & Fee, and Matt Flach, the landscape architect for Pearl Harbor, ands at the 2010 conference, Elson Gushiken of Irrigation Technol-ogy Corporation. We participated in the County of Maui’s development of new landscape codes. We provided text for a possible Hawaii legislative resolution in 2010. After Chris Dacus came on board, we surveyed LICH members and others, created extensive lists of possible BMP’s (best management practices), then ranked them for ease of early adoption or im-portance for eventual adoption. This list was referred to in another, 2011, proposed resolution for the Hawaii legislature. Neither resolution went through, but now, at President Chris Dacus’ request, the Governor has officially proclaimed July “LICH Water Conservation Month,” a milestone in public recognition of our conservation efforts. Also, and in part due to these discussions, Neal Fujii conferred with the State Water Commission and the result is that this year a contract has been let through the Corps of Engineers to prepare a statewide Water Conserva-tion Plan as called for in the 1978 Hawaii Constitutional Convention.

In my own company we helped the Ke Kumulani community retrofit to one of the latest low-cost sets of conservation tools: we installed flow sensors, master valves, evapotranspiration (ET) sensor/calculator units, and new timers capable of interacting with these. Besides saving water we saved a lot of customer grief: formerly various minor mishaps or worn out sprinkler heads would cause geysers at night that would fall into residents’ yards down below, sometimes even enter-ing homes through open windows. Now the zone valve for the section with a gey-ser is re-tested, then shut and bypassed, when the excess flows from the geyser occur and are confirmed, while the timer contin-ues to water the rest of the zones. The cost was affordable and Ke Kumulani’s Board and management has fewer after-hours headaches, while watering at night for lowest evaporation losses, can continue.

Each of us can find ways, in our nurseries, through the Natural Re-source Conservation Service, or in our golf courses or land-scapes, through our irrigation suppliers, to install water saving equipment. When we design a system, for example, we can make appropriate use of drip irrigation, especially for shrub or certain groundcover plantings, and low-flow efficient stream-spray nozzles, now newly more reli-able and effective than

some of the earlier versions. Let’s all do what we can to observe LICH Water Con-servation Month in July 2011, and use our normal landscape activities to further the cause of water conservation, effectively and systematically, in Hawaii.

Together we can make outdoor water conservation something that is built into our landscapes, not just the outcome of often-disregarded rhetorical admonitions. The day when a geyser along a roadside has to be called in, again and again, to the BWS trouble-call line, can come to an end: the sensors & timer will do it for us!

Boyd Ready is the Vice President of the Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii and also Vice President, RME, Certified Arborist of Akahi Services, Inc.

Governor Abercrombie proclaims July LICH Irrigation Conservation Month

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 19

ICH members spent the morning of March 30th talking to legislators and

their staff promoting the landscape profes-sion during the annual

HFBF Agriculture Day at the State Capitol. Every year the Farm Bureau hosts Ag Day at the capitol during legislative sessions. It is the most popular event at the Capitol every year as the top chefs

support their local farmers and cook up a storm of ono delights. The event featured many booths with agriculture, related green industries and government agen-cies. For three hours the Capitol is buzzing with activity.

The LICH booth gave away over 330 native plants as hun-dreds of legislative staff members stopped by and talked story about their landscapes. The landscape

industry really showed up and made a great impression on our policymakers. Plants really do bring out the best in people.

The plants were propagated by Lelan Nishek of Kauai Nursery & Landscaping, Inc. and Rick Barboza of Hui Ku Maoli Ola. Leland brought native white Hibiscus Kokio Keokeo (Hibiscus arnottianus subsp. Arnottianus) from Oahu and native red Hibis-

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 21THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY20 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

AG dAyAt thE StAtE CAPItOLLandscape and green industries promoted at annual event during legislative sessions on March 30

cus clayi found in the wild only at the Sleeping Giant on Kaua‘i. Rick provided ‘Uki‘uki (Dianella sandwicensis), Poly-nesian introduced ‘Uala or Kaneohe Red Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas), and Naio (Myoporum sandwicense).

It was a real team effort our members and a lot of fun. Josh Sand from Foster Botanical Gardens provided table cover-ings. Josie Hoh from Waimea Valley Hi’ipaka LLC beautifully decorated the booth with cut flowers including Heliconia, Ti leaf lei and Erythrina flow-

ers. Madeleine Shaw from Basic Office Services created over 330 laminated plant tags with the LICH logo and the web ad-dress. Boyd Ready of Akahi Services Inc., Cat Sawai of Honolulu Board of Water Supply and Matt Lyum of Performance Landscape helped to attach to all the plants.

A LICH delegation including Cat, Boyd, Lelan and Chris visited the ten Senators of the Energy & Environment Committee and Public Safety, Govern-ment Operations & Military Affairs

Committee promoting the Senate Concurrent Resolution 12, promoting the LICH irrigation water conservation measures. The following week both committees unanimously passed SCR12 making it to the cross over to the House Committee for their review.

Chris Dacus is a Landscape Architect and Arborist for the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation and the President of LICH.

‘Uki‘uki plants with the LICH tag.

photo: Chris Dacus

The LICH Booth at Ag Day Josie Hoh, Cat Sawai, Matt Lyum, Madeleine Shaw (Left to Right)

photo: Chris Dacus

Carl Evensen and Chris Dacus talking to a booth visitor.Josie Hoh talking to Leslie Iseke of the Plant Quarantine branch of Hawaii Department of Agriculture

photo: Matt Lyumphoto: Matt Lyum

ICH members spent the morning of March 30th talking to legislators and

their staff promoting the landscape profes-sion during the annual

HFBF Agriculture Day at the State Capitol. Every year the Farm Bureau hosts Ag Day at the capitol during legislative sessions. It is the most popular event at the Capitol every year as the top chefs

support their local farmers and cook up a storm of ono delights. The event featured many booths with agriculture, related green industries and government agen-cies. For three hours the Capitol is buzzing with activity.

The LICH booth gave away over 330 native plants as hun-dreds of legislative staff members stopped by and talked story about their landscapes. The landscape

industry really showed up and made a great impression on our policymakers. Plants really do bring out the best in people.

The plants were propagated by Lelan Nishek of Kauai Nursery & Landscaping, Inc. and Rick Barboza of Hui Ku Maoli Ola. Leland brought native white Hibiscus Kokio Keokeo (Hibiscus arnottianus subsp. Arnottianus) from Oahu and native red Hibis-

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 21THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY20 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

AG dAyAt thE StAtE CAPItOLLandscape and green industries promoted at annual event during legislative sessions on March 30

cus clayi found in the wild only at the Sleeping Giant on Kaua‘i. Rick provided ‘Uki‘uki (Dianella sandwicensis), Poly-nesian introduced ‘Uala or Kaneohe Red Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas), and Naio (Myoporum sandwicense).

It was a real team effort our members and a lot of fun. Josh Sand from Foster Botanical Gardens provided table cover-ings. Josie Hoh from Waimea Valley Hi’ipaka LLC beautifully decorated the booth with cut flowers including Heliconia, Ti leaf lei and Erythrina flow-

ers. Madeleine Shaw from Basic Office Services created over 330 laminated plant tags with the LICH logo and the web ad-dress. Boyd Ready of Akahi Services Inc., Cat Sawai of Honolulu Board of Water Supply and Matt Lyum of Performance Landscape helped to attach to all the plants.

A LICH delegation including Cat, Boyd, Lelan and Chris visited the ten Senators of the Energy & Environment Committee and Public Safety, Govern-ment Operations & Military Affairs

Committee promoting the Senate Concurrent Resolution 12, promoting the LICH irrigation water conservation measures. The following week both committees unanimously passed SCR12 making it to the cross over to the House Committee for their review.

Chris Dacus is a Landscape Architect and Arborist for the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation and the President of LICH.

‘Uki‘uki plants with the LICH tag.

photo: Chris Dacus

The LICH Booth at Ag Day Josie Hoh, Cat Sawai, Matt Lyum, Madeleine Shaw (Left to Right)

photo: Chris Dacus

Carl Evensen and Chris Dacus talking to a booth visitor.Josie Hoh talking to Leslie Iseke of the Plant Quarantine branch of Hawaii Department of Agriculture

photo: Matt Lyumphoto: Matt Lyum

THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 2322 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

t’s like a green oasis on an increasingly urban island, a mecca of serene beauty

and fruitful research over the last cen-tury. It was a place that was near and dear

to Dr. Harold L. Lyon’s heart and is still held in great regard by many green industry

professionals today.We are, of course, talking about Foster Botanical

Garden in downtown Honolulu.“Without him, there would be no Foster Gar-

den,” asserted Lyon’s friend and colleague Paul Weissich. “That was the first link in the chain of Hawai‘i’s botanic garden system.”

Today, that system, through Weissich’s work as its longtime director, encompasses four additional sites on O‘ahu — Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden, Koko Crater Botanical Garden, Lili_uokalani Botanical Garden and Wahiawa Botanical Garden, each in its own unique climate. Those, in turn, influenced the highly regarded National Tropical Botanical Garden on Maui, Weissich said.

Weissich, of course, acknowledges the impact of that other place named after Lyon, nestled in Mānoa Valley, too.

The Lyon Arboretum still shines as a bastion of tropical plants and flora, where samples of Lyon’s acquired trees that helped to save Hawai‘i’s water-shed can still be seen. But Weissich would like his forward thinking friend to be equally credited for the beginnings of our botanical gardens.

“It was his kernel of an idea to put several exist-ing resources together — Foster Garden, what is now Lyon Arboretum, the library at HSPA (Hawai‘i Sugar Planters Association) and Bishop Museum — to turn it into a cooperative group to create a huge botanic garden system,” he said.

Weissich ran with that “kernel,” carrying on the legacy of a man who he only knew for a brief time. “I met him in 1950. He died in ’57.”

But that time made a lasting impression on him and many working in Hawai‘i’s landscape — from arborists to botanists to orchid growers to horti-culturists and more.

“Lyon had an overall vision. He looked at the big picture and was a living scientist, who influenced Hawai‘i’s green industry,” said Heidi Bornhorst, former director of the Honolulu Botanical Gar-dens, horticulturist and landscape consultant.

“It was he who helped convince Mary Mikihala Robinson Foster that if she wanted her garden to be perpetuated, she should give it to the city with an endowment and a caveat that it remain a botanical garden in perpetuity,” she explained.

Yet it’s still his work as a plant pathologist for HSPA, then heading the Department of Botany and Forestation for the Territory of Hawai‘i, and his time in Mānoa Valley, that are widely known — and for good reason.

According to Lyon Arboretum records, in 1922,

Lyon became the head of the 124-acre tree experimental sta-tion in Mānoa. Lyon noticed that native plants could not grow in the soil that was trampled on by cattle.

For the next three decades, he experimented with many different introduced plants to find ones that were suit-able for reforestation, and the goal of HSPA, of find-ing trees suitable to build a watershed, was achieved.

“Lyon went all over the world to reforest (Hawaii’s) barren areas,” Weissich said.

Lyon suggested to HSPA that they donate their Mānoa Arbore-tum to the Uni-versity of Hawai‘i in 1953. When they agreed, he became its director while continuing his bo-tanical research.

After Lyon’s death, the facility was re-named in his honor.

And today, it’s still carrying out vital work, helping those working in Hawaii’s tropical landscape.

“My hope is that the forests of Lyon Arbo-retum and Botanical Garden will continue to protect and preserve our vulnerable water supply,” said Karen Shigematsu, Lyon Arboretum research associate, botanist and plant record keeper. “Our growing O‘ahu popu-lation needs reliable water and agriculture to be sustainable. That was the original goal of the founders of what was Mānoa Arboretum, and then Lyon Arboretum, and it is just as essential today as in the past.”

“The Arboretum’s forest restoration areas and native Hawaiian plants offer opportuni-ties for more research and understanding of how all these things work together,” she added.

“Hawaii’s green industry can, in fact, have an active role in assisting the arboretum’s fill

LyOn’SLAStInG LEGACyThe effects of Dr. Harold L. Lyon vision can still be felt by Hawai‘i’s horticulturist and landscapers

STorY ANd pHoToS: CHrIS AGUINALdo

See Lyon’s legacy on page 46

Dr. Harold L. Lyon suggested to the Hawai‘i Sugar Planters Association that

they donate their Mānoa Arboretum to the University of Hawai‘i in 1953. When

they agreed, he became its director while continuing his botanical research.

pHoT

o Co

UrT

ESY:

LYoN

Arb

orET

UM

THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 2322 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

t’s like a green oasis on an increasingly urban island, a mecca of serene beauty

and fruitful research over the last cen-tury. It was a place that was near and dear

to Dr. Harold L. Lyon’s heart and is still held in great regard by many green industry

professionals today.We are, of course, talking about Foster Botanical

Garden in downtown Honolulu.“Without him, there would be no Foster Gar-

den,” asserted Lyon’s friend and colleague Paul Weissich. “That was the first link in the chain of Hawai‘i’s botanic garden system.”

Today, that system, through Weissich’s work as its longtime director, encompasses four additional sites on O‘ahu — Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden, Koko Crater Botanical Garden, Lili_uokalani Botanical Garden and Wahiawa Botanical Garden, each in its own unique climate. Those, in turn, influenced the highly regarded National Tropical Botanical Garden on Maui, Weissich said.

Weissich, of course, acknowledges the impact of that other place named after Lyon, nestled in Mānoa Valley, too.

The Lyon Arboretum still shines as a bastion of tropical plants and flora, where samples of Lyon’s acquired trees that helped to save Hawai‘i’s water-shed can still be seen. But Weissich would like his forward thinking friend to be equally credited for the beginnings of our botanical gardens.

“It was his kernel of an idea to put several exist-ing resources together — Foster Garden, what is now Lyon Arboretum, the library at HSPA (Hawai‘i Sugar Planters Association) and Bishop Museum — to turn it into a cooperative group to create a huge botanic garden system,” he said.

Weissich ran with that “kernel,” carrying on the legacy of a man who he only knew for a brief time. “I met him in 1950. He died in ’57.”

But that time made a lasting impression on him and many working in Hawai‘i’s landscape — from arborists to botanists to orchid growers to horti-culturists and more.

“Lyon had an overall vision. He looked at the big picture and was a living scientist, who influenced Hawai‘i’s green industry,” said Heidi Bornhorst, former director of the Honolulu Botanical Gar-dens, horticulturist and landscape consultant.

“It was he who helped convince Mary Mikihala Robinson Foster that if she wanted her garden to be perpetuated, she should give it to the city with an endowment and a caveat that it remain a botanical garden in perpetuity,” she explained.

Yet it’s still his work as a plant pathologist for HSPA, then heading the Department of Botany and Forestation for the Territory of Hawai‘i, and his time in Mānoa Valley, that are widely known — and for good reason.

