Native Plant Poster and Conference Sessions

N A T I V E P L A N T I S S U E
Landscape Industry
Council of Hawai’i
P. O. Box 22938
Honolulu HI 96823-2938
Native Plant
Poster Inside
Double sided color poster with 36
native plants perfect for your projects
LICH Conference
& Tradeshow
October 10th
14 native plant sessions, free
tradeshow, evening social, day
after native landscape bus tour
and the first LICH Sustainability
Awards!
Hawaiian
Hibiscus Taxa
New DNA suggests the end of
a 100 year dispute on Hawaii’s
endemic Hibiscus species
Landscape Industry
Council of Hawai’i
P. O. Box 22938
Honolulu HI 96823-2938
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
HONOLULU, HI
PERMIT NO. 1023
PRESORTED
STANDARD
SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2013
T h e V o i ce o f H A W A I’ S G R E E N I N D U S T R Y $5.00

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11TH ANNUAL
LICH GREEN INDUSTRY
CONFERENCE AND TRADE SHOW
Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 • 7:00AM - 7:00PM
Presented by the Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii & Associate Member Organizations
Mark your calendar for the LICH Green Industry Conference and Tradeshow. This year, the conference
features native plants. Register today online at www.hawaiiscape.com/conference or complete the
enclosed registration. All conference attendees will receive a color native plant poster.
FREE TRADE SHOW – Stop by the trade show from 10:15 am to 5:30 pm and check out the latest
machines, tools and products to improve your landscape.
STUDENT RESEARCH POSTERS – CTAHR students presents research results relevant to industry
and industry professionals.
1st LICH LANDSCAPE SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS - recognizes advocates of sustainability and
innovative sustainable landscape projects.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SEMINARS on how to evaluate landscape maintenance contractors
and successfully renovate an original 40 year old landscape.
FREE EVENING SOCIAL – Catch up with your colleagues while listening to local musicians from
the green industry from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Conference attendees enjoy a complimentary glass of
wine and pupus.
PRIZES – Enter for a chance to win fabulous door prizes including the Grand Prize, Two-Nights at
The Royal Hawaiian Resort and Hotel in Waikiki (Royal Ocean Guest Room), plus $100 dining credit
in Waikiki - $1,740 value! Compliments of Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts.
NATIVE PLANT TOUR on Friday, October 11th (8:00 am – 3:00 pm) learn about Hawaii’s native
plants. The tour will include a visit to the University of Hawaii at CMore Hall, Queen Kapiolani Gardens,
A Waikiki Garden, and Papahana Kuaola. Space is limited.
EARN VALUABLE CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS (CEU) FOR:
PLANET Landscape Industry Certified Technicians – 5 CEUs
HDOA Pest Applicators
ISA Certified Arborists
Golf Course Superintendents
C O N F E R E N C E S P O N S O R S
GOLD SILVER BRONZE
www.hawaiiscape.com/conference 3

11TH ANNUAL
LICH GREEN INDUSTRY
www.hawaiiscape.com/conference FEATURED SPEAKERS
7:00 am to 8:15 am Registration
7:45 am to 8:00 am Welcome to the Conference
8:00 am to 9:10 am LICH Sustainability Awards
SESSION 1 - 9:20 am – 10:15 am
Propagating Native Plants
The basics of native Hawaiian plant propagation
- SEED PREPARATION - collecting - cleaning and
storing.
METHODS OF PROPAGATION - Pretreatments of
seeds - Germination - Asexual (Clonal) Propagation -
Transplanting - GreenHouse - Pest control.
Speaker: Kerin Lilleeng-Rosenberger
Kerin wrote Growing Hawai’i’s Native Plants winning
the Ka Palapala Po’okela award for “Excellence in
Natural Science 2006”. Recognized by The Garden
Club of Honolulu for my outstanding contribution to
Horticulture and Conservation 1998 in observance
of Women’s History Month. Many article’s written of
my work, Untied Airlines “HEMISPHERES” Making a
Difference, The Royal Horticultural Society “THE GAR-DEN”
“Strangers in Paradise”. Green magazine “Two
Green Thumbs” 2011. Worked propagating Hawaiian
plants at NTBG for 10 yrs 1989-1999. Kauai DOFAW
2000-2002. Present Nursery owner “KEEP IT NATIVE”
growing Hawaiian plants for homeowners.
Native Hawaiian Hibiscus
The number of endemic Hawaiian hibiscus species
has been disputed for many years. Results from a
genetic analysis of these plants have helped to clarify
species relationships and the elevation of some sub-species
to species is recommended. The distribution
of these species in the islands and their growth habits
will also be discussed.
Speaker: Dr. Liz Huppman
Liz is a horticulturist at Lyon Arboretum
managing greenhouses, one of two
native plant gardens and plant sales.
She has a BA in biology from Boston
University and an MS and PhD in horticulture from the
University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Pruning vs Heading Cuts: People’s Psy-chophysiological
Responses to Tropical
Urban Tree Pruning in Hawaii
Utilizing visual presentation tree stimuli of pruned
trees in Hawaii, people’s physiological measures were
recorded (ECG, GSR, EMG, and EEG) in real time. Results
indicate clear trends in peoples’ cognitive and emotional
responses to proper and improperly pruned trees.
Speaker: Dr. Andy Kaufman
Dr. Kaufman is an Associate Professor
and Landscape Specialist for the Uni-versity
of Hawaii. He currently teaches
courses in landscape architecture, urban
horticulture, arboriculture practices and conducts
research involving environmental psychology, mitiga-tion
of tsunami and storm surge by plants, green roof
technologies for tropical environments.
Ecological Approaches to Urban Native
Plantings
The plants of the Hawaiian Islands comprise one of
the most unique and rare floras, with over half of all
species at risk of extinction. The first step in prevent-ing
extinction is to secure and maintain collections in
a “genetic safety net” using ex situ, or off-site, stor-age
methods. These methods include micro propaga-tion,
seed banking, and cultivation in nurseries and
gardens, all of which are necessary and available in
Hawai‘i. Ex situ collections are vital for research and
restoration efforts. The rapid degradation of native
ecosystems, recent commencement of recovery
efforts and the looming threat from new alien spe-cies
and climate change all contribute to an urgent
situation. Well-maintained ex situ collections insure
against extinction if natural populations decline while
habitat restoration is proceeding. Germplasm (genetic
resource) collections with the highest conservation
value are genetically diverse, representative of natu-rally
occurring populations, have been managed to
ensure documentation of their provenance and length
of time in cultivation, and have been carefully moni-tored
to prevent artificial selection or genetic loss.
Speaker: Matt Keir
Matthew Keir is the Rare Plant Program
Manager for the Oahu Army Natural Re-sources
Program. The OANRP manages
threats to rare species that occur on and
around Army owned and leased lands on Oahu.
Navigating through the choices and features
of Smart Irrigation Controllers
While there are many choices in “Smart Irrigation
Controllers”, understanding what those choices are and
what is useful to you or your customer can be a difficult
undertaking. While bells and whistles typically wow us,
the features that are useable for each individual need
to be considered. This presentation will present the
most commonly used and asked for features of Smart
Controllers and how they function. Also included will be,
where the industry is headed and what makes sense
for the everyday user. At the end of this presentation
the attendees will be able to make a better informed
choice when considering “Smart Controllers”.
Speaker: Martin Miyashiro
Martin Miyashiro has spent the last
28 years as a landscaper and a VP of
Sales and Marketing for a local irrigation
distributor in Hawaii. He is a passionate
educator in the field of irrigation design, installation
and maintenance for the Landscape Industry State
wide. Martin is currently employed by Hunter Indus-tries,
a leading manufacturer of irrigation equipment.
BREAK - 10:15 am to 11:00 am - Tradeshow Opens
SESSION 2 - 11:00 am – 11:55 am
Ethical and Legal Collection of Native
Species
Learn the do’s and don’ts of native plant collection
Speaker: Rick Barboza
Rick Barboza is General Partnerat Hui ku Maoli Ola. A
graduate of KamehamehaSchool in 1993; obtained his
Bachelor of Artsdegree in Zoology from the University
of Hawai‘iin 1999, with a primary focus on Hawaii’s
naturalhistory & the conservation of native biota;
cofoundedHui Ku Maoli Ola in 1999.
Using Plants to Attract Native Insects
and Fauna
Discussion will focus on how native plant landscapes
can provide habitat for native invertebrates, such as
the Koa and Kamehameha butterflies and birds while
conserving water. Native plants also provide oppor-tunities
for education and nature study, and cultural
learning. Examples of plants to consider, seed sourc-ing
and pre-planning, signage, and cooperative
programs like National Wildlife Federation Certified
Habitats will be addressed. Water features can also
play a part in attracting invertebrates and birds.
Speaker: Steve Montgomery
Dr. Steven Lee Montgomery is a bio-logical
consultant and science educator
experienced in terrestrial invertebrate
ecology and botany in Hawai’i and the
Pacific. His survey reports regularly advise on the use
of native plants for landscaping to provide refuge and
food for native invertebrates and birds.
Update on Two Recent Invasive Pests
In Hawaii, the Lobate Lac Scale and the
Banyan Stem-Galling Wasp
The Lobate Lac Scale and the Banyan Stem-Galling
Wasp are two invasive pests that arrived in Hawaii dur-ing
2012 and have become of concern to the landscape
industry. Learn how to recognize these two insects, the
plant species they affect, and their damage.
Speaker: Walter Nagamine
Walter Nagamine is an entomologist for the Hawaii
Department of Agriculture working in the field of
biological control.
Ecological Native Plant Design
Focusing on how to create successful landscapes using
native plants, Leland and Richard will review examples
of existing native landscape installations to explore what
is working and how it’s working. The presentation will be
a practical guide to choosing native plant combinations
that look great and survive, techniques for planting that
promote success, understanding how native land-scapes
change and grow, and how to maintain native
landscapes to enable them to evolve and mature into
successful mini urban ecosystems.
Speakers: Leland Miyano (left)
and Richard Quinn (bottom)
Leland Miyano is an artist, landscape
designer and author with a deep interest
in the ecosystems of Hawaii.
Richard Quinn is a landscape architect
and Principal of Helber Hastert & Fee
Planners in Honolulu, with a special
interest in using native plants in urban
landscapes.
4

