USING NATIVE HAWAIIAN PLANTS IN LANDSCAPING WILL PROMOTE AWARENESS AND CREATE NEW DEPOSITS OF NATIVE FLORA Plant local! We know there’s debate about how strongly native Hawaiian species like `ohi`a lehua should be emphasized in local landscaping projects. Often plants are chosen based on availability, popularity, ease of growth and economics. Here’s another consideration that hits closer to home. Hawaii’s native plants face a multitude of threats in their natural environments (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 awareness 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 biogeography of Hawaii’s flora, we strongly urge the landscape 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 adaptation and speciation (the... ...
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‘Iliahi – The Forest Mediator
The ‘Iliahi tree (Sandalwood) is a remarkable, valuable, and fascinating plant that can play a vital role in native 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 disadvantage for the host plant, but the reality is more complex and there may be shared benefits. It could be that ‘Iliahi was an essential 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. haleakalae, and S. paniculatum. ‘Iliahi has few insect pests, is drought tolerant (particularly S. ellipticum), has attractive reddish new leaves and flowers (particularly S. freycinetianum), and has a slow to moderate growth rate with ultimate height varying between species and planting locations. Historic records and other... ...
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Landscape Industry Certification Program Information
LICH administers the national PLANET certification (CLT) program in Hawaii. LICH offers four CLT-E certifications are offered: Turf Maintenance, Ornamental Maintenance, Softscape Installation, & Irrigation. Visit the LICH website at www.landscapehawaii.org for a complete listing of CLT landscape professionals in Hawaii. BENEFITS OF CERTIFICATION Certified employees are required for all State DOT roadside landscape maintenance contracts A sense of personal achievement Increased professional credibility, respect & recognition in the industry 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 individuals are to understand and accommodate changes in the green industry. Therefore, to... ...
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Kawananakoa Middle School Native Tree Planting Project
Thanks to a grant from Kaulunani 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 coordination 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 Program (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 Division of Urban Forestry (Stan Oka and Brandon Au), during the three weeks prior to the tree planting. Those same industry... ...
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Mala Ua: A Hawaiian Rain Garden
At 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 reaching 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 Koʻolaupoko (HOK) is working to address these issues by installing rain gardens and other low-impact retrofits throughout Ko’olaupoko. A rain garden is a shallow, flat-bottom garden bed designed to serve as a collection and treatment site for storm water runoff from rooftops, driveways, walkways, streets, or parking lots. Through the process of infiltration and phytoremediation, rain gardens can remove pollutants from runoff before water recharges aquifers or... ...
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Native Plant Initiative
LICH LAUNCHES A COMPREHENSIVE 10 YEAR PLAN TO REVERSE DECLINE Formed in 2006, the LICH foundation has provided educational, professional development and advocacy for LICH and has been instrumental in the development of industry advancements. In just five years, the LICH Foundation has tackled 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 innovative 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: ❖ Increase native plant selection and supply ❖ Foster environmental responsibility ❖ Create greater awareness ❖ Nurture future green stewards Each goal includes measurable objectives and desired outcomes. The four goals include a total of 69 objectives. The objectives include such... ...
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Irrigation System Check Up
As we head into the dry summer season, it is absolutely essential that a complete check of your or your clients irrigation system be among your top priorities. 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 List • 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. •Check each zone. Valve wiring are generally the first function of the controller system to... ...
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Mother Nature’s Recipe
The Forest Floor. Decomposition. 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 nursery 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... ...
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