According to Lyon Arboretum records, in 1922,

Lyon became the head of the 124-acre tree experimental sta-tion in Mānoa. Lyon noticed that native plants could not grow in the soil that was trampled on by cattle.

For the next three decades, he experimented with many different introduced plants to find ones that were suit-able for reforestation, and the goal of HSPA, of find-ing trees suitable to build a watershed, was achieved.

“Lyon went all over the world to reforest (Hawaii’s) barren areas,” Weissich said.

Lyon suggested to HSPA that they donate their Mānoa Arbore-tum to the Uni-versity of Hawai‘i in 1953. When they agreed, he became its director while continuing his bo-tanical research.

After Lyon’s death, the facility was re-named in his honor.

And today, it’s still carrying out vital work, helping those working in Hawaii’s tropical landscape.

“My hope is that the forests of Lyon Arbo-retum and Botanical Garden will continue to protect and preserve our vulnerable water supply,” said Karen Shigematsu, Lyon Arboretum research associate, botanist and plant record keeper. “Our growing O‘ahu popu-lation needs reliable water and agriculture to be sustainable. That was the original goal of the founders of what was Mānoa Arboretum, and then Lyon Arboretum, and it is just as essential today as in the past.”

“The Arboretum’s forest restoration areas and native Hawaiian plants offer opportuni-ties for more research and understanding of how all these things work together,” she added.

“Hawaii’s green industry can, in fact, have an active role in assisting the arboretum’s fill

LyOn’SLAStInG LEGACyThe effects of Dr. Harold L. Lyon vision can still be felt by Hawai‘i’s horticulturist and landscapers

STorY ANd pHoToS: CHrIS AGUINALdo

See Lyon’s legacy on page 46

Dr. Harold L. Lyon suggested to the Hawai‘i Sugar Planters Association that

they donate their Mānoa Arboretum to the University of Hawai‘i in 1953. When

they agreed, he became its director while continuing his botanical research.

pHoT

o Co

UrT

ESY:

LYoN

Arb

orET

UM

24 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 25THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

n Hawaii, Koa (Acacia koa) is a valuable tree species economi-

cally, ecologically, and culturally. Koa’s natural distribution ranged

from lowland to montane areas and dry to wet forests. As Hawaii’s largest native tree, it provides

habitat for many native birds, insects and plants, some of which are endangered and is also the primary nitrogen fixing species in native forest ecosystems. Koa is Hawaii’s premier timber tree and is used to produce furniture, musical instru-ments, bowls, surfboards, and craft wood items. Koa has deep cultural significance to the native Hawaiians and was the focal point of many traditional ceremonies. The resurgence of interest in Hawaiian voyaging and racing canoes using tradi-tional methods has led to a greater public awareness of the scarcity of trees suitable for “canoe Koa” and the importance of renewing this depleted resource.

With major land use change and declines in sugarcane, pineapple, and cattle production, there is an opportunity and keen interest in utilizing native koa in reforestation and restoration efforts. However, moderate to high mortality rates in many plantings have impeded past efforts. Currently, many landown-ers/managers are reluctant to reforest

with Koa in many eco-regions due to high mortality rates. The primary cause for this mortality is thought to be Koa wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. koae (FOXY). F. oxysporum is a relatively

common agricultural and nursery soil-borne fungus, but the origin of virulent strains of FOXY infecting Koa in Hawaii is unknown.

Identifying and developing Koa popula-

tions that are genetically resistant to virulent strains of FOXY may be the key to successful Koa restoration and refor-estation. Great differences in mortality among seed sources in young Koa field trials planted in the 1990’s were the im-petus for developing a seedling screening test and investigating naturally occurring genetic resistance to FOXY.

A state-wide survey was conducted to determine distribution of Koa wilt/dieback disease across the four main Hawaiian Islands: Kauai, Maui, Oahu and Hawaii. A total of 386 samples were taken at 46 different sites covering approxi-mately 13,830 acres of natural and planted Koa forest. Koa trees and seedlings infected by F. oxysporum were found on all of the major islands in forest tree seedling nurseries, natural, and planta-tion forests. From these samples more than 500 isolates of F. oxysporum were obtained. Of these, 160 isolates have been tested for virulence on Koa seedlings in controlled greenhouse inoculation tests. From isolate screening tests, 12 highly virulent isolates have been identified for use in screening selected Koa families for disease resistance.

Between 2006 and 2010, more than 250 Koa families were evaluated for their potential FOXY resistance in greenhouse tests. Most of the seed lots came from wild populations. However, several seed lots were from survivors of family level progeny trials at the HARC’s Maunawili Field Station. All seed lots were open-pollinated. A composite of five virulent isolates of FOXY were used for inocula-tion. Seedling wilting and mortality in the greenhouse was monitored over a 90 day period for each test. Seedling mortality among seed lots varied widely (4 to 100%) and averaged 61.5%. These initial results indicate that natural resistance to FOXY is low within native Koa populations.

Continued screening of additional Koa families for pathogen resistance, retesting putative resistant families, and develop-ing Koa seed orchards with disease-resis-tant stock are either on-going or planned.

Specifically, this project will use HARC’s methods to identify resistant Koa seed sources for use in reforestation and restoration. This will provide project partners the opportunity to plant geneti-cally adapted, eco-region specific, disease resistant koa seedlings.

Nick Dudley is a Forester and manages the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (HARC) Koa wilt resistance project.

Largest selection of certified grass varieties in the Island

Delivery Available

232-2277 email: hawaii@southernturfhawaii.com

www.southernturfhawaii.com

MAKING HAWAI`I GREEN FOR OVER 20 YEARS

Buy Direct From the Farm

Discolored branch of an infected koa.

Ruptured vascular system with fermented sap.

WILtrESIStAnt KOA

dEVELOPInG

STorY ANd pHoToS: NICk dUdLEY

24 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 25THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

n Hawaii, Koa (Acacia koa) is a valuable tree species economi-

cally, ecologically, and culturally. Koa’s natural distribution ranged

from lowland to montane areas and dry to wet forests. As Hawaii’s largest native tree, it provides

habitat for many native birds, insects and plants, some of which are endangered and is also the primary nitrogen fixing species in native forest ecosystems. Koa is Hawaii’s premier timber tree and is used to produce furniture, musical instru-ments, bowls, surfboards, and craft wood items. Koa has deep cultural significance to the native Hawaiians and was the focal point of many traditional ceremonies. The resurgence of interest in Hawaiian voyaging and racing canoes using tradi-tional methods has led to a greater public awareness of the scarcity of trees suitable for “canoe Koa” and the importance of renewing this depleted resource.

With major land use change and declines in sugarcane, pineapple, and cattle production, there is an opportunity and keen interest in utilizing native koa in reforestation and restoration efforts. However, moderate to high mortality rates in many plantings have impeded past efforts. Currently, many landown-ers/managers are reluctant to reforest

with Koa in many eco-regions due to high mortality rates. The primary cause for this mortality is thought to be Koa wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. koae (FOXY). F. oxysporum is a relatively

common agricultural and nursery soil-borne fungus, but the origin of virulent strains of FOXY infecting Koa in Hawaii is unknown.

Identifying and developing Koa popula-

tions that are genetically resistant to virulent strains of FOXY may be the key to successful Koa restoration and refor-estation. Great differences in mortality among seed sources in young Koa field trials planted in the 1990’s were the im-petus for developing a seedling screening test and investigating naturally occurring genetic resistance to FOXY.

A state-wide survey was conducted to determine distribution of Koa wilt/dieback disease across the four main Hawaiian Islands: Kauai, Maui, Oahu and Hawaii. A total of 386 samples were taken at 46 different sites covering approxi-mately 13,830 acres of natural and planted Koa forest. Koa trees and seedlings infected by F. oxysporum were found on all of the major islands in forest tree seedling nurseries, natural, and planta-tion forests. From these samples more than 500 isolates of F. oxysporum were obtained. Of these, 160 isolates have been tested for virulence on Koa seedlings in controlled greenhouse inoculation tests. From isolate screening tests, 12 highly virulent isolates have been identified for use in screening selected Koa families for disease resistance.

Between 2006 and 2010, more than 250 Koa families were evaluated for their potential FOXY resistance in greenhouse tests. Most of the seed lots came from wild populations. However, several seed lots were from survivors of family level progeny trials at the HARC’s Maunawili Field Station. All seed lots were open-pollinated. A composite of five virulent isolates of FOXY were used for inocula-tion. Seedling wilting and mortality in the greenhouse was monitored over a 90 day period for each test. Seedling mortality among seed lots varied widely (4 to 100%) and averaged 61.5%. These initial results indicate that natural resistance to FOXY is low within native Koa populations.

Continued screening of additional Koa families for pathogen resistance, retesting putative resistant families, and develop-ing Koa seed orchards with disease-resis-tant stock are either on-going or planned.

Specifically, this project will use HARC’s methods to identify resistant Koa seed sources for use in reforestation and restoration. This will provide project partners the opportunity to plant geneti-cally adapted, eco-region specific, disease resistant koa seedlings.

Nick Dudley is a Forester and manages the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (HARC) Koa wilt resistance project.

Largest selection of certified grass varieties in the Island

Delivery Available

232-2277 email: hawaii@southernturfhawaii.com

www.southernturfhawaii.com

MAKING HAWAI`I GREEN FOR OVER 20 YEARS

Buy Direct From the Farm

Discolored branch of an infected koa.

Ruptured vascular system with fermented sap.

WILtrESIStAnt KOA

dEVELOPInG

STorY ANd pHoToS: NICk dUdLEY

t’s been seven years since the industry was first introduced to the University of Hawaii

Weed Risk Assessment, a tool for predicting the potential invasive-

ness of plants. In the beginning, the green industry struggled with

the weed risk assessment, but a lot has changed since 2004.

In 2006, the landscape industry started an initiative to determine which poten-tially invasive plants have greater risk than benefit. The initiative included broad outreach with numerous meetings on all islands including the Hawaii Island Landscape Association, Kauai Landscape Industry Council, Maui Association of Landscape Professionals, Oahu Nursery Growers Association, The Outdoor Circle, Hawaii Society of Urban Forestry, Aloha Arborist Association, Hawaii Landscape & Irrigation Contractors and the American Society of Landscape Architects.

After three years of meetings and lengthy discussion, the industry came together and agreed that of the 168 plants listed as potentially invasive, that 80% would not be utilized. The Landscape In-dustry Council of Hawaii Invasive Species Guidelines and Invasive Plant List became on effective May 1, 2009. The list and the guidelines are online at www.landscape-hawaii.org.

It’s now been two years and I am sure many folks are wondering just how successful is the implementation. Are we walking the talk and what’s the next steps? Well some preliminary statistics are now available on a handful of landscape nurseries from the Islands of Oahu and Maui. We do not currently have statistics for Kauai or the Big Island. This statis-tics exclude national big box stores that typically do not participate in our local industry.

On the Island of Maui, botanists found 11 of 134 LICH invasive plants or 8% being propagated and sold at local landscape nurseries. The 11 LICH invasive plants include: Asparagus setaceus, Cleroden-drum quadriloculare, Cyperus involucra-tus, Hedychium gardnerianum, Psidium

LICH’s Invasive Species Initiative is raising awareness

This fragrant and showy ginger from the Himalayas, with bird-dis-persed seeds, is capable of invading the understory of intact native rainforest and of preventing almost all native seedling recruitment with its thick foliage and dense root masses.

HEDYCHIUM GARDNERIANUM

26 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

The fast-growing Australian tree fern spreads high into native watersheds via millions of wind-dispersed spores, forming dense thickets that eliminate understory plants and mosses needed to capture and slowly release rainfall.

CYATHEA COOPERI

Listed as one of the World’s 100 Worst Invasive Alien Species by the IUCN (In-ternational Union for the Conservation of Nature), this bird-dispersed thorny neotropical shrub can invade and form dense thickets in native forests and pastures, crowding out native and other desirable plants and poisoning livestock with its leaves and seeds.

LANTANA CAMARA

See Report Card on page 47

This is a fast-growing Australian tree with bird-dispersed seeds that forms dense stands in lowland forests and crowds out other vegetation, including rare and endangered plants.

SCHEFFLERA ACTINOPHYLLA

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 27THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

This Brazilian ornamental shrub has invaded native rain forests on Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii, forming large, dense monotypic stands to 16 ft (5 m) in height by vigorous vegetative reproduction.

TIBOUCHINA URVILLEANA

A tropical shrub from the Philippines that spreads by both seeds and root suckers and has formed dense thickets in the forest understory on Pohnpei, Guam, similar to habitat found in the Hawaiian Islands.

CLERODENDRUM QUADRILOCULARE

rEPOrtCArd:

InVASIVE SPECIES InItIAtIVEpHoToS: forEST & kIM STArr

t’s been seven years since the industry was first introduced to the University of Hawaii

Weed Risk Assessment, a tool for predicting the potential invasive-

ness of plants. In the beginning, the green industry struggled with

the weed risk assessment, but a lot has changed since 2004.

In 2006, the landscape industry started an initiative to determine which poten-tially invasive plants have greater risk than benefit. The initiative included broad outreach with numerous meetings on all islands including the Hawaii Island Landscape Association, Kauai Landscape Industry Council, Maui Association of Landscape Professionals, Oahu Nursery Growers Association, The Outdoor Circle, Hawaii Society of Urban Forestry, Aloha Arborist Association, Hawaii Landscape & Irrigation Contractors and the American Society of Landscape Architects.

After three years of meetings and lengthy discussion, the industry came together and agreed that of the 168 plants listed as potentially invasive, that 80% would not be utilized. The Landscape In-dustry Council of Hawaii Invasive Species Guidelines and Invasive Plant List became on effective May 1, 2009. The list and the guidelines are online at www.landscape-hawaii.org.

It’s now been two years and I am sure many folks are wondering just how successful is the implementation. Are we walking the talk and what’s the next steps? Well some preliminary statistics are now available on a handful of landscape nurseries from the Islands of Oahu and Maui. We do not currently have statistics for Kauai or the Big Island. This statis-tics exclude national big box stores that typically do not participate in our local industry.

On the Island of Maui, botanists found 11 of 134 LICH invasive plants or 8% being propagated and sold at local landscape nurseries. The 11 LICH invasive plants include: Asparagus setaceus, Cleroden-drum quadriloculare, Cyperus involucra-tus, Hedychium gardnerianum, Psidium

LICH’s Invasive Species Initiative is raising awareness

This fragrant and showy ginger from the Himalayas, with bird-dis-persed seeds, is capable of invading the understory of intact native rainforest and of preventing almost all native seedling recruitment with its thick foliage and dense root masses.