Renovating a 40 Year Old Condominium
Landscape
Renovating an irrigation system at a 40 year old
condominium is the easy part. Keeping your owners
happy and ultimately keeping your job is the hard part.
Learn the headaches and tricks we’ve discovered over
the past 30 years to make the renovation as painless as
possible and ultimately make you shine.
Speakers: Allan Schildknecht (left)
and Jay Deputy
Allan Schildknecht is Business Devel-opment
Manager, Pacific Pipe. Co. Mr.
Schildknecht has worked in the field of
landscape and golf irrigation design and consultation
for more than 42 years. Almost 30 of those years
was spent as an independent irrigation consulting
working with clients on numerous projects through-out
the world. Jay Deputy, retired from University
of Hawaii in 2010 after 37 years of serving as
Education Specialist in Landscape Horticulture. Jay is
currently doing consulting in landscape maintenance
and renovation.
BOX LUNCH PRESENTATION - 11:55 am – 12:50 pm
True Wireless and OPC Data Pushing
What does going wireless mean? Free from wires, of
course. Wireless makes installing sensors, or remote
control points more plug and play, and in many
cases, it is cheaper than running wires .Sometimes
that can come at a cost. I will be talking about how
Motorola overcomes many obstacles when it comes
to wireless technology, including Wireless Bridge, and
Store and Forward. I will also touch on OPC- or Object
Linking and Embedding for Process Control. Many
Resorts, Golf Courses ,HOA’s and Municipalities today
utilize automation systems for several functions. OPC
enables data to be shared across other systems.
From Building Automation systems, and HVAC, to
Security systems and more. Often, advanced irriga-tion
systems collect data that is valuable to other
systems, like weather data. OPC reduces hardware
costs, time, and allows for problems in the system
to be detected quickly with a completely integrated
system.
Speaker: Jordan Hirschmann
Director of Marketing for Motorola Water Management,
Responsible for positioning Motorola Water Manage-ment
effectively in the Western United States, and
Hawaii. Since joining Motorola Water Management has
brought out significant growth in Motorola’s presence
in North America. Jordan directs all aspects of Motorola
Water Management’s overall short and long-term mar-keting
efforts. He brings new thinking and innovations
to Marketing that have had strong results.
How to Evaluate Landscape Work and
Select Landscape Contractors
Learn how to evaluate the condition of your property’s
landscaping and what it takes to maintain it. Learn
where to go for information to further educate yourself.
Determine how to evaluate the performance of your
staff and/or landscaping service provider.
www.hawaiiscape.com/conference
Speakers: Ryan McDermott
and Steve Nimz (left)
Ryan McDermott manages the landscap-ing
staff of Military Housing for Perfor-mance
Landscapes. He is responsible for
over 400 acres of neighborhoods with 2,300 homes, 22
parks, and 2 community centers. Consulting Arborist for
Steve Nimz and Associates Inc. with over 35 years of
experience in the tree care industry.
SESSION 3 (12:55 pm – 1:50 pm)
Underutilized Native Plants
Lets grow for it with a broader plant pallete of native
Hawaiian plants, improved cultivars and the right
plant in the right habitat and soil type. Heidi will share
some ideas about a broader variety of native plants for
Hawaii gardens, as well as a few horticultural, soil and
topdressings techniques for successful installation and
long term attractive growth.
Speaker: Heidi Bornhorst
Heidi is a horticulturist, Arborist, garden
writer and public speaker. She works
as Landscape Manager at UH Manoa
and as O‘ahu Coordinator for the
Breadfruit Institute. She cares for Veteran trees, public
landscapes and incorporates xeriscapes and native
Hawaiian plants into the gardens.
What Can Landscape Professionals
Learn from the Conservation Industry
What can the hundreds of experienced Hawaii
landscape industry professionals, who install millions
of plants and maintain thousands of acres and the
people who have been implementing Ex-situ endan-gered
plant conservation and reintroduction efforts
in remote difficult locations across Hawaii learn from
each others’ years of experience and how can they
collaborate to achieve both their goals in the future?
Speaker: Bill Garnett
Bill Garnett is owner of Wiliwili Hawai-ian
Plants and is a recognized expert
in propagating and growing native
Hawaiian plants and the recovery of rare
and endangered plants in the state of Hawaii. From
2002 - 2011, he worked as the Endangered Plant
Horticulturalist at Kalaupapa National Historic Park on
the island of Molokai. He has worked in Hawaii as a
botanist, ecologist and horticulturalist for more than 29
years and has conducted botanical surveys and col-lected
endangered and rare native Hawaiian plants on
Oahu, Lanai, Kaho‘olawe, Moloka‘i, Maui and Hawaii
Island. His primary work has focused on the recovery
of Hawaii’s most endangered plants and restoration
of native Hawaiian ecosystems on Oahu, Lanai and
Molokai. He has also assisted with recovery and resto-ration
projects on Hawaii, Kaho‘olawe and Laysan. His
specialty is The horticultural and ecological aspects
of restoration of Hawaiian lowland and coastal plant
communities. Current projects include the Papa he‘e
nalu forest at Mo‘omomi and acting as Pu‘u O Hoku
Ranches’ native resource, conservation and landscape
coordinator
White Tern Survey Protocol
- Saving You A Visit From State (Me)
The White Tern is a migratory bird that is protected
on the Federal and State levels. This bird is loved by
citizens, and if they feel trimming is occurring, and
may injure the young, they will call the authorities. This
training will show you surveying protocols and alert
you of the species status. You are the eyes and ears of
this species vitality.
Speaker: Katie Doyle
While working as a Nursery Supervisor with the City
and County Department of Urban Forestry, I got my Tree
Worker and Arborist from ISA. Now as a Wildlife Biologist
for the State of Hawaii, I specialize in waterbirds and
migratory fowl.
Native FernS and Designing Native Plant
Communities
Managing ex situ native plant collections for long
term display, research and education purposes can
be challenging in that often little is known about the
requirements of many rare native plants. Our goal has
been to create displays that put these rare plants into
areas of our gardens where they can be in growing
conditions similar to the forests where they are found.
We create communities of associated species, includ-ing
ferns and epiphytes in soils similar to forest soils
so the plants can thrive and go through their natural
growth cycles.
Speaker: Michael J. De Motta
Based out of the NTBG Headquarters
in Kalaheo, Kauai, Mike De Motta is
responsible for the management of the
plant collections at NTBG’s McBryde
Garden, the nursery operation and consults with NTBG
garden directors on plant care in all NTBG Hawaii
gardens.
Just What Makes A Smart Controller
Smart
Speaker: Larry Sarver President of Tucor
There are three main drivers to an effective smart
system. They consist of E.T.( weather or soil based),
rain fall and flow monitoring. We will discuss what
has the biggest impact on water conservation. We will
demonstrate how in certain circumstances an effec-tive
manager is more efficient in saving water than a
smart controller yet still make the case for retroftting
your systems to the new technology. Finally we will
look at some new products that will make retrofitting
existing systems much simpler.
SESSION 4 - 2:35 pm – 3:30 pm
BREAK 1:50 pm to 2:35 pm
Threatened & Endangered Law Listening
Session - What Works And Doesn’t Work
Moderator: Chris Dacus
An open forum to discuss what works
and doesn’t work with the State’s
Threatened & Endangered Laws and
rules. The results of the session will be
5