HEDYCHIUM GARDNERIANUM

26 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

The fast-growing Australian tree fern spreads high into native watersheds via millions of wind-dispersed spores, forming dense thickets that eliminate understory plants and mosses needed to capture and slowly release rainfall.

CYATHEA COOPERI

Listed as one of the World’s 100 Worst Invasive Alien Species by the IUCN (In-ternational Union for the Conservation of Nature), this bird-dispersed thorny neotropical shrub can invade and form dense thickets in native forests and pastures, crowding out native and other desirable plants and poisoning livestock with its leaves and seeds.

LANTANA CAMARA

See Report Card on page 47

This is a fast-growing Australian tree with bird-dispersed seeds that forms dense stands in lowland forests and crowds out other vegetation, including rare and endangered plants.

SCHEFFLERA ACTINOPHYLLA

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 27THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

This Brazilian ornamental shrub has invaded native rain forests on Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii, forming large, dense monotypic stands to 16 ft (5 m) in height by vigorous vegetative reproduction.

TIBOUCHINA URVILLEANA

A tropical shrub from the Philippines that spreads by both seeds and root suckers and has formed dense thickets in the forest understory on Pohnpei, Guam, similar to habitat found in the Hawaiian Islands.

CLERODENDRUM QUADRILOCULARE

rEPOrtCArd:

InVASIVE SPECIES InItIAtIVEpHoToS: forEST & kIM STArr

s we head into the dry summer season, it is absolutely essential that a complete check of your or your client’s irrigation system be among your top prior-

ities. The worst thing you can do for your landscape is to wait until the last minute when you need the system operating to find you have problems.

Scheduling a thorough inspection and run-through of irrigation systems in advance of when needed will save time, money and headaches associated with malfunctions.

Recommended Irrigation Check Listn Is the controller working properly? An unresponsive controller may be an

indicator of damaged components or improper voltage required to perform successfully. If your controller should be

operating at 120 volts, and a simple check if it’s operating at an over

or under voltage condition which will cause harm

to the controller.On larger

systems, check the communications between the controller and the central control system computer to make sure everything is communicating properly.n Check each zone. Valve wiring are

generally the first function of the control-ler system to malfunction. Typically these failures are caused when a wire from the controller to the control valve is broken or has a poor splice. However, even a nick can cause a system which had been work-ing, to fail when the soil dries out.

Having the proper tools on hand to assist you in locating wire issues will help save time and reduce labor. The follow-ing are essential items for your irrigation toolbox:n Voltmeter. A voltmeter is a tool used

to measure voltage. If a particular valve is not coming on, check to see if you have the proper voltage to the rotor or valve.n Clamp-on Amp Meter. An amp

meter measures current flow in amperes through a wire. It can isolate a specific wire in a bundle that may be causing the problem, or possibly rule out wires and solenoids that are functioning, meaning it could be a hydraulic issue at the rotor or valve itself. It can also detect if a solenoid is drawing above the normal amperage load and in need of replacement before damaging controller components due to overstress.

n Wire locator. A wire locator is a tool used to help you quickly

locate a wire path/run.

This tool can save a lot of time and ag-gravation if another project is going on in the area and wires and pipe needed to be avoided. This is also a great partner tool to be used with a Pulser and A-frame.n Pulser and A-Frame. This tool is

wonderful in finding breaks or nicks in wires that can cause low voltage in wire runs, and can find a bad spot in a wire down to the inch — avoiding unnecessary guessing and replacement of entire wire runs.n Sprinkler adjustments. Make sure

each sprinkler is properly adjusted to irrigate the intended area and that the nozzles are not clogged or missing.

Consider replacing older low-efficiency nozzles with more efficient nozzles which are available today. If you do this how-ever, change out the entire circuit not just one or two sprinklers as they may have slightly different precipitation rates. Most older spray nozzles from 5 years ago oper-ate at 45 to 60% efficiency where some of the newer sprinklers can operate in the 75 to 80+% efficiency range today.

When the sprinkler is popping up, is there too much flow-by from around the stem indicating a wiper seal needs to be replaced or debris is inside the sprinkler body.n Piping system. Check for leaks or

wet areas after you’ve run the system to make sure

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 29THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

IrrIGAtIOnSyStEm ChECK UP

See Check Up on page 47

See Compost on page 45

he Forest Floor. Decom-position. Green, lush trees and plants. The fallen leaves

make the ground layer of the rainforest. Although it is often

a dark and humid place with almost constant shade, the forest floor is an important and vital part of the forest ecosystem.

How does the concept of the forest floor relate to our landscaping and nurs-ery practices, you ask? Implementing the use of compost is much like that of the forest floor. Compost supplies beneficial

microorganisms to the soil, it supplies a variety of macro and micro nutrients, and it also supplies significant quantities of organic matter.

In Hawaii, we are challenged with very over-farmed soils that are usually very low in organic matter, making them hard packed, low in nutrients, and hard to use. Plants need food; and most chemical fertilizers are not able to supply complete plant nutrition…that is why the use of compost is much like the theory of the forest floor.

Composting is derived through a

natural biological process that accelerates the breakdown of waste materials. This biological process of composting is the transformation of organic material with the help of invertebrates (insects & earth-worms) and microorganisms (bacteria & fungi). This works best when moisture and oxygen levels are maintained. This accelerated, aerobic (oxygen rich) process naturally generates heat which must be monitored and controlled; these high temperatures also sanitize the finished

28 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

mOthErnAtUrE’SrECIPE

pHoToS: LIANA bISCH

s we head into the dry summer season, it is absolutely essential that a complete check of your or your client’s irrigation system be among your top prior-

ities. The worst thing you can do for your landscape is to wait until the last minute when you need the system operating to find you have problems.

Scheduling a thorough inspection and run-through of irrigation systems in advance of when needed will save time, money and headaches associated with malfunctions.

Recommended Irrigation Check Listn Is the controller working properly? An unresponsive controller may be an

indicator of damaged components or improper voltage required to perform successfully. If your controller should be

operating at 120 volts, and a simple check if it’s operating at an over

or under voltage condition which will cause harm

to the controller.On larger

systems, check the communications between the controller and the central control system computer to make sure everything is communicating properly.n Check each zone. Valve wiring are

generally the first function of the control-ler system to malfunction. Typically these failures are caused when a wire from the controller to the control valve is broken or has a poor splice. However, even a nick can cause a system which had been work-ing, to fail when the soil dries out.

Having the proper tools on hand to assist you in locating wire issues will help save time and reduce labor. The follow-ing are essential items for your irrigation toolbox:n Voltmeter. A voltmeter is a tool used

to measure voltage. If a particular valve is not coming on, check to see if you have the proper voltage to the rotor or valve.n Clamp-on Amp Meter. An amp

meter measures current flow in amperes through a wire. It can isolate a specific wire in a bundle that may be causing the problem, or possibly rule out wires and solenoids that are functioning, meaning it could be a hydraulic issue at the rotor or valve itself. It can also detect if a solenoid is drawing above the normal amperage load and in need of replacement before damaging controller components due to overstress.

n Wire locator. A wire locator is a tool used to help you quickly

locate a wire path/run.

This tool can save a lot of time and ag-gravation if another project is going on in the area and wires and pipe needed to be avoided. This is also a great partner tool to be used with a Pulser and A-frame.n Pulser and A-Frame. This tool is

wonderful in finding breaks or nicks in wires that can cause low voltage in wire runs, and can find a bad spot in a wire down to the inch — avoiding unnecessary guessing and replacement of entire wire runs.n Sprinkler adjustments. Make sure

each sprinkler is properly adjusted to irrigate the intended area and that the nozzles are not clogged or missing.

Consider replacing older low-efficiency nozzles with more efficient nozzles which are available today. If you do this how-ever, change out the entire circuit not just one or two sprinklers as they may have slightly different precipitation rates. Most older spray nozzles from 5 years ago oper-ate at 45 to 60% efficiency where some of the newer sprinklers can operate in the 75 to 80+% efficiency range today.

When the sprinkler is popping up, is there too much flow-by from around the stem indicating a wiper seal needs to be replaced or debris is inside the sprinkler body.n Piping system. Check for leaks or

wet areas after you’ve run the system to make sure

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 29THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

IrrIGAtIOnSyStEm ChECK UP

See Check Up on page 47

See Compost on page 45

he Forest Floor. Decom-position. Green, lush trees and plants. The fallen leaves

make the ground layer of the rainforest. Although it is often

a dark and humid place with almost constant shade, the forest floor is an important and vital part of the forest ecosystem.

How does the concept of the forest floor relate to our landscaping and nurs-ery practices, you ask? Implementing the use of compost is much like that of the forest floor. Compost supplies beneficial

microorganisms to the soil, it supplies a variety of macro and micro nutrients, and it also supplies significant quantities of organic matter.

In Hawaii, we are challenged with very over-farmed soils that are usually very low in organic matter, making them hard packed, low in nutrients, and hard to use. Plants need food; and most chemical fertilizers are not able to supply complete plant nutrition…that is why the use of compost is much like the theory of the forest floor.

Composting is derived through a

natural biological process that accelerates the breakdown of waste materials. This biological process of composting is the transformation of organic material with the help of invertebrates (insects & earth-worms) and microorganisms (bacteria & fungi). This works best when moisture and oxygen levels are maintained. This accelerated, aerobic (oxygen rich) process naturally generates heat which must be monitored and controlled; these high temperatures also sanitize the finished

28 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

mOthErnAtUrE’SrECIPE

pHoToS: LIANA bISCH

30 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 31THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

ormed in 2006, the LICH foundation has

provided educational, pro-fessional development and

advocacy for LICH and has been instrumental in the development

of industry advancements. In just five years, the LICH Foundation has tack-led three core sustainability initiatives; LICH Invasive Species List & Guidelines, LICH Irrigation Water Conservation and now the LICH Native Plant Initiative.

The Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii Native Plant Initiative is an in-novative 10 year strategy that seeks to reverse the decline of native plants by promoting the use of native plants in their original range of distribution and

within 30 years to increase native plants in the built environment from less than 1% today to 30%.

The LICH NPI strategy includes four core goals:

1. Increase native plant selection and supply

2. Foster environmental responsibility3. Create greater awareness4. Nurture future green stewards

Each goal includes measurable objec-tives and desired outcomes. The four goals include a total of 69 objectives. The objectives include such items as develop-ing popular native propagules, publish-ing comprehensive technical resources, establishing visible native exhibition gar-dens, develop a native plant ‘Buy Local’ cooperative retail program, and nurture tomorrow’s green stewards.

The LICH Native Plant Initiative (NPI) perfectly compliments existing conserva-tion efforts occurring in Hawaii’s forests by addressing the source of invasive

plants which is in the built environment. The built environment currently acts as land that invasive species pass through to get to the natural areas but could be a buffer. To some extent, native plants has been used by the landscape industry but when you think about it only a select group of ‘bulletproof’ native plants is utilized; ten or less. The LICH NPI will expand the selection, knowledge and guidelines for propagation and proper usage. The LICH NPI first ten years is projected to cost $52 million.

To get started we brought together a diverse set of leading professionals from the landscape industry, conservation, forestry, agricultural, government, educa-tion and science. This group is a core of individuals that have unique expertise and a strong commitment. Team mem-bers include Rick Barboza of Hui Ku Maoli Ola, Heidi Bornhorst, Susan Ching of DLNR, Carl Evensen of UH CTAHR, Josie Hoh of Waimea Valley Hi‘ipaka, Liz Huppman, Nellie Sugii & Steven Con-nolly of Lyon Arboretum, Josh Sand of

the C&C Honolulu Botanical Gardens, Joel Lau, Ken Leonhardt of UH CTAHR, Richard Quinn of Helber Hastert & Fee, Leland Miyano, Garrett Webb of Hawai-ian Islands Palm Society, Amy Tsuneyo-shi of HBWS, Jeff Preble of Hawaiian Botanical Society, Jane Beachy of U.S. Army Environmental, Adam Williams of Koolau Mountain Watershed Partnership and Chris Dacus of LICH.

Not waiting for funding; the task force began with a pilot project for one of the 69 objectives - developing popular native propagules; to show future funders the breadth of expertise, dedication, inno-vation and collaboration of the LICH NPI. The task force developed a collec-tion strategy and chose Oahu’s iconic Pritchardia species - Pritchardia martii, P. kahukuensis, and P. Bakeri. Two of Oahu’s Pritchardia, P. Lowyerana and P. Kaalae require additional measures due to their extremely low numbers in the wild and efforts for these two will be explored at a later date. The low recruit-ment of all Pritchardia in Hawaii is due to rats eating pretty much all the mature seeds. Very few new recruitments are found for any Pritchardia.

With the collection strategy developed the LICH NPI met and developed an outline for a comprehensive approach for the use of native plants in their original range of distribution utilizing Oahu’s Pritchardia species as the pilot. The strategy includes protecting wild plant populations (in situ) by developing built environment plantings (ex situ) of known lineage that are well curated in an appropriate locations to ensure genetic biodiversity. It also includes promoting needed research and guidance for plant-ings in the built environment.

The following components are includ-ed in the pilot project:

• Research Compilation• Research• Collection Techniques & Curation • Protection of In Situ populations• Propagation• Industry Standards & Guidelines• Distribution• Ex Situ sites on publicly

accessible lands• Education and Advocacy• Ex Situ plantings maintenance

With the collection and pilot strategy developed, the task force shared its vision with DLNR and after numerous meetings the LICH NPI obtained a collection per-

mit. For the past 3 months, a dedicated, experienced and fun group of collectors have been pioneering the collection effort. Each has been carefully planned and has been a true team effort and a real adventure into beautiful wild portions of the Ko‘olaus. Every trip the collection team improves.

After each expedition, the collection is curated with the LICH NPI database modelled after the Hawaii Rare Plant Restoration Group Rare Plant Forms. The collection progress has been slow but encouraging with the effort on sched-ule to meet it’s collection goals of seeds for propagation and tissue samples for research purposes.

Concurrently, the task force has been working to identify and fund the research needed to support the LICH NPI. Exten-sive research is needed to understand if and which native Pritchardia cross pollinate to prevent cross pollination and homogenization of distinct Pritchardia. Research is also needed on the flower biology and propagation techniques. While the research is a long term project the outcomes are critical.

Presentations on the LICH NPI will be made to the broader conservation and landscape industry this summer and fall. A forum with discussion will be held at the Hawaii Conservation Conference 2011 and a similar presentation for the LICH 2011 Annual Conference.