11TH ANNUAL
LICH GREEN INDUSTRY
www.hawaiiscape.com/conference used to discuss with the State of Hawaii Department
of Land & Natural Resources.
Native Plant Alternatives to Ornamen-tals
6 – Quick Fire Session Panel
Native plant experts will provide a host of native
plant alternatives to ornamental plants. Attendees are
encouraged to ask the experts for great alternatives.
Bring your latest planting list and discover which
native plants meet your criteria.
Panel: Heidi Bornhorst, Michael DeMotta
and Rick Barboza
Heidi is a horticulturist, Arborist, garden writer and
public speaker. She works as Landscape Manager at
UH Manoa and as O‘ahu Coordinator for the Bread-fruit
Institute. She cares for Veteran trees, public
landscapes and incorporates xeriscapes and native
Hawaiian plants into the gardens. Michael J. De Motta,
Assistant Director Living Collections & Horticulture,
NTBG based out of the NTBG Headquarters in Kalaheo,
Kauai, Mike De Motta is responsible for the manage-ment
of the plant collections at NTBG’s McBryde
Garden, the nursery operation and consults with NTBG
garden directors on plant care in all NTBG Hawaii gar-dens.
Rick Barboza is General Partner at Hui ku Maoli
Ola. A graduate of Kamehameha School in 1993;
obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Zoology from
the University of Hawai‘i in 1999, with a primary focus
on Hawaii’s natural history & the conservation of native
biota; co-founded Hui Ku Maoli Ola in 1999.
Building Better Gardens: Pollinator
Friendly Landscaping In Hawaii
Hawaii’s tropical climate and varied floral resources
provide ample opportunities to create uniquely
styled gardens. Whether the space is a vegetable
garden, an easy to maintain flowerbed arrange-ment,
or an area to incorporate native plants, one
common new trend in backyard landscaping is the
tendency for these gardens to be friendlier towards
birds, pollinators, and beneficial insects in general.
The purpose of this presentation is to explore how
to make these outdoor spaces more welcoming to
insect pollinators. Learning to identify which insects
can contribute to the “garden ecosystem” and how
to provide resources for them. Familiarity with the
plant-insect relationships will help owners and
landscapers make better garden designs and more
eco-friendly outdoor spaces.
Speaker: Ethel Villalobos
Dr. Ethel Villalobos is a researcher and
educator from the College of Tropical
Agriculture and Human Resources.
She is in charge of the University of
Hawaii Honeybee Project and works closely with
beekeepers and farmers that need pollination for
crop production.
SESSION 5 - 3:35 pm – 4:30 pm
Native Tissue Culture and Seed Storage
Since 1992, Lyon Arboretum’s research emphasis
on conservation biology has led to the develop-ment
of the Hawaiian Rare Plant Program (HRPP),
which focuses on the rescue and recovery of
Hawai‘i’s most critically endangered plants. The
HRPP assists in the prevention of further extinc-tion
of Hawaii’s native plants by providing a
cooperatively administered and fully integrated ex
situ propagation and germplasm storage facility.
To date, the in vitro micropropagation and seed
storage laboratories and greenhouse facility has
successfully grown and stored more than 300 of
the 1400+ native Hawaiian plant taxa, through
micropropagation, seed germination research and
conventional horticultural methods. The Hawaiian
Rare Plant Program is the only one of its kind in
the State of Hawai‘i, and holds Hawai‘i’s largest
and most diverse collection of native Hawaiian
plant taxa.
Speakers: Nellie Sugii (left)
and Alvin Yoshinaga (bottom)
Nellie Sugii is the manager of the Lyon
Arboretum Hawaiian Rare Plant
Program. She is a trained horticulturist
specializing in the propagation and
germplasm storage of Hawaii’s native
plant species. Alvin Yoshinaga is
originally from Wailuku (Baldwin HS).
BA in Biology from Stanford, MS in
Botany from Univ. Wisconsin-Madison, MBA from
UH. Retired from UH in 2010. From 1992-2010, did
research on storage of seeds of Hawaiian plants,
founded seed bank and Seed Conservation
Laboratory at Lyon Arboretum. Since retirement,
divides time between retirement homes Honolulu
and Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Native Plant Panel: The Myth or Truth
about Native Plant Maintenance
Are native plants more difficult to maintain or do
maintenance personnel lack the expertise? An expert
panel moderated by Heidi Bornhorst will discuss The
Myth or Truth About Native Plant Maintenance
Moderator: Heidi Bornhorst
Panelists: Rick Barboza, Rick Quinn, Micheal De
Motta, Matt Lyum, Kevin Mulkern, Ethan Roman-chak,
Boyd Ready
Trunk Injections of Systemic
Insecticides and Phosphorous
Fertilizer for Treatment of Stem and
Leaf Gall Wasps on Chinese Banyan
Chinese Banyan (Ficus microcarpa) is a common
landscape tree on many of the islands of Hawaii.
The stem gall wasp appears to be widespread on
Oahu and is present at Kahului on Maui and Hilo
on the Big Island. Infestation of stems and leaves
result in progressive dieback of branches that may
eventually cause tree mortality. Imidacloprid and
emamectin benzoate are two systemic insecticides
known to have activity against gall-forming insects.
This research is to evaluate the efficacy of injectable
formulations of imidacloprid and emamectin benzo-ate
alone or combined with phosphorous acid, for
control stem and leaf gall wasps on Chinese banyan
in Hawaii’s landscapes. We started this study in July
2013, and this presentation provides the research
update (will be available at the time of 2013 LICH
conference).
Speaker: Dr. Zhiqiang Cheng
Dr. Zhiqiang Cheng is Assistant
Specialist (Turf and Landscape Pest
Management) in Department of Plant
and Environmental Protection Sci-ences,
CTAHR, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dr.
Cheng obtained his Ph.D. degree (Environmental
Science) from The Ohio State University (OSU), and
worked in the Department of Entomology at OSU
prior to joining University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dr.
Cheng has over 10 years of research experience
working on the biology, ecology, and management
of turfgrass and urban landscapes, as well as on
soil ecology, and environmental bio-indicators.
Restoration of Turfgrass Areas:
Repair Instead of Replacement
A cost effective plan for repairing and restoring turf
areas. How to bring older lawns back to acceptable
condition and keep them that way. Assessing the
factors that caused the turf to decline in the first
place. Implementing a program to regrow the exist-ing
turf. Establishing maintenance protocols that
increase the probability of long-term results.
Speaker: Rey Ito
Rey Ito is the owner and operator of The Green
Doctor of Hawaii. A business specializing in fine turf
maintenance, pest management for lawns/land-scapes,
repair of distressed lawns/landscapes and
consulting.
Build Your Business with Smart Water
Management
As commercial clients and residential communi-ties
stretch operating budgets and water rates
continue to rise, landscape professionals now find
that resource management is a vital component of
the services they provide. Sustained water savings
and efficient site design techniques and technolo-gies
deliver value-added services and revenue to
your business. An interactive, real-world approach
to Smart Water Management 101, this presenta-tion
starts at site assessment and irrigation system
evaluation, spotlights proven solutions from central
controllers down to sprinkler heads, and shows you
how to build more dollars and client satisfaction by
adding water data analysis, site performance reports
and automated irrigation monitoring services to your
business repertoire.
Speaker: Jeff Welch
Jeff Welch is a popular speaker and
presenter at green industry and facility
management events. Mr. Welch has
provided Water Management Services
for notable national companies including Regency
Centers, Transwestern Properties and Carl’s Jr. He
currently specializes in helping contractors and their
customers design and implement WeatherTRAK
smart irrigation projects.

7:00 am – 8:15 am Registration
7:45 am – 8:00 am Welcome by LICH President, Chris Dacus
8:00 am – 9:10 am LICH Sustainability Awards by Chris Dacus,
Christy Martin, Richard Quinn
SESSION 1 - 9:20 am – 10:15 am
Room Track Session
1 Native Plant Propagation Propagating Native Plants
By Kerin Lilleeng -Rosenberger , Author
of “Growing Hawaii’s Native Plants”
2 Native Plant Design Native Hawaiian Hibiscus
By Liz Huppman , Horticulturist, Lyon Arboretum
3 Arborist/Pesticide Pruning vs Heading Cuts: People’s
Psychophysiological Responses to Tropical
Urban Tree Pruning in Hawaii
By Dr. Andy Kaufman , UH Associate Professor
and Landscape Specialist
4 Native Plant Ecology Ecological Approaches to Urban Native Plantings
By Matt Keir , Rare Plant Program Manager,
Oahu Army Natural Resources Program
5 Vendor Navigating Through the Choices and Features
of Smart Irrigation Controllers
By Martin Miyashiro , Hunter Industries
10:15 am - 11:00 am BREAK - Trade show opens
SESSION 2 - 11:00 am – 11:55 am
1 Native Plant Propagation Ethical and Legal Collection of Native Species
By Rick Barboza , General Partner and
Co-Founder, Hui ku Maoli Ola
2 Native Plant Design Using Plants to Attract Native Insects and Fauna
By Dr. Steve Montgomery , Biological
Consultant and Science Educator
3 Arborist/Pesticide Update Invasive Pests in Hawaii; Lobate Lac
Scale and Banyan Stem-Galling Wasp
By Walter Nagamine , Entomologist,
Hawaii Department of Agriculture
4 Native Plant Ecology Ecological Native Plant Design Speakers:
Leland Miyano and Richard Quinn, Helber Hastert
& Fee Planners
5 Property Manager Renovating a 40 Year Old Condominium
Landscape
By Allan Schildknecht , Business Development
Manager, Pacific Pipe. Co. and Jay Deputy,
Consultant and Retired UH Education Specialist
in Landscape Horticulture.
Box Lunch Presentation – 11:55 am – 12:50 pm
1 Vendor True Wireless and OPC Data Pushing
BY Jordan Hirschmann, Director of Marketing
for Motorola Water Management
5 Property Manager How to Evaluate Landscape Work and Select
Landscape Contractors
By Ryan McDermott , Performance Landscapes
and Steve Nimz, Steve Nimz & Associates
SESSION 3 - 12:55 pm - 1:50 pm
1 Native Plant Propagation Underutilized Native Plants
BY HEIDI BORNHORST
2 Native Plant Design What Can Landscape Professionals Learn from
the Conservation Industry?
By Bill Garnett , Owner of Wiliwili Hawaiian Plants
3 Arborist/Pesticide White Tern Survey Protocol - Saving You a Visit
from State (Me)
By Katie Doyle , Wildlife Biologist, State of Hawaii
www.hawaiiscape.com/conference
Room Track Session
4 Native Plant Ecology Native Ferns and Designing Native Plant
Communities
By Michael DeMotta , Assistant Director Living
Collections & Horticulture, NTBG
5 Vendor Just What Makes A Smart Controller Smart
BY Larry Sarver , President of Tucor
1:50 pm - 2:35 pm BREAK - Check out the trade show!
SESSION 4 - 2:35 pm – 3:30 pm
1 Native Plant Propagation Threatened & Endangered Law Listening
Session - What Works and Doesn’t Work
By Chris Dacus , Arborist and Landscape
A rchitect
Quick Fire Session Panel: Native Plant
Alternatives to Ornamentals
By Heidi Bornhorst , Horticulturist, Arborist,
Writer and Public Speaker
Michael DeMotta , Assistant Director Living
Collections Horticulture, NTBG (Kauai)
Rick Barboza , General Partner and Co-Founder
of Hui Ku Maoli
2 Arborist/Pesticide Building Better Gardens: Pollinator Friendly
Landscaping in Hawaii
By Ethel Villalobos , Research and Educator,
UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human
Resources
3 Native Plant Ecology To Be Determined
4 Vendor To Be Determined
SESSION 5 - 3:35 pm - 4:30 pm
1 Native Plant Propagation Native Tissue Culture and Seed Storage
By Nellie Sugii , Manager, Lyon Arboretum
Hawaiian Rare Plant Program and Tim Kroessig,
Manager and Seed Specialist, Lyon Arboretum
Hawaiian Rare Plant Program
2 Native Plant Design Native Plant Panel: The Myth or Truth About
Native Plant Maintenance
Moderator: Heidi Bornhorst
Panelists: Rick Barboza , Rick Quinn , Micheal
De Motta , Matt Lyum , Kevin Mulkern ,
Boyd Ready
3 Arborist/Pesticide Trunk Injections of Systemic Insecticides and
Phosphorous Fertilizer for Treatment of Stem
and Leaf Gall Wasps on Chinese Banyan
By Dr. Zhiqiang Cheng , Assistant Specialist (Turf
and Landscape Pest Management), UH Department
of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences
4 Arborist/Pesticide Restoration of Turfgrass Areas: Repair Instead
of Replacement
By Rey Ito , Owner and Operator of The Green
Doctor of Hawaii
5 Native Plant Ecology Build Your Business with Smart Water
Management
By Jeff Welch , WeatherTrak
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm Trade Show Open Until 5:30pm
Win The Grand Prize And Other Drawings!!
2 Nights At The Royal Hawaiian Resort And Hotel
In Waikiki, Plus $100 Dinning Credit In Waikiki –
$1,740 Value. Compliments of Kyo-Ya Hotels & Resorts
EVENING SOCIAL Evening Social at the Blaisdell
4:30 pm – 7:00 pm Wine, pupus and live entertainment
7