Work has also begun on develop-ing industry Pritchardia standards and guidelines. These will include concise guidelines for identification, propagation, biodiversity, original range of distribu-

One of the many expeditions. (left to right: Amy Tsuneyoshi, David Orr, Josie Hoh, Joel Lau, Andy Williams, Steven Connolly,

Chris Dacus, Leland Miyano and Jeff Preble)

nAtIVE PLAntInItIAtIVE

LICH LAUNCHES A COMPREHENSIVE 10 YEAR PLAN TO REVERSE DECLINE

See Initiative on page 47

tion. proper use of each species, land-scape maintenance, and curation.

The immediate goal after collection is completed is to propagate 500 one gallon potted O’ahu Pritchardia for distribution in the Summer of 2012. Distribution will be prioritized to botanical gardens for preservation and education purposes and to publicly accessible sites (ex situ) for perpetual seed collection which should help to minimize illegal wild collecting. After these two, it will be provided to conservation for out plantings (in situ) and also to the landscape industry as seed stock. For the first time, certifiable one gallon Pritchardia stock will be available. Publicly accessible sites will be grow-ing an appropriate diverse genetic set of Pritchardia found in that locale. And you will be able to visit these sites in approxi-mately 5 years and collect seed for your nursery seed stock.

There will be a distribution to indus-try at a LICH NPI Pritchardia workshop which will include presentations on the Pritchardia standards & guidelines and nursery curation. Participants will receive select certified Pritchardia. An announce-ment will be included in a future issue.

The LICH NPI and its partners will continue to maintain and monitor these publicly accessible planting sites (ex situ). Management will include rat population control to ensure to maximize seed col-lection.

This initiative has been inspiring, col-laborative, innovative and inclusive. It demonstrates how allied professionals

Rick Barboza and Leland Miyano at a Pritchardia martii.

pHoToS: rICHArd QUINN

30 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 31THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

ormed in 2006, the LICH foundation has

provided educational, pro-fessional development and

advocacy for LICH and has been instrumental in the development

of industry advancements. In just five years, the LICH Foundation has tack-led three core sustainability initiatives; LICH Invasive Species List & Guidelines, LICH Irrigation Water Conservation and now the LICH Native Plant Initiative.

The Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii Native Plant Initiative is an in-novative 10 year strategy that seeks to reverse the decline of native plants by promoting the use of native plants in their original range of distribution and

within 30 years to increase native plants in the built environment from less than 1% today to 30%.

The LICH NPI strategy includes four core goals:

1. Increase native plant selection and supply

2. Foster environmental responsibility3. Create greater awareness4. Nurture future green stewards

Each goal includes measurable objec-tives and desired outcomes. The four goals include a total of 69 objectives. The objectives include such items as develop-ing popular native propagules, publish-ing comprehensive technical resources, establishing visible native exhibition gar-dens, develop a native plant ‘Buy Local’ cooperative retail program, and nurture tomorrow’s green stewards.

The LICH Native Plant Initiative (NPI) perfectly compliments existing conserva-tion efforts occurring in Hawaii’s forests by addressing the source of invasive

plants which is in the built environment. The built environment currently acts as land that invasive species pass through to get to the natural areas but could be a buffer. To some extent, native plants has been used by the landscape industry but when you think about it only a select group of ‘bulletproof’ native plants is utilized; ten or less. The LICH NPI will expand the selection, knowledge and guidelines for propagation and proper usage. The LICH NPI first ten years is projected to cost $52 million.

To get started we brought together a diverse set of leading professionals from the landscape industry, conservation, forestry, agricultural, government, educa-tion and science. This group is a core of individuals that have unique expertise and a strong commitment. Team mem-bers include Rick Barboza of Hui Ku Maoli Ola, Heidi Bornhorst, Susan Ching of DLNR, Carl Evensen of UH CTAHR, Josie Hoh of Waimea Valley Hi‘ipaka, Liz Huppman, Nellie Sugii & Steven Con-nolly of Lyon Arboretum, Josh Sand of

the C&C Honolulu Botanical Gardens, Joel Lau, Ken Leonhardt of UH CTAHR, Richard Quinn of Helber Hastert & Fee, Leland Miyano, Garrett Webb of Hawai-ian Islands Palm Society, Amy Tsuneyo-shi of HBWS, Jeff Preble of Hawaiian Botanical Society, Jane Beachy of U.S. Army Environmental, Adam Williams of Koolau Mountain Watershed Partnership and Chris Dacus of LICH.

Not waiting for funding; the task force began with a pilot project for one of the 69 objectives - developing popular native propagules; to show future funders the breadth of expertise, dedication, inno-vation and collaboration of the LICH NPI. The task force developed a collec-tion strategy and chose Oahu’s iconic Pritchardia species - Pritchardia martii, P. kahukuensis, and P. Bakeri. Two of Oahu’s Pritchardia, P. Lowyerana and P. Kaalae require additional measures due to their extremely low numbers in the wild and efforts for these two will be explored at a later date. The low recruit-ment of all Pritchardia in Hawaii is due to rats eating pretty much all the mature seeds. Very few new recruitments are found for any Pritchardia.

With the collection strategy developed the LICH NPI met and developed an outline for a comprehensive approach for the use of native plants in their original range of distribution utilizing Oahu’s Pritchardia species as the pilot. The strategy includes protecting wild plant populations (in situ) by developing built environment plantings (ex situ) of known lineage that are well curated in an appropriate locations to ensure genetic biodiversity. It also includes promoting needed research and guidance for plant-ings in the built environment.

The following components are includ-ed in the pilot project:

• Research Compilation• Research• Collection Techniques & Curation • Protection of In Situ populations• Propagation• Industry Standards & Guidelines• Distribution• Ex Situ sites on publicly

accessible lands• Education and Advocacy• Ex Situ plantings maintenance

With the collection and pilot strategy developed, the task force shared its vision with DLNR and after numerous meetings the LICH NPI obtained a collection per-

mit. For the past 3 months, a dedicated, experienced and fun group of collectors have been pioneering the collection effort. Each has been carefully planned and has been a true team effort and a real adventure into beautiful wild portions of the Ko‘olaus. Every trip the collection team improves.

After each expedition, the collection is curated with the LICH NPI database modelled after the Hawaii Rare Plant Restoration Group Rare Plant Forms. The collection progress has been slow but encouraging with the effort on sched-ule to meet it’s collection goals of seeds for propagation and tissue samples for research purposes.

Concurrently, the task force has been working to identify and fund the research needed to support the LICH NPI. Exten-sive research is needed to understand if and which native Pritchardia cross pollinate to prevent cross pollination and homogenization of distinct Pritchardia. Research is also needed on the flower biology and propagation techniques. While the research is a long term project the outcomes are critical.

Presentations on the LICH NPI will be made to the broader conservation and landscape industry this summer and fall. A forum with discussion will be held at the Hawaii Conservation Conference 2011 and a similar presentation for the LICH 2011 Annual Conference.

Work has also begun on develop-ing industry Pritchardia standards and guidelines. These will include concise guidelines for identification, propagation, biodiversity, original range of distribu-

One of the many expeditions. (left to right: Amy Tsuneyoshi, David Orr, Josie Hoh, Joel Lau, Andy Williams, Steven Connolly,

Chris Dacus, Leland Miyano and Jeff Preble)

nAtIVE PLAntInItIAtIVE

LICH LAUNCHES A COMPREHENSIVE 10 YEAR PLAN TO REVERSE DECLINE

See Initiative on page 47

tion. proper use of each species, land-scape maintenance, and curation.

The immediate goal after collection is completed is to propagate 500 one gallon potted O’ahu Pritchardia for distribution in the Summer of 2012. Distribution will be prioritized to botanical gardens for preservation and education purposes and to publicly accessible sites (ex situ) for perpetual seed collection which should help to minimize illegal wild collecting. After these two, it will be provided to conservation for out plantings (in situ) and also to the landscape industry as seed stock. For the first time, certifiable one gallon Pritchardia stock will be available. Publicly accessible sites will be grow-ing an appropriate diverse genetic set of Pritchardia found in that locale. And you will be able to visit these sites in approxi-mately 5 years and collect seed for your nursery seed stock.

There will be a distribution to indus-try at a LICH NPI Pritchardia workshop which will include presentations on the Pritchardia standards & guidelines and nursery curation. Participants will receive select certified Pritchardia. An announce-ment will be included in a future issue.

The LICH NPI and its partners will continue to maintain and monitor these publicly accessible planting sites (ex situ). Management will include rat population control to ensure to maximize seed col-lection.

This initiative has been inspiring, col-laborative, innovative and inclusive. It demonstrates how allied professionals

Rick Barboza and Leland Miyano at a Pritchardia martii.

pHoToS: rICHArd QUINN

32 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 33

t one time, rainfall percolated into our island aquifers or flowed relatively clean into nearby water bodies as

part of the water cycle. As our lands have become developed, the installation of impervious surfaces, which prevent runoff from infiltrating into the ground, has changed the way water interacts with the environment. As a result, less water is reaching our aquifers and an increased amount of polluted storm water is reach-ing our streams and ocean.

Following rain, storm water picks up pollutants such as fertilizers, trash, and sediment carrying these to storm drains which empty directly into our streams and near shore marine environments. Hui o Ko‘olaupoko (HOK) is working to address these issues by installing rain

A hAWAIIAn rAIn GArdEnmāLA UA:

Rain garden at He’eia State Park.THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

Volunteers installing rain garden.

Diagram: Cross section of rain garden

gardens and other low-impact retrofits throughout Ko’olaupoko.

A rain garden is a shallow, flat-bottom garden bed designed to serve as a collec-tion and treatment site for storm water runoff from rooftops, driveways, walk-ways, streets, or parking lots. Through the process of infiltration and phytoremedia-tion, rain gardens can remove pollutants from runoff before water recharges aqui-fers or flows into our streams and ocean.

On March 25, 2011, a demonstration rain garden was constructed at He‘eia State Park as a joint effort between HOK, Kama‘āina Kids, University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant Program and Oregon State Univer-sity Sea Grant Program. With the help of a number of volunteers, the rain garden was constructed and planted in just one day. The site is open to the public and was constructed to provide an example what rain gardens look like and how they function.

There are several factors that need to be addressed before a rain garden is installed. Typically, a rain garden is sized so it is between 10 and 20% of the impervious surface you are treating and between 6 to 24 inches deep. The size will depend on the area’s rainfall regime and soil conditions. Additionally, rain gardens should be placed in areas with well drain-ing soil so water drains within 48 hours to prevent mosquito breeding.

Plants installed in the garden should be chosen according to the climate of the region but also according to their abil-ity to withstand periods of drought and inundation. Plants in the basin of the rain garden and near the inflow point should be water loving as they will be wet for the longest periods of time. Plants on the slope should be water tolerant and have deep or sprawling root system to help hold soils in place. Plants on the berm should also have sprawling growth char-acteristics to hold the edges of the garden intact, but these plants should be slightly more drought tolerant. During the period before the rain garden’s plants are mature, maintenance will consist of occasional

watering, weeding and replacing dead vegetation.

HOK is developing the State of Hawai‘i Rain Garden Manual for homeowners and landscape professionals to use as a guide when installing rain gardens. HOK is funded under an EPA and State of Hawaii, Polluted Control Runoff 319 Grant to de-velop the Manual as well as the installation of several rain gardens in Ko‘olaupoko. The program is a cost share for landowners to encourage them to install rain gardens to project streams and oceans. Manual is due for completion in early 2012.

For more information about Hui o Ko‘olaupoko visit www.huihawaii.org and for photos of the He‘eia State Park rain garden installation visit http://www.facebook.com/huiokoolaupoko

Kristen Nalani Mailheau is the Commu-nity Coordinator for Hui o Ko’olaupoko

LIC.ABC-10825

808-245-7747

Mon. - Fri. 7:30-5 / Sat. 7:30-4WEB: www.kauainursery.comMAIL: knl@kauanursery.com

Toll Free: 888-345-7747 Fax: 808-245-9289

3-1550 Kaumualii HwyLihue, KauaiHI 96766CERTIFIED EXPORT NURSERY

INTERISLAND SHIPPING

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE& DESIGN/BUILD

RESORT, COMMERCIAL& RESIDENTIAL

IINSTALLATION / MAINTENANCE

CERTIFIED LANDSCAPE TECHNICIANSARBORISTS

IRRIGATION DESIGNINSTALLATION/REPAIR

60,000 SF Greenhouses 150 Acres of Plants & MaterialLARGEST NURSERY SELECTION ON KAUAI

photo: Kristen Mailheau

32 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 33

t one time, rainfall percolated into our island aquifers or flowed relatively clean into nearby water bodies as

part of the water cycle. As our lands have become developed, the installation of impervious surfaces, which prevent runoff from infiltrating into the ground, has changed the way water interacts with the environment. As a result, less water is reaching our aquifers and an increased amount of polluted storm water is reach-ing our streams and ocean.

Following rain, storm water picks up pollutants such as fertilizers, trash, and sediment carrying these to storm drains which empty directly into our streams and near shore marine environments. Hui o Ko‘olaupoko (HOK) is working to address these issues by installing rain

A hAWAIIAn rAIn GArdEnmāLA UA:

Rain garden at He’eia State Park.THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

Volunteers installing rain garden.

Diagram: Cross section of rain garden

gardens and other low-impact retrofits throughout Ko’olaupoko.

A rain garden is a shallow, flat-bottom garden bed designed to serve as a collec-tion and treatment site for storm water runoff from rooftops, driveways, walk-ways, streets, or parking lots. Through the process of infiltration and phytoremedia-tion, rain gardens can remove pollutants from runoff before water recharges aqui-fers or flows into our streams and ocean.

On March 25, 2011, a demonstration rain garden was constructed at He‘eia State Park as a joint effort between HOK, Kama‘āina Kids, University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant Program and Oregon State Univer-sity Sea Grant Program. With the help of a number of volunteers, the rain garden was constructed and planted in just one day. The site is open to the public and was constructed to provide an example what rain gardens look like and how they function.

There are several factors that need to be addressed before a rain garden is installed. Typically, a rain garden is sized so it is between 10 and 20% of the impervious surface you are treating and between 6 to 24 inches deep. The size will depend on the area’s rainfall regime and soil conditions. Additionally, rain gardens should be placed in areas with well drain-ing soil so water drains within 48 hours to prevent mosquito breeding.

Plants installed in the garden should be chosen according to the climate of the region but also according to their abil-ity to withstand periods of drought and inundation. Plants in the basin of the rain garden and near the inflow point should be water loving as they will be wet for the longest periods of time. Plants on the slope should be water tolerant and have deep or sprawling root system to help hold soils in place. Plants on the berm should also have sprawling growth char-acteristics to hold the edges of the garden intact, but these plants should be slightly more drought tolerant. During the period before the rain garden’s plants are mature, maintenance will consist of occasional

watering, weeding and replacing dead vegetation.