11TH ANNUAL
LICH GREEN INDUSTRY
11th Annual LICH Conference Registration
Register here or at online at www.hawaiiscape.com/conference
CONFERENCE, October 10th
$125 member/$155 non-member:
Includes all sessions, lunch, trade-show, free native plant poster, and evening social
TRADE SHOW VENDORS (as of print date) Conference and tradeshow subject to change
8 LANDSCAPE HAWAII SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2013
$125 / $155
Name_______________________________________________ Member#________________________ ________________
Name_______________________________________________ Member#________________________ ________________
Name_______________________________________________ Member#________________________ ________________
NATIVE PLANT TOUR, October 11th (8:00am – 3:00pm)
$30 per person: Includes lunch and a narrated tour to UH Manoa, Queen Kapiolani Gardens
and Papahana Kuaola. Meeting location will be announced at the Conference.
$30 per person
Name___________________________________________________________________________________ ________________
Name___________________________________________________________________________________ ________________
Name___________________________________________________________________________________ ________________
BECOME A LICH MEMBER TODAY!
Individual Membership $30 per year (new or renewal)
Company Membership (includes 1 individual) $30 per year
Additional Employee Membership $15 per year
$15 / $30
Name______________________________________________________________Circle: new or renew ________________
Total enclosed for Conference, Native Tour and Membership: _ ______________
Company Name___________________________________________
Address___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Phone_ ______________________ Fax_________________________
Email_____________________________________________________
Website___________________________________________________
For more information contact Madeleine Shaw at 946-7055
or visit our website at www.hawaiiscape.com/conference.
Check payable to LICH and mail to:
P.O. Box 22938, Honolulu, HI 96823-2938
By credit card (VISA or Master Card only):
Name on card ___________________________________
Card number ____________________________________
Expiration date_ _______________________________
This information will be kept strictly private and shredded upon clearance.
B Hayman Co.
C&C Honolulu, Department of Environment
Services - Storm Water Quality
Container Storage Company
DLNR - Division of Forestry & Wildlife
Dura Plastics & T Christy
Focus Industries
Hawaii Geophysical Services, LLC
Hawaii Grower Products / Pacific Ag
Hawaiian Earth Products
Hawaiian Turf Grass
HISCO / Atlantic Water Gardens
Hunter Industries
Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii
Motorola Water Management
Netafim USA
Paige Electronics
Rainbird
Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Waikiki/Kyoya
Steve Nimz and Associates
Waipahu Lawn Equipment Sales and Services

DEPARTMENTS
10 PRESIDENT’S MEMO
10 LICH NEWS
22 LOW HANGING FRUIT
24 Acacia Koa
25 TURFGRASS
27 NATIVE TAXA REVIEW
30 TOOL TIPS
FEATURES
12 OAHU LICT EXAM RESULTS
15 Palai Nui
18 KONA LICT EXAM RESULTS
20 NATIVE GRASS
26 HAWAIIAN COTTON
28 POLLINATORS
COVER STORIES
NATIVE PLANT POSTER
16
3 LICH CONFERENCE AND TRADE SHOW
16 HAWAIIAN HIBISCUS
Formed in June 1986, the Landscape Industry Council
of Hawai‘i is a state wide alliance representing Hawaii’s
landscape associations: Aloha Arborist Association,
American Society of Landscape Architects Hawaii
Chapter, Hawaii Association of Nurserymen, Hawaii
Island Landscape Association, Hawaii Landscape
and Irrigation Contractors, Hawaii Society of Urban
Forestry Professionals, Kauai Landscape Industry
Council, Maui Association of Landscape Professionals,
Professional Grounds Management Society, Big
Island Association of Nurserymen, and the Hawaii
Professional Gardeners Association.
Landscape Industry Council of Hawai‘i
P. O. Box 22938, Honolulu HI 96823-2938
Editor
Christopher A. Dacus
chris.dacus@gmail.com
Advertising Sales
Dana Anne Yee
dana1@hawaii.rr.com
Lorra Naholowaa
lorranaholowaa@gmail.com
Membership
Cheryl M. Dacus
cheryldacus@yahoo.com
Designer
Darrell Ishida
Cover Photo
Photo by Chris Dacus
2 0 1 3 B oard o f D irectors
Chris Dacus Brandon Au
President Vice President
Matt Lyum Rick Quinn
Treasurer Secretary
Aaron Agsalda Chris McCullough
Orville Baldos Clifford Migita
Chuck Chimera Karen Ostborg
Carl Evensen Edmundo Reyes
Randy Liu Mark Suiso
Christy Martin Josh Sand
Director Emeritus
Jay Deputy Steve Nimz
Lelan Nishek Boyd Ready
Garrett Webb
Website Sponsors
Sharon’s Nursery, Ltd. Geotech Solutions, Inc.
Platinum Sponsors
Hawaiian Turfgrass.
Mahalo to LICH of Hawaii Sponsors

President's
Column
10 LANDSCAPE HAWAII SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2013 Why should
I use native
species on
my projects?
That’s a question that I hear too often and the
answer is really simple. While we can use colorful
and more hardy ornamentals from elsewhere – why
would we want to look like every other tropical island?
If that’s not enough, consider the dire situation of
the Hawaiian dry grassland forest habitat, which
hosts most of our human developments – it’s one
of the most endangered habitats on the planet.
The footprint of our cities host less than 1% native
species. Either the future is 0% or 2%. Let’s keep
Hawaii, Hawaii. Make native plants part of your
projects.
This issue celebrates Hawaii’s native species.
The issue features some great articles on native
Hawaiian grasses, native cotton, the Palai nui fern,
native plant projects, Hawaiian Hibiscus, a review
of the native taxa, and many other articles. We
even included a surprise, our first ever centerfold
poster! It’s about native species that are perfect for
landscaping projects. The front is designed for the
consumer with large images and QR codes to scan
for more information while the back is designed for
the business office with more detailed information.
Find a location where it will do the most good and
be enjoyed for many years.
And that’s not all, this issue features our confer-ence
guide. October will be our 11th LICH Confer-ence
and this year it has a native plant theme with
14 sessions on topics never presented at the confer-ence.
The day after conference tour will tour native
plant gardens.
Mark your calendar for October 10th and go online today
and reserve your tickets at www.hawaiiscape.com.
Sincerely,
Chris Dacus
President | Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii
lich
NEWS
Maggie Sporck is the new
state Botanist for the Division of
Forestry and Wildlife Department
of Land & Natural Resources.
Maggie provides statewide profes-sional
botanical services and tech-nical
expertise to DLNR/DOFAW
staff and partners concerning the
conservation and protection of
Hawaii’s unique native plants and
associated habitats. Additionally,
she oversees the Hawaii Rare
Plant Program; permitting for
threatened and endangered (T&E)
Photo courtesy: MAGGIE SPORCK
Maggie Sporck, State Botanist
plants and permitting for com-mercial
sales of T & E plants; and
she collaborates with a variety of
entities with the common goal of
advancing conservation of native
plants.
Maggie received her Ph.D. in
Botany with a specialization in
Ecology, Evolution, and Conser-vation
Biology from University of
Hawaii in 2011. Her Ph.D. work
focused on the ecophysiology
of the native Hawaii Euphorbia
radiation.
Aloha Arborist Association
Presents Trees and the Law
with Dennis Yniguez
Dennis is a Certified Arborist,
Registered Consulting Arbor-ist,
and Attorney at Law with
three decades of experience as
a practicing arborist in Califor-nia.
He is a past president of the
American Society of Consulting
Arborists and has served on their
national faculty for 12 years. His
current practice includes tree
health and risk assessment, fo-rensic
examinations, evaluation
of tree-related casualty claims,
and resolution of tree-related
disputes.
What does “the law” expect
of you? What can you do with
encroaching roots and branches?
What about tree/view disputes?
How about tree/solar panel
conflicts? What should you know
to work confidently and stay out
of trouble?
Event is on Friday, September
20, 2013 from 8:00am – 4:00pm
(lunch provided) at the Ala Wai
Golf Course. Cost is $125 per per-son
(LICH, WCISA, AAA Member
$ 100.00 per person)
Arborist CEU’S Available- 6.0.
For more information call 734-5963
or email Steve@stevenimz.com
Whats Happening
NEW STATE BOTANIST
Correction to July/August issue
In the article KLIC plans Certified Tree Worker exam prep classes in
our July/August 2013 issue, the author, Carol Kwan stated, “There
aren’t any Certified Tree Workers on Kauai…” That is incorrect. It
should have said “There aren’t any Certified Tree Worker Aerial
Lift Specialists on Kauai…” There are currently eight Certified Tree
Worker Climbing Specialists on Kauai, including Jim Campbell who
brought the error to Carol’s attention.

Liana Bisch
Joins Geobunga
MARKETING TEAM
03-10-09/0000229489
3009 PMP-PENARO Proofed By: jmahoney
KOOLAU SEEDS & SUPPLY R 2.00 X 2.00
Susan Owen
Manager
Contact
(808) 239-1280 Office
(808) 239-2151 Fax
E-mail
owens001@hawaii.rr.com
48-373 G Kamehameha Hwy
Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744
LARGEST NURSERY SELECTION ON KAUAI
60,000 SF Greenhouses 150 Acres of Plants & Material
KAUAI NURSEY &
LANDSCAPING, INC.
LIC.ABC-10825
808-245-7747
3-1550 Kaumualii Hwy
Lihue, Kauai, HI 96766
CERTIFIED EXPORT NURSERY
INTERISLAND SHIPPING
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
& DESIGN/BUILD
RESORT, COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL
INSTALLATION / MAINTENANCE
CERTIFIED LANDSCAPE TECHNICIANS
ARBORISTS
IRRIGATION DESIGN
INSTALLATION/REPAIR
Mon. - Fri. 7:30-5 / Sat. 7:30-4
WEB: www.kauainursery.com
MAIL: knl@kauanursery.com
Toll Free: 888-345-7747 Fax: 808-245-9289
Photo courtesy: GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
Left to Right: Senator Malama Solomon, Governor Neil Abercrombie, Kyle
Sasaki and Chris Dacus
LICH Members Help Get The
Graywater Bill Passed
Upcoming Issues:
Tell a great story! Email the editor at chris.dacus@gmail.com.
THE VOICE OF HAWAII’S GREEN INDUSTRY Haaaceiipsw.com 11
Photo courtesy: GEOBUNGA
Your testimony letters and emails help
make our state more sustainable! Just
goes to show that you can make a differ-ence.
LICH and ASLA representatives
attended the Governor’s bill signing on
August 26th of Senate Bill 454 Relating
to Water Conservation by encourag-ing
the use of graywater for irrigation
purposes. Graywater is wastewater
generated from domestic activities such
as laundry or bathing, which can be re-cycled
on-site for uses such as landscape
irrigation. Graywater usage is essential
with the rising cost of water & sewer,
increase in population & strains on
water supply and the high cost of energy
to transport water. It saves our precious
water for human consumption. Senator
Solomon is a true leader and really made
this change happen. Mahalo nui loa.
NOV/DEC
Theme: Herbicides,
Insecticides & Fertilizers/
Sustainability Awards
Story Deadline:
October 18th
JAN/FEB 2014
Theme: Low Impact
Development
Story Deadline:
December 13th
MAR/APR 2014
Theme: Erosion Control
Story Deadline:
February 7th
Bisch has 18
years of experi-ence
in sales
and market-ing
and visual
merchandising
where she most
recently served as
an independent
contractor for
Hawaii-based
clientele. Prior to
that, she served as sales and marketing
manager for Ultimate Innovations and
Hawaiian Earth Products where she was
responsible for all outside and inside
sales, generating leads, growing its client
base, and developing contracts for vari-ous
projects
Liana Bisch
Hawaiiscape.com
Calendar of Events
Sep 20
Tress and the Law
Ala Wai Golf Course, Honolulu
Sep 21
The Outdoor Room
Lyon Arboretum, Honolulu
Oct 4
Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian
Range & Agriculture Festival
Hilton Waikoloa Village, Big Island
Oct 10
LICH Conference & Tradeshow
Neal Blaisdell Center, Honolulu
Oct 12
The Succulent Garden
Lyon Arboretum, Honolulu
Oct 12
Certified Arborist/Certified Tree
Worker Exams
Honolulu, HI

Braving the Storm By Brandon Au
On Friday afternoon,
the weather forecast
was for Tropical Storm
Henriette to move
south of the islands,
bringing an increase in
showers over the weekend.
On a gloomy Saturday morning on Au-gust
10, 2013, at the University of Hawai‘i’s
Waimanalo Research Station, 47 candi-dates
participated in the practical portion
of the Oahu Landscape Industry Certi-fied
Technician (LICT) exam, formerly
known as CLT or Certified Landscape
Technician. Candidates were tested on
situational problems in turf maintenance,
ornamental maintenance, and irrigation.
In addition to the practical portion of
the exam, each candidate took a 2½ hour
written exam, which was held on August
7, 2013, at the Oahu Urban Garden Center
in Pearl City.
There were 19 turf maintenance, 5 orna-mental
maintenance, and 7 irrigation first-time
candidates along with 16 retakes in
various modules. The exam began at 6:00
a.m. in the dark and stormy weather, and
was completed around 3:00 p.m., when the
skies began to clear. It was a blessing to see
that all of the candidates completed their
mission and performed well and safely.
Leading up to the exam, the major-ity
of the candidates attended a general
landscape training course conducted
by the Hawaii Landscape and Irrigation
Contractors Association (HLICA) at the
Oahu Urban Garden Center. Candidates
met a few times a week from 5:00 p.m.
to 8:30 p.m. for classroom training and
an equipment field day on a Saturday for
hands-on training. An additional training
course in advanced irrigation was held
over 2½ days. These courses are intended
to provide general knowledge in land-scaping,
pesticides, horticulture, arbori-culture,
irrigation, and more.
With the retirement of Jay Deputy as
the LICT Administrator, Garrett Webb, of
Kalaoa Gardens on Hawai‘i Island, took
Aolani Yamasato-Gragas taking a
break from the rain (top). Brandon Au
announcing the next round of the test
(right)
the helm for this year’s exam. State Chair
Matt Lyum of Performance Landscapes,
Island Chairs Mike Johnson, LICT, of
Landscape Hawaii, and Brandon Au,
LICT, of Honolulu’s Department of Parks
and Recreation, were responsible for
coordinating the logistics for exam day,
preparing the exam site, and securing and
supervising the judges required to evalu-ate
the performance of each candidate.
The success of this year’s exam was
possible due to the dedicated and hard-working
Section Chairs, JTAs, judges,
and volunteers. All of them took time
out of their busy schedule to help set up
and breakdown their module, worked
together in the spirit of camaraderie, and
had fun meeting new industry people or
catching up with past acquaintances. We
would like to recognize each person and
the business they represent:
Photo: Chris Dacus