HOK is developing the State of Hawai‘i Rain Garden Manual for homeowners and landscape professionals to use as a guide when installing rain gardens. HOK is funded under an EPA and State of Hawaii, Polluted Control Runoff 319 Grant to de-velop the Manual as well as the installation of several rain gardens in Ko‘olaupoko. The program is a cost share for landowners to encourage them to install rain gardens to project streams and oceans. Manual is due for completion in early 2012.

For more information about Hui o Ko‘olaupoko visit www.huihawaii.org and for photos of the He‘eia State Park rain garden installation visit http://www.facebook.com/huiokoolaupoko

Kristen Nalani Mailheau is the Commu-nity Coordinator for Hui o Ko’olaupoko

LIC.ABC-10825

808-245-7747

Mon. - Fri. 7:30-5 / Sat. 7:30-4WEB: www.kauainursery.comMAIL: knl@kauanursery.com

Toll Free: 888-345-7747 Fax: 808-245-9289

3-1550 Kaumualii HwyLihue, KauaiHI 96766CERTIFIED EXPORT NURSERY

INTERISLAND SHIPPING

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE& DESIGN/BUILD

RESORT, COMMERCIAL& RESIDENTIAL

IINSTALLATION / MAINTENANCE

CERTIFIED LANDSCAPE TECHNICIANSARBORISTS

IRRIGATION DESIGNINSTALLATION/REPAIR

60,000 SF Greenhouses 150 Acres of Plants & MaterialLARGEST NURSERY SELECTION ON KAUAI

photo: Kristen Mailheau

Kawananakoa Middle School principal, Sandy Ishihara-Shibata (left) wields an o‘o to plant an ohia lehua tree while Prince Kawananakoa (middle), and Alapaki Luke (right) wait their turns.

hanks to a grant from Kaulu-nani Urban & Community Forestry Program and the

efforts of Lester Inouye and Drew Braley of Lester Inouye &

Associates, Kawananakoa Middle School now has 24 new native trees growing on campus.

“This has really been a huge coordina-tion effort between us and the school,” Lester commented, “but I have to say, I’m very happy with the results.”

The entire student body (880 students) of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders

attended lectures about the importance of trees and training on how to plant trees given by industry leaders from Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii (Chris Dacus), The Outdoor Circle (Mary Steiner), American Society of Landscape Architects Hawaii Chapter (Dr. Andy Kaufman and Drew Braley), Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Pro-gram (Jackie Ralya and Teresa Trueman-Madriaga), the nursery industry (Rick Barboza), Aloha Arborist Association (Steve Nimz and Carol Kwan), and the City and County of Honolulu’s Divi-

sion of Urban Forestry (Stan Oka and Brandon Au), during the three weeks prior to the tree planting. Those same industry leaders were there along with Lester Inouye to guide the students as they planted the trees, assisted by over a dozen volunteers from Hawaiian Electric Company. In addition, Green Thumb, Inc. provided men, materials, and equip-ment to assist with the planting and Kona Irrigation donated the irrigation equipment.

LICH president, Chris Dacus (right), supervises students moving the tree to the planting hole.

nAtIVE trEE

PLAntInGPrOJECt

WITH A GRANT AND COMMUNITY LEADERS HELP KAWANANAKOA MIDDLE SCHOOL HAS 24 NEW NATIVE TREES ON CAMPUS

Dr. Andy Kaufman (left) and students work to get their tree out of the container.

Steve Nimz (left) gives students tips on how to shovel as they backfill around the tree.See Planting Project on page 44

34 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 35

photo: Carol Kwanphoto: Lester Inouye

photo: Lester Inouyephoto: Lester Inouye

Kawananakoa Middle School principal, Sandy Ishihara-Shibata (left) wields an o‘o to plant an ohia lehua tree while Prince Kawananakoa (middle), and Alapaki Luke (right) wait their turns.

hanks to a grant from Kaulu-nani Urban & Community Forestry Program and the

efforts of Lester Inouye and Drew Braley of Lester Inouye &

Associates, Kawananakoa Middle School now has 24 new native trees growing on campus.

“This has really been a huge coordina-tion effort between us and the school,” Lester commented, “but I have to say, I’m very happy with the results.”

The entire student body (880 students) of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders

attended lectures about the importance of trees and training on how to plant trees given by industry leaders from Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii (Chris Dacus), The Outdoor Circle (Mary Steiner), American Society of Landscape Architects Hawaii Chapter (Dr. Andy Kaufman and Drew Braley), Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Pro-gram (Jackie Ralya and Teresa Trueman-Madriaga), the nursery industry (Rick Barboza), Aloha Arborist Association (Steve Nimz and Carol Kwan), and the City and County of Honolulu’s Divi-

sion of Urban Forestry (Stan Oka and Brandon Au), during the three weeks prior to the tree planting. Those same industry leaders were there along with Lester Inouye to guide the students as they planted the trees, assisted by over a dozen volunteers from Hawaiian Electric Company. In addition, Green Thumb, Inc. provided men, materials, and equip-ment to assist with the planting and Kona Irrigation donated the irrigation equipment.

LICH president, Chris Dacus (right), supervises students moving the tree to the planting hole.

nAtIVE trEE

PLAntInGPrOJECt

WITH A GRANT AND COMMUNITY LEADERS HELP KAWANANAKOA MIDDLE SCHOOL HAS 24 NEW NATIVE TREES ON CAMPUS

Dr. Andy Kaufman (left) and students work to get their tree out of the container.

Steve Nimz (left) gives students tips on how to shovel as they backfill around the tree.See Planting Project on page 44

34 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 35

photo: Carol Kwanphoto: Lester Inouye

photo: Lester Inouyephoto: Lester Inouye

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 37

CErtIFICAtIOn PrOGrAm InFO

LAndSCAPE IndUSrty

ICH administers the national PLANET certification (CLT)

program in Hawaii. LICH of-fers four CLT-E certifica-tions are offered: Turf Maintenance, Ornamen-tal Maintenance, Soft-

scape Installation, & Irrigation.Visit the LICH website at www.land-

scapehawaii.org for a complete listing of CLT landscape professionals in Hawaii.

BENEFITS OF CERTIFICATIONn Certified employees are required for

all State DOT roadside landscape mainte-nance contractsn A sense of personal achievement n Increased professional credibility,

respect & recognition in the industryn Increased marketing advantages for

your firm by having certified individuals on staff

HOW TO EARN THE CERTIFICATION

Candidates are allowed to start one certification exam per year. The exam consists of both written tests and hands on field problems. All parts of exam must

be successfully completed to become certified in each category. CLT exams are offered once a year on Oahu, Kauai and in Kona. Visit www.landscapehawaii.org for exam dates and registration forms.

HOW TO KEEP THE CERTIFICATION

Continual professional development activities are essential if certified individ-uals are to understand and accommodate changes in the green industry. Therefore, to retain PLANET certifications, individu-als must accumulate 24 CEUs every two years and submit a completed Continuing Education Units (CEU) Submission Form to the PLANET office by the end of their recertification period. A PLANET wallet card issued to each CLT upon certifica-tion containing the “Recertification Required BY Date” which indicates when the completed recertification form is due to PLANET with a $75 recertification fee. It is the responsibility of the CLT land-scape professional to collect documenta-tion, record and submit the recertifica-tion forms to PLANET by the due date. Failure to submit a timely recertification form will result in losing the CLT certi-fication. PLANET only requires that the completed Continuing Education Units

(CEU) Submission Form be submitted for recertification, along with the Recertifica-tion fee. However, certified individuals must keep a file of their CEU documenta-tion because a percentage of forms will be audited each year.

CEUs can be earned in both Education-al and Service categories. For complete information visit the PLANET web site at http://www.landcarenetwork.org/certi-fication/recertification.cfm. A total of 24 CEUs must be earned over the two year cycle. These can be all in the Education Category or may include up to 8 CEUs in the Service Category.

THE MOST COMMON WAyS TO EARN CEUS IN THE EdUCATION CATEgORy

Documentation necessary to collect and record for Education units includes event brochure or program and proof of registration; certificates issued; and book report for articles you read.

Educ 1 earn 1 CEU per hour of instruction

This includes educational classes in green industry related subjects at confer-

FARM CREDIT

ences, seminars & workshops presented by green industry associations. Examples are the annual LICH Conference, CPS seminars, arborist workshops, CLT train-ing classes or pre-approved in-house training programs conducted by your employer.

Educ 2 earn 15 CEUs per credit hourCompletion of College course work or

on-line college distance learning in busi-ness management or horticulture only

Educ 3 earn 1 CEU per hour of instruction

Completion of education supporting green industry license or renewal – pesti-cide applicator or contractor license

Educ 4 earn 8 CEUs per new certification

Successful completion of additional PLANET CLT certification

Educ 5 earn 1 CEU per hourReading and reporting on articles

in green industry magazines, books & journals

Reports are entered on special Book Re-port forms and submitted with all other recertification documentation

THE MOST COMMON WAyS TO EARN CEUS IN THE SERVICE CATEgORy

Documentation necessary to collect and record for Service Category includes certificate issued by LICH for judges and judge technical advisor (JTA); Official roaster of committee members; and speaking documentation form.

Serv 1 earn 0.5 CEUs per hour on site

THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY36 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

Serve as judge, JTA or other of-ficial capacity at the CLT exam on test day

Serv 2 earn 0.5 CEUs per hour

Serve on board or com-mittee for green industry organization

Serv 3 earn 0.5 CEUs per hour on site

Serve as ICC Evaluator to a CLT exam on set up and test day

Serv 4 earn 1 CEU per hourTeaching or presenting at schools,

conferences workshops or other green industry programs.

OAHU LANdSCAPE TRAININg

CLT Training Classes begin June 29 on Oahu at the Urban Garden Center in Pearl City

Landscape Maintenance classes will be held Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from

5:00 pm to 8:30 pm from June 29th to July 28th.

Advanced Irrigation School will be held Friday & Saturday July 29 & 30 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

Download registration forms at www.landscapehawaii.org

Jay Deputy is the state administrator for the Certified Landscape Technician program and a member of the LICH Board of Directors.

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 37

CErtIFICAtIOn PrOGrAm InFO

LAndSCAPE IndUSrty

ICH administers the national PLANET certification (CLT)

program in Hawaii. LICH of-fers four CLT-E certifica-tions are offered: Turf Maintenance, Ornamen-tal Maintenance, Soft-

scape Installation, & Irrigation.Visit the LICH website at www.land-

scapehawaii.org for a complete listing of CLT landscape professionals in Hawaii.

BENEFITS OF CERTIFICATIONn Certified employees are required for

all State DOT roadside landscape mainte-nance contractsn A sense of personal achievement n Increased professional credibility,

respect & recognition in the industryn Increased marketing advantages for

your firm by having certified individuals on staff

HOW TO EARN THE CERTIFICATION

Candidates are allowed to start one certification exam per year. The exam consists of both written tests and hands on field problems. All parts of exam must

be successfully completed to become certified in each category. CLT exams are offered once a year on Oahu, Kauai and in Kona. Visit www.landscapehawaii.org for exam dates and registration forms.

HOW TO KEEP THE CERTIFICATION

Continual professional development activities are essential if certified individ-uals are to understand and accommodate changes in the green industry. Therefore, to retain PLANET certifications, individu-als must accumulate 24 CEUs every two years and submit a completed Continuing Education Units (CEU) Submission Form to the PLANET office by the end of their recertification period. A PLANET wallet card issued to each CLT upon certifica-tion containing the “Recertification Required BY Date” which indicates when the completed recertification form is due to PLANET with a $75 recertification fee. It is the responsibility of the CLT land-scape professional to collect documenta-tion, record and submit the recertifica-tion forms to PLANET by the due date. Failure to submit a timely recertification form will result in losing the CLT certi-fication. PLANET only requires that the completed Continuing Education Units

(CEU) Submission Form be submitted for recertification, along with the Recertifica-tion fee. However, certified individuals must keep a file of their CEU documenta-tion because a percentage of forms will be audited each year.

CEUs can be earned in both Education-al and Service categories. For complete information visit the PLANET web site at http://www.landcarenetwork.org/certi-fication/recertification.cfm. A total of 24 CEUs must be earned over the two year cycle. These can be all in the Education Category or may include up to 8 CEUs in the Service Category.

THE MOST COMMON WAyS TO EARN CEUS IN THE EdUCATION CATEgORy

Documentation necessary to collect and record for Education units includes event brochure or program and proof of registration; certificates issued; and book report for articles you read.

Educ 1 earn 1 CEU per hour of instruction

This includes educational classes in green industry related subjects at confer-

FARM CREDIT

ences, seminars & workshops presented by green industry associations. Examples are the annual LICH Conference, CPS seminars, arborist workshops, CLT train-ing classes or pre-approved in-house training programs conducted by your employer.

Educ 2 earn 15 CEUs per credit hourCompletion of College course work or

on-line college distance learning in busi-ness management or horticulture only

Educ 3 earn 1 CEU per hour of instruction

Completion of education supporting green industry license or renewal – pesti-cide applicator or contractor license

Educ 4 earn 8 CEUs per new certification

Successful completion of additional PLANET CLT certification

Educ 5 earn 1 CEU per hourReading and reporting on articles

in green industry magazines, books & journals

Reports are entered on special Book Re-port forms and submitted with all other recertification documentation

THE MOST COMMON WAyS TO EARN CEUS IN THE SERVICE CATEgORy

Documentation necessary to collect and record for Service Category includes certificate issued by LICH for judges and judge technical advisor (JTA); Official roaster of committee members; and speaking documentation form.

Serv 1 earn 0.5 CEUs per hour on site

THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY36 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

Serve as judge, JTA or other of-ficial capacity at the CLT exam on test day

Serv 2 earn 0.5 CEUs per hour

Serve on board or com-mittee for green industry organization

Serv 3 earn 0.5 CEUs per hour on site

Serve as ICC Evaluator to a CLT exam on set up and test day

Serv 4 earn 1 CEU per hourTeaching or presenting at schools,

conferences workshops or other green industry programs.

OAHU LANdSCAPE TRAININg

CLT Training Classes begin June 29 on Oahu at the Urban Garden Center in Pearl City

Landscape Maintenance classes will be held Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from

5:00 pm to 8:30 pm from June 29th to July 28th.

Advanced Irrigation School will be held Friday & Saturday July 29 & 30 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

Download registration forms at www.landscapehawaii.org

Jay Deputy is the state administrator for the Certified Landscape Technician program and a member of the LICH Board of Directors.

he ‘Iliahi tree (Sandal-wood) is a remarkable,

valuable, and fascinating plant that can play a vital role in na-

tive landscapes. ‘Iliahi trees (Santalum spp.)

are hemi-parasitic and require a host plant to help them grow. Their shallow roots graft onto roots of other plants through a sucker-like organ called haustoria which enable them to take

nourishment from the host (or multiple hosts). That would seem like a big disad-vantage for the host plant, but the reality is more complex and there may be shared benefits. It could be that ‘Iliahi was an es-sential part of the mesic forests of Hawaii as a unifying element helping to balance resources.

Four species of Sandalwood are listed as endemic to Hawaii, including Santalum ellipticum, S. freycinetianum, S. haleaka-

lae, and S. paniculatum. ‘Iliahi has few in-sect pests, is drought tolerant (particularly S. ellipticum), has attractive reddish new leaves and flowers (particularly S. freyci-netianum), and has a slow to moderate growth rate with ultimate height varying between species and planting locations.

Historic records and other evidence shows that ‘Iliahi was a common me-sic forest plant on all the main Hawaii islands from sea level to about 8,000 ft

elevation, particularly on leeward and dryer slopes, but in wetter areas as well. Populations of ‘Iliahi had been decimated by clearing for agriculture, demand for fire wood, the voracious appetite of cattle and goats, decline of pollinators, and from seed predation by rats. But certainly the most devastating effect on ‘Iliahi was the Sandalwood trade of the 1800’s, which resulted in immense quantities of the trees being cut for trade to China.

Research with tropical Sandalwood species has shown that nitrogen-fixing legumes tend to make the best hosts. This indicates that native plants such as ‘Ohai, Maiapilo, Wiliwili, and Koa might be good candidates for bonding, although some growers in Hawaii have found that just about any shrub or tree species will do.

The uptake of nutrients from the host plant is very selective, meaning that ‘Iliahi only takes what it needs and apparently reduces its uptake if the host plant is overly stressed. It might also be possible that a host plant can get some nutrients and moisture from ‘Iliahi, in a reverse flow. Research has been directed at what hemi-parasitic plants take from their hosts, but very little is known about how the host plants or surrounding ecosystem might be benefiting from hemi-parasitic plants. For example, can ‘Iliahi transfer fluids and nutrients from a deep rooted Koa tree to a nearby shallow rooted Lama tree seedling that it is also attached to? The synergistic relationship between host and parasite and the implications of to a forest community is an important topic needing additional research and verifica-tion.

Even if there is not a transfer of nu-trients from one host to another host, ‘Iliahi might still be helping its neighbor-ing plants in subtle ways. Nitrogen fixing legumes like Koa and Wiliwili would have a distinct advantage in any plant com-munity as they can out compete rival plants that cannot fix nitrogen. Research-ers have suggested that a beneficial role of hemi-parasitic plants like ‘Iliahi is to help maintain species diversity in a forest community by reducing the competitive advantage of nitrogen fixing legumes by “relieving” them of some of their bounty thus reducing their vigor and enabling other plants to better compete. Also, perhaps ‘Iliahi can help attract pollinators and seed dispersers that can be of benefit to the host plants, for example by helping to support a more diverse bird population.

To grow ‘Iliahi from seed, recommen-dations vary and include de-pulping the

seed, nicking the seed coat and soaking in water, or treating with 0.05 percent gib-berellic acid. Hui Ku Maoli Ola, a native plant nursery on Oahu, reports good suc-cess with S. ellipticum by planting fresh untreated seed directly in a sterile potting mix, with germination within a month or two. Research from the University of

Hawaii has shown that adding chelated iron can help significantly for the success-ful growth of ‘Iliahi in containers.

Richard Quinn, ASLA is a landscape architect at Helber Hastert & Fee and a member of the LICH Board of Directors.

The author inspecting an ‘Iliahi.

‘ILIAhIthE FOrESt

mEdIAtOrphoto: RICHARD QUINN

38 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 39

photo: FOREST & KIM STARR

photo courtesy: RICHARD QUINN

he ‘Iliahi tree (Sandal-wood) is a remarkable,

valuable, and fascinating plant that can play a vital role in na-

tive landscapes. ‘Iliahi trees (Santalum spp.)

are hemi-parasitic and require a host plant to help them grow. Their shallow roots graft onto roots of other plants through a sucker-like organ called haustoria which enable them to take

nourishment from the host (or multiple hosts). That would seem like a big disad-vantage for the host plant, but the reality is more complex and there may be shared benefits. It could be that ‘Iliahi was an es-sential part of the mesic forests of Hawaii as a unifying element helping to balance resources.

Four species of Sandalwood are listed as endemic to Hawaii, including Santalum ellipticum, S. freycinetianum, S. haleaka-

lae, and S. paniculatum. ‘Iliahi has few in-sect pests, is drought tolerant (particularly S. ellipticum), has attractive reddish new leaves and flowers (particularly S. freyci-netianum), and has a slow to moderate growth rate with ultimate height varying between species and planting locations.

Historic records and other evidence shows that ‘Iliahi was a common me-sic forest plant on all the main Hawaii islands from sea level to about 8,000 ft

elevation, particularly on leeward and dryer slopes, but in wetter areas as well. Populations of ‘Iliahi had been decimated by clearing for agriculture, demand for fire wood, the voracious appetite of cattle and goats, decline of pollinators, and from seed predation by rats. But certainly the most devastating effect on ‘Iliahi was the Sandalwood trade of the 1800’s, which resulted in immense quantities of the trees being cut for trade to China.

Research with tropical Sandalwood species has shown that nitrogen-fixing legumes tend to make the best hosts. This indicates that native plants such as ‘Ohai, Maiapilo, Wiliwili, and Koa might be good candidates for bonding, although some growers in Hawaii have found that just about any shrub or tree species will do.

The uptake of nutrients from the host plant is very selective, meaning that ‘Iliahi only takes what it needs and apparently reduces its uptake if the host plant is overly stressed. It might also be possible that a host plant can get some nutrients and moisture from ‘Iliahi, in a reverse flow. Research has been directed at what hemi-parasitic plants take from their hosts, but very little is known about how the host plants or surrounding ecosystem might be benefiting from hemi-parasitic plants. For example, can ‘Iliahi transfer fluids and nutrients from a deep rooted Koa tree to a nearby shallow rooted Lama tree seedling that it is also attached to? The synergistic relationship between host and parasite and the implications of to a forest community is an important topic needing additional research and verifica-tion.

Even if there is not a transfer of nu-trients from one host to another host, ‘Iliahi might still be helping its neighbor-ing plants in subtle ways. Nitrogen fixing legumes like Koa and Wiliwili would have a distinct advantage in any plant com-munity as they can out compete rival plants that cannot fix nitrogen. Research-ers have suggested that a beneficial role of hemi-parasitic plants like ‘Iliahi is to help maintain species diversity in a forest community by reducing the competitive advantage of nitrogen fixing legumes by “relieving” them of some of their bounty thus reducing their vigor and enabling other plants to better compete. Also, perhaps ‘Iliahi can help attract pollinators and seed dispersers that can be of benefit to the host plants, for example by helping to support a more diverse bird population.

To grow ‘Iliahi from seed, recommen-dations vary and include de-pulping the

seed, nicking the seed coat and soaking in water, or treating with 0.05 percent gib-berellic acid. Hui Ku Maoli Ola, a native plant nursery on Oahu, reports good suc-cess with S. ellipticum by planting fresh untreated seed directly in a sterile potting mix, with germination within a month or two. Research from the University of

Hawaii has shown that adding chelated iron can help significantly for the success-ful growth of ‘Iliahi in containers.

Richard Quinn, ASLA is a landscape architect at Helber Hastert & Fee and a member of the LICH Board of Directors.

The author inspecting an ‘Iliahi.

‘ILIAhIthE FOrESt

mEdIAtOrphoto: RICHARD QUINN

38 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 39

photo: FOREST & KIM STARR

photo courtesy: RICHARD QUINN

lant local! We know there’s debate about how strongly native Hawaiian species like ‘Ohi‘a lehua should be emphasized in local landscaping proj-

ects. Often plants are chosen based on availability, popularity, ease of growth and economics. Here’s

another consideration that hits closer to home. Hawaii’s na-tive plants face a multitude of threats in their natural envi-ronments (fueling our infamous title of “endangered species

capitol of the world”). Use of native species in landscaping efforts will not only showcase and promote an aware-

ness of the unique beauty of Hawaiian flora, but done wisely can also create “repositories” of genetic stock.

However, given the findings of our research and related studies on the evolution and biogeogra-

phy of Hawaii’s flora, we strongly urge the land-scape industry to keep native species as local to their source as possible and leave genetic introductions to conservation managers.

Hawai‘i is an unprecedented natural laboratory for experiments in local adap-tation and speciation (the emergence of new species from existing ones), drawing scientists from all over the globe to study its flora and fauna. The islands are the most geographically isolated archipelago in the world and support a surprising diver-sity of environments; Hawai‘i Island alone

encompasses eleven of the world’s thirteen climate zones according to one classification

system. The islands boast over a thousand na-tive plant species that derive from an estimated

263 unlikely, accidental colonists. These colonists traversed the Pacific by wind, sea, or bird within

the past several million years. Plants that managed to establish multiple populations and spread to new areas

found themselves in a range of environments and some-times even isolated on new islands. Exposure over thousands of

generations to Hawaii’s diverse environments, along with isolation

LOCAL!rESEArCh SUPPOrtS

KEEPInG It

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 41THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

photos: FOREST & KIM STARR

USING NATIVE HAWAIIAN PLANTS IN LANDSCAPING WILL PROMOTE AWARENESS AND CREATE NEW DEPOSITS OF NATIVE FLORA

40 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

lant local! We know there’s debate about how strongly native Hawaiian species like ‘Ohi‘a lehua should be emphasized in local landscaping proj-

ects. Often plants are chosen based on availability, popularity, ease of growth and economics. Here’s

another consideration that hits closer to home. Hawaii’s na-tive plants face a multitude of threats in their natural envi-ronments (fueling our infamous title of “endangered species

capitol of the world”). Use of native species in landscaping efforts will not only showcase and promote an aware-

ness of the unique beauty of Hawaiian flora, but done wisely can also create “repositories” of genetic stock.

However, given the findings of our research and related studies on the evolution and biogeogra-

phy of Hawaii’s flora, we strongly urge the land-scape industry to keep native species as local to their source as possible and leave genetic introductions to conservation managers.

Hawai‘i is an unprecedented natural laboratory for experiments in local adap-tation and speciation (the emergence of new species from existing ones), drawing scientists from all over the globe to study its flora and fauna. The islands are the most geographically isolated archipelago in the world and support a surprising diver-sity of environments; Hawai‘i Island alone

encompasses eleven of the world’s thirteen climate zones according to one classification

system. The islands boast over a thousand na-tive plant species that derive from an estimated

263 unlikely, accidental colonists. These colonists traversed the Pacific by wind, sea, or bird within

the past several million years. Plants that managed to establish multiple populations and spread to new areas

found themselves in a range of environments and some-times even isolated on new islands. Exposure over thousands of

generations to Hawaii’s diverse environments, along with isolation

LOCAL!rESEArCh SUPPOrtS

KEEPInG It

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 41THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

photos: FOREST & KIM STARR

USING NATIVE HAWAIIAN PLANTS IN LANDSCAPING WILL PROMOTE AWARENESS AND CREATE NEW DEPOSITS OF NATIVE FLORA

40 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 43THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

of populations on separate islands, have shaped the morphological and genetic diversity that we see today in Hawaii’s native plants.

‘Ohi‘a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) is Hawaii’s most abundant and variable tree and a striking example of diversifica-tion within and among islands. While variation in the lehua flower color is what most people notice, the more impor-tant variation within this species is in its vegetative and ecological characters. ‘Ohi‘a is actually a member of a larger group, Hawaiian Metrosideros. According to Diana Percy and colleagues, Metro-sideros arrived in the Hawaiian Islands very roughly four million years ago on the island of Kaua‘i. Over its roughly 4-million-year history in Hawai‘i, Metro-sideros has colonized every high island and diversified into five named species, including the hypervariable ‘ohi‘a lehua. The eight varieties of ‘ohi‘a lehua differ in their vegetative characters, and they specialize in different habitats. Many are single-island endemics (occurring on only one island), while a few have broader distributions. Collectively, the ecologi-cal amplitude of these varieties helps to explain why ‘ohi‘a can be found in bogs and deserts, new lava flows and old for-ests, and in a continuous stretch from the Puna coastline to 8,100 feet on Hawai‘i Island. Because of its diversity, ‘ohi‘a is an excellent model for those of us who are trying to understand precisely how a di-verse environment can drive new species to emerge from an existing one.

Our lab group at the University of Hawai‘i Hilo has been using ‘ohi‘a to try to understand how speciation hap-pens, how long it takes, and what genetic changes are involved. Our work ranges from tests of reproductive barriers (such as flowering time variation, pollen tube or embryo rejection, or hybrid inviability or infertility), to studies of morphological and genetic variation among populations. Our studies began with a test of cross-fer-tility between the two most common va-rieties at middle elevation on east Hawai‘i Island. We wanted to know what barriers, if any, existed between the successional varieties, var. incana (colonizer of new lava flows with hairy leaves) and var. glaberrima (dominant on old substrates with naked leaves). We quickly discovered we were in a hybrid zone with abundant first-generation, and apparently less common second-generation hybrids. We found that hybridizing these two varieties is easily done, which was not surprising

given the high frequency of first-genera-tion hybrids at the study site. Our results also revealed, however, that these hybrids, especially the second-generation hybrids, had reduced fertility. These hybrids would not make good seed (or pollen) trees in forest restoration program! The late-acting reproductive isolation we observed between these two varieties of ‘ohi‘a indicates that they are significantly genetically diverged from each other and part way along the speciation process. In a more recent greenhouse study of the seedling ecology of these two varieties, graduate student Keenan Morrison dem-onstrated differences not only between varieties in their responses to different levels of light and soil nitrogen, but also among same-variety populations taken from different elevations on east Hawai‘i Island. For example, seedling mortality in response to light and nitrogen actually flip-flopped between two populations separated by just 500 feet of elevation. These results are highly consistent with other observations that identify elevation as a major driver of differentiation within Metrosideros. Taken together, these ob-servations at both the adult and seedling stages indicate clearly that these two common varieties harbor a tremendous amount of functional genetic variation within just windward Hawai‘i Island. This

does not begin to consider the variation within populations on the older islands of Maui, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, O‘ahu, and Kaua‘i, where these two varieties are also found. Importantly, these are the varieties being sold for landscaping throughout Hawai‘i!