Aaron Agsalda LICT, Royal Palm
Construction and
Landscaping
Aaron Swafford LICT, Hawaii
Landscape
Corporation
Allan Schildknecht Pacific Pipe
Company
Andrew Kendall LICT, Kendall
Landscape Services
Aolani Section Chair,
Yamasato-Gragas AGY, LLC
Benny Abrigado LICT, Performance
Landscapes
Bruce Guard Pacific Pipe
Company
Calvin Kalilimoku LICT, Hawaii Job
Corps
Carlton Luka Section Chair, LICT
Charles Winder LICT, National
Memorial Cemetery
of the Pacific at
Punchbowl
Craig Ball JTA, LICT,
Landscape Hawaii
Dale Sato Oahu Urban Garden
Center
Darryl Barbadillo LICT, Landscape
Hawaii
David Haili LICT, Landscape
Hawaii
Dwight Fogle LICT, BYU Hawaii
Erwin Amigo LICT, Starwood
Hotels and Resorts
Henry Miner LICT, Hawaii
Landscape
Corporation
Jason Ezell Imua Landscaping
Co. Inc.
Jim Kinney Section Chair,
HISCO
Karen Ostborg Landscape Industry
Council of Hawaii
Kenneth Combs LICT
Lauro Nilo LICT, LPN
Landscaping
Madeleine Shaw Hawaii Landscape
and Irrigation
Contractors
Association
Marge Chikamoto Pacific Agricultural
Sales and Services
Mark Isobe LICT, Hawaii
Convention Center
Mark Magarifugi LICT, Ohana Nui
Management
Micah Furuyama Green Thumb
MJ Fogarty HISCO
Nicholas Huntsman Performance
Landscapes
Norman Allen JTA, LICT, Royal
Palm Construction
and Landscaping
Rey Ito The Green Doctor
of Hawaii
Richard Tomisa LICT, Cardinal
Maintenance Service
Rob Dunford Crop Production
Services
Rodney Nakashima LICT, Starwood
Hotels and Resorts
Rudy Laforga LICT, KN Lawn
Service
Seamas Mercado LICT
Steve Ebisuya LICT, Doris Duke
Foundation
Steve Nimz Steve Nimz and
Associates, LLC
Sunsiree Nauka LICT, KN Lawn
Service
The LICT program was delighted again
by the participation from loyal LICH
sponsors. To address the call of hungry
candidates, judges, and volunteers, a
plate lunch buffet was provided by Rob
Dunford from Crop Production Services
for the mandatory judge’s meeting held
on Friday, an abundance of snacks, water,
and assorted beverages for exam day were
contributed by Marge Chikamoto from
Pacific Agricultural Sales and Services,
and a BBQ lunch buffet was prepared at
the exam site by Leonard Smith and the
guys from Ness Turf Equipment/Haw-
thorne. In addition, a $100 dining credit,
compliments of Starwood Hotels and
Resorts, arranged by Randy Liu, LICT,
and a donation from See Ba Thee from
Ali‘i Turf were prizes for the drawing held
at the judge’s meeting.
Major sponsors who provided dona-
Mahalo to the generous sponsors
who made the LICT exam possible

14 LANDSCAPE HAWAII SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2013 NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE
there is a Z9 built for you.
Z900 B SERIES Z900 R SERIES
Introducing the
New ZTrak 900 Series Mowers
Meet the mowers designed with you in mind. Our new
Z900 B, M, and R Series mowers are three distinctly
different machines, with features aimed at every type
of commercial customer. The B Series has essential
features at a price that will surprise you. The M Series is
for those with fleets who demand efficiency. And the
R Series was created for those who want the ultimate
in features.
Call your John Deere dealer today and discover which
one is right for your business.
Z900 M SERIES JohnDeere.com/MowPro
55144
AMERICAN MACHINERY
111 SILVA STREET
HILO, HI 96720
(808) 961-6673
AMERICAN MACHINERY
3651 F LALA ROAD
BUILDING #2
LIHUE KAUAI, HI 96766
(808) 246-0097
AMERICAN MACHINERY
485 WAIALE ROAD
WAILUKU, HI 96793
(808) 242-4664
AMERICAN MACHINERY
91-1831 FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVEL
KAPOLEI, HI 96707
(808) 682-8282
B0S030FCU1B55144- 00397017
Jim Kenney with his fashion first
umbrella!
tions, including equipment rental and
materials used for the exam, were B. Hay-man
Company, Diamond Head Sprinkler
Supply, HISCO, Hawaiian Rent All, Koba’s
Nursery, Landscape Equipment and
Supply, Landscape Hawaii, Pacific Pipe
Company, Southern Turf Hawaii, and the
University of Hawai‘i’s College of Tropi-cal
Agriculture and Human Resources
(CTAHR).
At the end of the long, drenched, and
rigorous day, 14 candidates successfully
completed all of requirements needed to
achieve an LICT certification. Obtaining
an LICT certification demonstrates that
the candidate is competent and com-prehends
the basic knowledge of land-scaping.
This is a stepping stone for the
candidate to broaden their skill level and
work towards a greater understanding of
the industry. Newly certified LICTs are
listed below:
Turf Maintenance
Charles Watson Hawaii Job Corps
Darryl Barbadillo Landscape Hawaii
Edgardo S. Armas LPN Landscaping
and Tree Service
Jeffrey Paradise Landscape
Baguio-Lameg Maintenance
Roderick Sanchez Self Employed
Ronald E. DeSilva Landscape Hawaii
Ross K. Shiroma Landscape Hawaii
Willis Sanchez Professional
Landscape
Management
Ornamental Maintenance
Roxane Orian Cardinal Maintenance
Services
Irrigation
Alexander Wietecha AM Landscaping
Benjamin Sahagun Hawaiian Turfgrass
Jason Ezell
LICT is a national certification ad-ministered
by PLANET, Professional
Landcare Network, which represents
more than 100,000 landscape industry
professionals across America. In Hawai‘i,
there are over 250 LICTs with multiple
certifications. The LICT program started
in Hawai‘i in 1999.
Brandon Au is the head of the Nursery
and Landscape Section for the City’s Depart-ment
of Parks and Recreation, Division of
Urban Forestry, O‘ahu Co-Chair for the
LICT program, and Vice President for LICH.
Kahler Vendiola BYU Hawaii
Mark Takahama Landscape Hawaii