We’re just beginning to uncover the mysteries of this dominant species and its cousins, but all the signs we have to date indicate that local adaptation within Hawaii’s diverse landscape has played a significant role in the diversification of this group. By working with our environ-ment and keeping native species local to their source, the landscape industry will help prevent homogenization of native species. So, just as we know it’s good for our health and the environment to “eat local,” it’s clearly just as important to “grow local and plant local!” Let’s work together to landscape Hawai‘i natively and wisely!

Elizabeth Stacy is an Associate Professor of Biology and Tropical Conservation Biol-ogy and Environmental Science at the Uni-versity of Hawai‘i Hilo; Jennifer Johansen is Field Technician at UH Hilo and Founder of Ho‘oulu Lehua “inspiring growth in the native forests and youth of Hawai‘i”. Lab website: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~estacy/index.html

42 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

Metrosideros polymorpha variety incana (left), glaberrima (center), and hybrid (right).

awai‘i Depart-ment of Agriculture

(HDOA) continues to work towards

implementing their new Biosecurity

program, including building joint federal-state inspection

facilities at each port. It is clear what a difference properly planned and staffed inspection facilities can make. Between July 1 and Decem-ber 31, 2010 there were just 87 pest interceptions at Honolulu International Airport.  During that same time period at the new Kahului Airport inspection facility, inspectors made 639 pest intercep-tions, despite receiving less than 5% of the goods that Honolulu receives (federal funding supports

some inspectors at Kahului, thus inspection capacity has been less

impacted by state cutbacks). Legislators again showed their

support of the Biosecurity program with

the pas-

03-10-09/0000229489

KOOLAU SEEDS & SUPPLY R 2.00 X 2.00

3009 PMP-PENARO Proofed By: jmahoney

Susan OwenManager

Contact

(808) 239-1280 Office

(808) 239-2151 Fax

E-mailowens001@hawaii.rr.com

48-373 G Kamehameha HwyKaneohe, Hawaii 96744

Susan OwenManager

Contact

(808) 239-1280 Office

(808) 239-2151 Fax

E-mailowens001@hawaii.rr.com

48-373 G Kamehameha HwyKaneohe, Hawaii 96744

BIOSECUrItyLEGISLAtOrS SUPPOrt BEttEr

LAWMAKERS PASS TWO BILLS THAT WORK TO STRENGTHEN BIOSECURITY

sage of two key bills for inspection facili-ties and inspection staff. One bill awaiting the Governor’s signature at press time is HB 1568 CD1, which clarifies the need for building and operating inspection facilities at each port for imported and exported commodities, and identifies the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation’s responsibilities in assisting HDOA. A sec-ond bill, HB 865 SD2 was signed into law

as Act 36, increasing the fee as-sessed for the inspection, quar-

antine, and eradication of invasive species contained

in any freight from 50 cents to 75 cents for

every 1,000 pounds of freight or part thereof brought

into the State. Without this bill, more

inspectors would have lost their jobs in May 2012. Instead, HDOA can begin re-building the program by hiring additional inspectors.

Christy Martin is the Public Informa-tion Officer for the statewide Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS), a public-private partnership working to pro-tect Hawai‘i from invasive species.

photo courtesy: HAWAII.GOV

photo: JENNIFER JOHANSEN

LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 43THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

of populations on separate islands, have shaped the morphological and genetic diversity that we see today in Hawaii’s native plants.

‘Ohi‘a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) is Hawaii’s most abundant and variable tree and a striking example of diversifica-tion within and among islands. While variation in the lehua flower color is what most people notice, the more impor-tant variation within this species is in its vegetative and ecological characters. ‘Ohi‘a is actually a member of a larger group, Hawaiian Metrosideros. According to Diana Percy and colleagues, Metro-sideros arrived in the Hawaiian Islands very roughly four million years ago on the island of Kaua‘i. Over its roughly 4-million-year history in Hawai‘i, Metro-sideros has colonized every high island and diversified into five named species, including the hypervariable ‘ohi‘a lehua. The eight varieties of ‘ohi‘a lehua differ in their vegetative characters, and they specialize in different habitats. Many are single-island endemics (occurring on only one island), while a few have broader distributions. Collectively, the ecologi-cal amplitude of these varieties helps to explain why ‘ohi‘a can be found in bogs and deserts, new lava flows and old for-ests, and in a continuous stretch from the Puna coastline to 8,100 feet on Hawai‘i Island. Because of its diversity, ‘ohi‘a is an excellent model for those of us who are trying to understand precisely how a di-verse environment can drive new species to emerge from an existing one.

Our lab group at the University of Hawai‘i Hilo has been using ‘ohi‘a to try to understand how speciation hap-pens, how long it takes, and what genetic changes are involved. Our work ranges from tests of reproductive barriers (such as flowering time variation, pollen tube or embryo rejection, or hybrid inviability or infertility), to studies of morphological and genetic variation among populations. Our studies began with a test of cross-fer-tility between the two most common va-rieties at middle elevation on east Hawai‘i Island. We wanted to know what barriers, if any, existed between the successional varieties, var. incana (colonizer of new lava flows with hairy leaves) and var. glaberrima (dominant on old substrates with naked leaves). We quickly discovered we were in a hybrid zone with abundant first-generation, and apparently less common second-generation hybrids. We found that hybridizing these two varieties is easily done, which was not surprising

given the high frequency of first-genera-tion hybrids at the study site. Our results also revealed, however, that these hybrids, especially the second-generation hybrids, had reduced fertility. These hybrids would not make good seed (or pollen) trees in forest restoration program! The late-acting reproductive isolation we observed between these two varieties of ‘ohi‘a indicates that they are significantly genetically diverged from each other and part way along the speciation process. In a more recent greenhouse study of the seedling ecology of these two varieties, graduate student Keenan Morrison dem-onstrated differences not only between varieties in their responses to different levels of light and soil nitrogen, but also among same-variety populations taken from different elevations on east Hawai‘i Island. For example, seedling mortality in response to light and nitrogen actually flip-flopped between two populations separated by just 500 feet of elevation. These results are highly consistent with other observations that identify elevation as a major driver of differentiation within Metrosideros. Taken together, these ob-servations at both the adult and seedling stages indicate clearly that these two common varieties harbor a tremendous amount of functional genetic variation within just windward Hawai‘i Island. This

does not begin to consider the variation within populations on the older islands of Maui, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, O‘ahu, and Kaua‘i, where these two varieties are also found. Importantly, these are the varieties being sold for landscaping throughout Hawai‘i!

We’re just beginning to uncover the mysteries of this dominant species and its cousins, but all the signs we have to date indicate that local adaptation within Hawaii’s diverse landscape has played a significant role in the diversification of this group. By working with our environ-ment and keeping native species local to their source, the landscape industry will help prevent homogenization of native species. So, just as we know it’s good for our health and the environment to “eat local,” it’s clearly just as important to “grow local and plant local!” Let’s work together to landscape Hawai‘i natively and wisely!

Elizabeth Stacy is an Associate Professor of Biology and Tropical Conservation Biol-ogy and Environmental Science at the Uni-versity of Hawai‘i Hilo; Jennifer Johansen is Field Technician at UH Hilo and Founder of Ho‘oulu Lehua “inspiring growth in the native forests and youth of Hawai‘i”. Lab website: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~estacy/index.html

42 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011

Metrosideros polymorpha variety incana (left), glaberrima (center), and hybrid (right).

awai‘i Depart-ment of Agriculture

(HDOA) continues to work towards

implementing their new Biosecurity

program, including building joint federal-state inspection

facilities at each port. It is clear what a difference properly planned and staffed inspection facilities can make. Between July 1 and Decem-ber 31, 2010 there were just 87 pest interceptions at Honolulu International Airport.  During that same time period at the new Kahului Airport inspection facility, inspectors made 639 pest intercep-tions, despite receiving less than 5% of the goods that Honolulu receives (federal funding supports

some inspectors at Kahului, thus inspection capacity has been less

impacted by state cutbacks). Legislators again showed their

support of the Biosecurity program with

the pas-

03-10-09/0000229489

KOOLAU SEEDS & SUPPLY R 2.00 X 2.00

3009 PMP-PENARO Proofed By: jmahoney

Susan OwenManager

Contact

(808) 239-1280 Office

(808) 239-2151 Fax

E-mailowens001@hawaii.rr.com

48-373 G Kamehameha HwyKaneohe, Hawaii 96744

Susan OwenManager

Contact

(808) 239-1280 Office

(808) 239-2151 Fax

E-mailowens001@hawaii.rr.com

48-373 G Kamehameha HwyKaneohe, Hawaii 96744

BIOSECUrItyLEGISLAtOrS SUPPOrt BEttEr

LAWMAKERS PASS TWO BILLS THAT WORK TO STRENGTHEN BIOSECURITY

sage of two key bills for inspection facili-ties and inspection staff. One bill awaiting the Governor’s signature at press time is HB 1568 CD1, which clarifies the need for building and operating inspection facilities at each port for imported and exported commodities, and identifies the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation’s responsibilities in assisting HDOA. A sec-ond bill, HB 865 SD2 was signed into law

as Act 36, increasing the fee as-sessed for the inspection, quar-

antine, and eradication of invasive species contained

in any freight from 50 cents to 75 cents for

every 1,000 pounds of freight or part thereof brought

into the State. Without this bill, more

inspectors would have lost their jobs in May 2012. Instead, HDOA can begin re-building the program by hiring additional inspectors.

Christy Martin is the Public Informa-tion Officer for the statewide Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS), a public-private partnership working to pro-tect Hawai‘i from invasive species.

photo courtesy: HAWAII.GOV

photo: JENNIFER JOHANSEN

44 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 45THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

Continued from page 28

Continued from page 34

Compost:

PlantingProject:

•No Runoff

•No Pipes

•No Ponds

•No Rutting

•No $ Overruns

•No Problem

GEOPAVE®

Where permeability meets affordability.

Presto Geosystems® • 800-548-3424 or 920-738-1328 • www.prestogeo.com

670 N Perkins Street • Appleton, Wisconsin 800-548-3424 or 920-738-1328 • Fax: 920-738-1222Email: info@prestogeo.com • www.prestogeo.com

Distributed By:

PG00-0311 Geotech_GeoPave 1_3 ad_Final.indd 1 3/18/11 8:42 AM

compost, killing weed seeds and patho-gens. Concentrated fertilizers (chemical and organic) are the primary source of nutrients added by the majority of land-scapers and nurseries. These fertilizer products are not a bad thing, however, in the absence of sufficient carbon and as-sociated microbial activity, these highly concentrated nutrients often change into vapors into the atmosphere and / or leach through the soil, potentially end-ing up in our ground water. Sufficient carbon in the presence of a balanced microbial environment will help to ap-propriate these nutrients extending their availability as plant nutrition. Addition-ally, this appropriation will help keep these nutrients from washing through the soil into our ground water supply. Adding compost puts these organ-isms and carbon back into the soil that will hold onto these nutrients. When nutrients are held in the soil by bacteria and fungi, they will become available to plants in the future.

Besides the benefit of essential plant nutrients when using compost, compost also increases the soil’s ability to retain water and decrease run-off. Run-off pollutes water by carrying soil, fertil-izers, and pesticides to nearby streams. Besides retaining water, compost also improves water filtration and drought tolerance. With compost, you are also able to reduce and minimize your fertil-izer requirements. Compost improves root growth and yields. It improves soil structure by reducing soil compaction and crusting. There are many benefits for using compost.

We are running out of viable options for disposal of our trash. Our exist-ing landfills are quickly reaching their capacity and new ones are increasingly difficult to site because of more stringent environment requirements and espe-cially for the mere fact that we live on an ISLAND! Composting our yard trim-mings, green waste, & wood waste will aid in reducing the tonnage going into the landfills – but we need to stay com-mitted! In order to complete the cycle of sustainability, we need to be sure we are putting back into the earth what we take out. Buying local compost supports recycling programs in Hawaii. Local composts are generally as good or better quality and less expensive than imported

products which have high shipping costs. Also adding local compost adds microor-ganisms which are part of Hawaii’s eco-system and are good for Hawaii plants. Adding compost from somewhere else may provide microorganisms which are not the ones your Hawaii plants want and need. Remember to buy local and be a part of sustainability in Hawaii! Your

landscaping and nursery practices need to have the organics in it!

Liana Bisch is the sales & marketing man-ager for Hawaiian Earth Products and has been instrumental in providing her knowl-edge and passion to students, communities, and the trade.

Rows of green waste becoming compost.

“We were greatly honored to have Prince Kawananakoa, a descendant of Prince David Kawananakoa for whom the school is named, participating in the ceremony as well,” added Lester.

Just to keep things interesting, the tree planting was held on Friday, May 6, 2011, during a week of stormy weather. As the assembly prior to the tree planting was finishing, the skies opened up once again to flood the already soggy planting areas and many of the prepared planting holes. The students took to the tree planting like ducks to water, bailing where neces-sary before and after planting the trees, and having a lot of fun in the process.

This project was made possible by Kaulunani, an Urban and Community Forestry Program of the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the USDA Forest Service.

Carol Kwan is the President and Certi-fied Arborist of Carol Kwan Consulting LLC.

Kawananakoa Middle School students backfilling around koa tree.

photo: SAM NICHOLS

44 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 45THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

Continued from page 28

Continued from page 34

Compost:

PlantingProject:

•No Runoff

•No Pipes

•No Ponds

•No Rutting

•No $ Overruns

•No Problem

GEOPAVE®

Where permeability meets affordability.

Presto Geosystems® • 800-548-3424 or 920-738-1328 • www.prestogeo.com

670 N Perkins Street • Appleton, Wisconsin 800-548-3424 or 920-738-1328 • Fax: 920-738-1222Email: info@prestogeo.com • www.prestogeo.com

Distributed By:

PG00-0311 Geotech_GeoPave 1_3 ad_Final.indd 1 3/18/11 8:42 AM

compost, killing weed seeds and patho-gens. Concentrated fertilizers (chemical and organic) are the primary source of nutrients added by the majority of land-scapers and nurseries. These fertilizer products are not a bad thing, however, in the absence of sufficient carbon and as-sociated microbial activity, these highly concentrated nutrients often change into vapors into the atmosphere and / or leach through the soil, potentially end-ing up in our ground water. Sufficient carbon in the presence of a balanced microbial environment will help to ap-propriate these nutrients extending their availability as plant nutrition. Addition-ally, this appropriation will help keep these nutrients from washing through the soil into our ground water supply. Adding compost puts these organ-isms and carbon back into the soil that will hold onto these nutrients. When nutrients are held in the soil by bacteria and fungi, they will become available to plants in the future.

Besides the benefit of essential plant nutrients when using compost, compost also increases the soil’s ability to retain water and decrease run-off. Run-off pollutes water by carrying soil, fertil-izers, and pesticides to nearby streams. Besides retaining water, compost also improves water filtration and drought tolerance. With compost, you are also able to reduce and minimize your fertil-izer requirements. Compost improves root growth and yields. It improves soil structure by reducing soil compaction and crusting. There are many benefits for using compost.

We are running out of viable options for disposal of our trash. Our exist-ing landfills are quickly reaching their capacity and new ones are increasingly difficult to site because of more stringent environment requirements and espe-cially for the mere fact that we live on an ISLAND! Composting our yard trim-mings, green waste, & wood waste will aid in reducing the tonnage going into the landfills – but we need to stay com-mitted! In order to complete the cycle of sustainability, we need to be sure we are putting back into the earth what we take out. Buying local compost supports recycling programs in Hawaii. Local composts are generally as good or better quality and less expensive than imported

products which have high shipping costs. Also adding local compost adds microor-ganisms which are part of Hawaii’s eco-system and are good for Hawaii plants. Adding compost from somewhere else may provide microorganisms which are not the ones your Hawaii plants want and need. Remember to buy local and be a part of sustainability in Hawaii! Your

landscaping and nursery practices need to have the organics in it!

Liana Bisch is the sales & marketing man-ager for Hawaiian Earth Products and has been instrumental in providing her knowl-edge and passion to students, communities, and the trade.

Rows of green waste becoming compost.

“We were greatly honored to have Prince Kawananakoa, a descendant of Prince David Kawananakoa for whom the school is named, participating in the ceremony as well,” added Lester.

Just to keep things interesting, the tree planting was held on Friday, May 6, 2011, during a week of stormy weather. As the assembly prior to the tree planting was finishing, the skies opened up once again to flood the already soggy planting areas and many of the prepared planting holes. The students took to the tree planting like ducks to water, bailing where neces-sary before and after planting the trees, and having a lot of fun in the process.

This project was made possible by Kaulunani, an Urban and Community Forestry Program of the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the USDA Forest Service.

Carol Kwan is the President and Certi-fied Arborist of Carol Kwan Consulting LLC.

Kawananakoa Middle School students backfilling around koa tree.

photo: SAM NICHOLS

46 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 47THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

Continued from page 29

Continued from page 29

Continued from page 27

Check Up:

Initiative:

Report Card:

nothing has been damaged during the wet season.

Inspecting and repairing your irrigation system early will keep your customers happy, will generate income for your firm and minimizes the emergency last-min-ute and/or costly repairs that could have been prevented.

Remember:n Perform a complete system check

before the dry season begins.n Schedule regular system checks dur-

ing the season.n React swiftly to reported problems

quickly before they grow into major problems.

Lastly, if you need help, be sure to tap into your Hawaii support network, including your fellow LICH members, consultants, and distributor who most likely has encountered a problem just like yours and can help you resolve it quickly.

Mr. Schildknecht is the President of Irrigation Hawaii, Ltd and is a Profes-sional Member of the American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC), an Irrigation Association certified irrigation designer (CID), a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), was Hawaii’s first EPA Water Sense Partner.

Continued from page 23

Lyon’s Legacy:

its mission. Support can include nurseries participating in the facility’s plant sales, introducing new plant material to the industry and homeowners, encouraging responsible use of landscape materials and not weeds, educating at all levels, and sharing information — such as plant identification, landscaping advice, other sources of plant material and shipping in-formation — with others”, said Elizabeth “Liz” Huppman, horticulturist at Lyon Arboretum.

Lyon showed that a private/public partnership could work and have lasting impact.

“Lyon’s vision of having botanical gardens in different parts of the Islands has come true thanks to the efforts of all kinds of people, not just state and city, but private also,” Huppman said.

What’s sweetly ironic, though, is how a man who has so deeply influenced Hawai‘i’s lush, tropical landscape was from a state known for harsh, cold weather.

Lyon was born in Hastings, Minn., Oct. 14, 1879. In winter, Minnesota can dip to -60 degrees. And that’s where Lyon grew up, the son of a farmer and schoolteacher, among eight children. His father died when he was a young boy and he worked in his mother’s gardens and corn and potato fields.

Lyon graduated from Hastings High School and enrolled in the University of Minnesota in 1896 and studied botany. Around the same time in the Territory of Hawaii, sugar took prominence in the Islands’ economy. In 1895, HSPA was founded. It was a “voluntary, nonprofit, incorporated association organized for the maintenance, advancement, improve-ment, and protection of the sugar indus-try in Hawaii and for the support of a sugarcane research station,” according to the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (HARC, the organization HSPA became).

HSPA ran an Experiment Station, which conducted substantial research into the commodity. HSPA hired Lyon — then an assistant professor in botany at the University of Minnesota — as assis-tant plant pathologist for its Experiment Station in 1907. He dealt with diseases in the cane fields initially. But the job and responsibilities grew — which are detailed in a survey of his life, “Harold Lloyd Lyon - Hawaiian Sugar Botanist,” edited by

Constance E. Hartt, available from the arboretum.

Despite his legendary stature, Weis-sich still remembers Lyon as a dedicated researcher and a “patient teacher.”

“I kept asking him so many questions!” Weissich recalled, as Lyon introduced him to the Foster Garden collection. “I was so interested in the ethnobotany of all these plants.”

Yet answer him he did, preparing Weis-

sich and countless others for their role in taking care of Hawaii’s landscape.

“He made such a lasting impression with me,” Weissich said. “He was quite an influence here in Hawaii.”

Chris Aguinaldo is a writer and photog-rapher in Hawaii. He’s also a former editor of Hawaii Landscape. See http://twitter.com/ ChrisAguinaldo

Distributor:

Phone: (808) 677-1580

Email: info@geotechsolutions.com

94-155C Leowaena Street,

Waipahu, Hawaii 96797.

On-sitetraining & support

High quality engineered products& installation tools

Fast & easyinstallation

A proven track record of over 25yrs

Security & stability for the trees

Technical support & specificationguidance

Affordable solutions

Lyon Arboretum is famed for its catalogued tree collection.

guava, Salvinia molesta, Schefflera acti-nophylla, Schinus molle, Tecoma stans, Thunbergia grandiflora, and Tillandsia usneoides.

On the Island of Oahu, botanists found 18 of the 134 LICH invasive plants or 13% being propagated and sold at local landscape nurseries. The 18 LICH invasive plants include: Adenanthera pavonina, Alocasia cumulate, Asystasia gangetica, Buddleja davidii, Chrysophyl-lum oliviforme, Clerodendrum bucha-nanii, Clerodendrum quadriloculare, Cyathea cooperi, Cyperus involucratus, Gazania rigens var. Leucolaena, Lantana camara, Phormium tenax, Pithecel-lobium dulce, Schinus molle, Solanum seaforthianum, Tecoma stans, Tibouchi-na urvilleana and Turnera ulmifolia.

So what does 8% on Maui and 13% on Oahu mean? Are we doing well or are we in trouble? Zero invasive plants is the goal but we are making progress. Many more landscape professionals are aware

A tropical shrub from Indonesia and the southwest Pacific that spreads by both seeds and suckers and resprouts after cutting, is spreading on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Islands and is showing growth patterns similar to other invasive Clerodendrum species.

CLERODENDRUM BUCHANANII

of the choices available and considering whether we really need this plant versus using a non-invasive plant. In the next year, the Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii will explore developing best management practices associated with the industry list.

As an industry, we agreed that all of these plants should not be propagated or sold through an exhaustive and inclusive 3 year effort. I would encour-age every landscape professional to take a moment from your busy schedule and review the LICH invasive plant list and guidelines and double check that your office is not propagating, selling, or specifying these plants. As an industry, Hawaii has accomplished what no other state has in taking a proactive stance on self regulating the use of the invasive plants, but we must continue to be vigi-lant and continue leading by example.

Chris Dacus is a Landscape Architect and Arborist for the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation and the president of LICH.

and a diverse set of organizations can come together for a common cause and achieve something that has eluded us to date. It’s LICH Foundation and Hawai’i at its best.

We encourage everyone who’s in-terested to learn more at the upcom-ing presentations at the 2011 Hawaii Conservation Conference at the Hawaii Convention Center and a similar presen-tation for the LICH Annual Conference at the Neal Blaisdell on October 6th. Get excited, certifiable Pritchardia are com-ing soon!

Chris Dacus is a Landscape Architect and Arborist for the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation and the President of LICH.

photo: CHRIS AGUINALDO

46 LANDSCAPE HAWAII JUNE | JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEHAWAII.ORG 47THE VOICE OF THE GREEN INDUSTRY

Continued from page 29

Continued from page 29

Continued from page 27

Check Up:

Initiative:

Report Card:

nothing has been damaged during the wet season.

Inspecting and repairing your irrigation system early will keep your customers happy, will generate income for your firm and minimizes the emergency last-min-ute and/or costly repairs that could have been prevented.

Remember:n Perform a complete system check

before the dry season begins.n Schedule regular system checks dur-

ing the season.n React swiftly to reported problems

quickly before they grow into major problems.

Lastly, if you need help, be sure to tap into your Hawaii support network, including your fellow LICH members, consultants, and distributor who most likely has encountered a problem just like yours and can help you resolve it quickly.

Mr. Schildknecht is the President of Irrigation Hawaii, Ltd and is a Profes-sional Member of the American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC), an Irrigation Association certified irrigation designer (CID), a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), was Hawaii’s first EPA Water Sense Partner.

Continued from page 23

Lyon’s Legacy:

its mission. Support can include nurseries participating in the facility’s plant sales, introducing new plant material to the industry and homeowners, encouraging responsible use of landscape materials and not weeds, educating at all levels, and sharing information — such as plant identification, landscaping advice, other sources of plant material and shipping in-formation — with others”, said Elizabeth “Liz” Huppman, horticulturist at Lyon Arboretum.

Lyon showed that a private/public partnership could work and have lasting impact.

“Lyon’s vision of having botanical gardens in different parts of the Islands has come true thanks to the efforts of all kinds of people, not just state and city, but private also,” Huppman said.

What’s sweetly ironic, though, is how a man who has so deeply influenced Hawai‘i’s lush, tropical landscape was from a state known for harsh, cold weather.

Lyon was born in Hastings, Minn., Oct. 14, 1879. In winter, Minnesota can dip to -60 degrees. And that’s where Lyon grew up, the son of a farmer and schoolteacher, among eight children. His father died when he was a young boy and he worked in his mother’s gardens and corn and potato fields.

Lyon graduated from Hastings High School and enrolled in the University of Minnesota in 1896 and studied botany. Around the same time in the Territory of Hawaii, sugar took prominence in the Islands’ economy. In 1895, HSPA was founded. It was a “voluntary, nonprofit, incorporated association organized for the maintenance, advancement, improve-ment, and protection of the sugar indus-try in Hawaii and for the support of a sugarcane research station,” according to the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (HARC, the organization HSPA became).

HSPA ran an Experiment Station, which conducted substantial research into the commodity. HSPA hired Lyon — then an assistant professor in botany at the University of Minnesota — as assis-tant plant pathologist for its Experiment Station in 1907. He dealt with diseases in the cane fields initially. But the job and responsibilities grew — which are detailed in a survey of his life, “Harold Lloyd Lyon - Hawaiian Sugar Botanist,” edited by

Constance E. Hartt, available from the arboretum.

Despite his legendary stature, Weis-sich still remembers Lyon as a dedicated researcher and a “patient teacher.”

“I kept asking him so many questions!” Weissich recalled, as Lyon introduced him to the Foster Garden collection. “I was so interested in the ethnobotany of all these plants.”

Yet answer him he did, preparing Weis-

sich and countless others for their role in taking care of Hawaii’s landscape.

“He made such a lasting impression with me,” Weissich said. “He was quite an influence here in Hawaii.”

Chris Aguinaldo is a writer and photog-rapher in Hawaii. He’s also a former editor of Hawaii Landscape. See http://twitter.com/ ChrisAguinaldo

Distributor:

Phone: (808) 677-1580

Email: info@geotechsolutions.com

94-155C Leowaena Street,

Waipahu, Hawaii 96797.

On-sitetraining & support

High quality engineered products& installation tools

Fast & easyinstallation

A proven track record of over 25yrs

Security & stability for the trees

Technical support & specificationguidance

Affordable solutions

Lyon Arboretum is famed for its catalogued tree collection.

guava, Salvinia molesta, Schefflera acti-nophylla, Schinus molle, Tecoma stans, Thunbergia grandiflora, and Tillandsia usneoides.

On the Island of Oahu, botanists found 18 of the 134 LICH invasive plants or 13% being propagated and sold at local landscape nurseries. The 18 LICH invasive plants include: Adenanthera pavonina, Alocasia cumulate, Asystasia gangetica, Buddleja davidii, Chrysophyl-lum oliviforme, Clerodendrum bucha-nanii, Clerodendrum quadriloculare, Cyathea cooperi, Cyperus involucratus, Gazania rigens var. Leucolaena, Lantana camara, Phormium tenax, Pithecel-lobium dulce, Schinus molle, Solanum seaforthianum, Tecoma stans, Tibouchi-na urvilleana and Turnera ulmifolia.

So what does 8% on Maui and 13% on Oahu mean? Are we doing well or are we in trouble? Zero invasive plants is the goal but we are making progress. Many more landscape professionals are aware

A tropical shrub from Indonesia and the southwest Pacific that spreads by both seeds and suckers and resprouts after cutting, is spreading on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Islands and is showing growth patterns similar to other invasive Clerodendrum species.

CLERODENDRUM BUCHANANII

of the choices available and considering whether we really need this plant versus using a non-invasive plant. In the next year, the Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii will explore developing best management practices associated with the industry list.

As an industry, we agreed that all of these plants should not be propagated or sold through an exhaustive and inclusive 3 year effort. I would encour-age every landscape professional to take a moment from your busy schedule and review the LICH invasive plant list and guidelines and double check that your office is not propagating, selling, or specifying these plants. As an industry, Hawaii has accomplished what no other state has in taking a proactive stance on self regulating the use of the invasive plants, but we must continue to be vigi-lant and continue leading by example.

Chris Dacus is a Landscape Architect and Arborist for the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation and the president of LICH.

and a diverse set of organizations can come together for a common cause and achieve something that has eluded us to date. It’s LICH Foundation and Hawai’i at its best.

We encourage everyone who’s in-terested to learn more at the upcom-ing presentations at the 2011 Hawaii Conservation Conference at the Hawaii Convention Center and a similar presen-tation for the LICH Annual Conference at the Neal Blaisdell on October 6th. Get excited, certifiable Pritchardia are com-ing soon!

Chris Dacus is a Landscape Architect and Arborist for the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation and the President of LICH.

photo: CHRIS AGUINALDO

was a huge success, with a record amount of attendees.

we thank you for your continued support now and in the future.

our MaySeminar