native
COLUMN
RICHARD QUINN
Microlepia speluncae is
a large indigenous na-tive
fern that has great
potential for use in
native landscapes. It
has not been available
for landscape use in Hawaii until recently,
though it is an attractive and relatively easy
fern to grow. Its Hawaiian name is not
known. For convenience, it is locally being
called “palai nui” (big fern).
Native to other pan tropical locations as
well as Hawaii, Palai nui grows in shade or
part-shade, and does best with moderate
Palai nui
An over-looked Native Fern
wind protection. Plant it in good loose soil
with organics. It can tolerate a few hours
of direct sunlight and be fine. It requires
a moderate amount of water, less than
Hapu‘u, more than Kupukupu, but can
be drought tolerant for short periods and
recover. In a typical urban garden setting, it
probably will do best with about three wa-terings
per week. It’s related to Palapalai fern
(Microlepia strigosa), but is bigger and more
open in form. Be aware though that unlike
Palapalai, the Palai nui fern cannot be used
in Haku lei, as the leaf goes limp very quickly
when cut. This gives the plant its other com-mon
name “Limp Leaf Fern”, and is a quick
way to distinguish it from Palapalai.
Palai nui is ultimately a large size fern,
with attractive light green fronds that can
extend over 4 feet in height and spread. It
has a fresh “rain forest” appearance that
will add a touch of lushness and coolness to
the garden. It is Rhizome creeping, so give
it some room and let it crawl, or plan on
taking root cuttings from established plants
as they grow (divide the rhizome where it
forks), to propagate it for use elsewhere, or
See PALAI NUI on page 23
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 30-40 YEAR LIFESPAN
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
FUTURA STONE OF HAWAII
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Hawaiian Endemic Hibiscus
By LIZ HUPPMAN
Some of Hawai‘i’s most color-ful
endemic species belong to
the genus Hibiscus. However,
the actual number of these
species and their relation-ships
to each other has been
disputed by various botanists and horti-culturists
for the past 100 years. The most
recently published complete taxonomic
treatment of Hawaiian Hibiscus was by
Bates in the Manual of the Flowering
Plants of Hawaii (1990). This treatment
was based on morphological characters, as
were all the previous treatments, but there
continued to be disagreement over species
boundaries after this publication.
In an effort to clarify species relation-ships
in endemic Hawaiian Hibiscus I
recently concluded a genetic study using
Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA
(RAPD) markers. The results of this study
indicate that the Hawaiian members of
the taxonomic section Lilibiscus (the red/
orange-flowered and white-flowered
plants) should all be considered separate
species. At this time I do not recommend
any changes for Hawai‘i’s state flower,
H. brackenridgei (section Fur-caria),
but the Makua Oahu
population, discovered in
2000 by Matt Kerr and
Joel Lau, is genetically
different from the
other Oahu popu-lations
and needs further study. See Table
for the recommended name changes, and
species ranges.
Hawaiian Hibiscus are beautiful addi-tions
to urban gardens and do best when
grown in conditions similar to their native
habitats. Most native hibiscus are eas-ily
propagated by cuttings, air-layers or
by seed. Cuttings of H. hannerae and H.
kahilii are sometimes difficult to root but
they both grow easily from seed. All five
white-flowered species (H. arnottianus, H.
hannerae, H. immaculatus, H. punaluuen-sis
and H. waimeae)
have fragrant flowers
but some individual
plants have a stronger
scent than others and
most people agree
that H. waimeae is the most
fragrant. In the wild the native
white-flowered species grow to
be trees (up to 25 feet tall). The
red-flowered H. clayi, H. kahilii
and H. kokio, and the orange- or
rarely yellow-flowered H. saintjohnia-nus
are shrubs or small trees. Hibiscus
brackenridgei subspecies bracken-ridgei
is a shrub or small tree and
the larger H. brackenridgei sub-species
mokuleianus is a tree. All
of these species can be pruned to
achieve the desired height.
Hawaiian endemic
hibiscus species are
relatively long-lived trees
or shrubs except H. bracken-ridgei,
which may only live a few years.
Unfortunately, all their habitats, not only
those of the endangered Hibiscus species,
are threatened today by invasive plants,
insects and rodents, pigs that destroy for-est
understory, the probable extinction of
all or some of their pollinators, and dam-age
from fires and severe storms. Most of
their populations are relatively small and
isolated from other populations of the
same species. They are found in pockets
of remnant native forest scattered around
the islands. Natural recruitment was rare
in all the wild populations I visited while
collecting plant material for this research.
Very few seedlings or saplings were
observed. Conservation measures are un-derway
to preserve the federally listed en-dangered
Hawaiian Hibiscus species but
the long term prognosis for the unlisted
species should also be considered before
they all reach critically low numbers and
loss of genetic diversity. Most of these
species are available now in the nursery
trade. Making these species accessible to
the public helps to increase appreciation
for the amazing diversity of Hawaiian
plants and also helps to spread awareness
of the problems that these plants face now
and in the future.
Liz Huppman is a horticulturist
at Lyon Arboretum and a recent
recipient of a PhD in horticulture
from the University of Hawaii at
Manoa. Congratulations Liz!
Photo courtesy of Liz Huppman
H. kokio subsp. saintjohnianus H. waimeae subsp. waimeae

H. arnottianus H. clayi H. kokio subsp. kokio
H. brackenridgei subsp. brackenridgei H. waimeae subsp. hannerae H. kokio subsp. kokio
H. brackenridgei subsp. mokuleianus H. arnottianus subsp. immaculatus H. arnottianus subsp. punaluuensis
Bates (1990) Huppman (2013) Island Flower Color Habitat
H. arnottianus subsp. arnottianus H. arnottianus O‘ahu white mesic-wet
H. arnottianus subsp. immaculatus * H. immaculatus * Moloka‘i white wet
H. arnottianus subsp. punaluuensis H. punaluuensis O‘ahu white wet
H. clayi * H. clayi * Kaua‘i red dry
H. kokio subsp. kokio H. kokio All Main Islands red mesic-wet
H. kokio subsp. kokio H. kahilii Kaua‘i red/pink wet
H. kokio subsp. saintjohnianus H. saintjohnianus Kaua‘i orange/yellow dry-mesic
H. waimeae subsp. hannerae * H. hannerae * Kaua‘i white wet
H. waimeae subsp. waimeae H. waimeae Kaua‘i white mesic
H. brackenridgei subsp. brackenridgei * same Hawai‘i, Lana‘i yellow dry
Maui, Moloka‘i
H. brackenridgei subsp. mokuleianus * same O‘ahu yellow dry
* Species in red are federally listed as endangered
THE VOICE OF HAWAI’S GREEN INDUSTRY Hawaiiscape.com 17

LMT classes AND LICT test held in Kona
The Hawaii Island Land-scape
Association (HILA)
has met one of its mission
statement objectives of
providing educational op-portunities
for Big Island
landscapers and Green Industry members
by holding both its Landscape Mainte-nance
Training (LMT) class series and a
written and field test for the Landscape
Industry Certified Technician (LICT)
designation.
HILA offered our popular and success-ful
Landscape Maintenance Training
classes at the Hapuna Beach Prince hotel
conference center, a ten-week course that
began in early April 2013. This educational
series aims to provide a solid technical
base in landscaping for individuals who
want to increase their knowledge or who
are interested in the Landscape Industry
Certified Technician (LICT) designation.
Ty McDonald did another excellent job of
organizing and conducting these infor-mative
and educational classes.
HILA then held our Landscape Industry
Certified Technician written test at Hua-lalai
Resort on June 27th, and a field exam
at Kealakehe High School on June 29th,
with 18 first time candidates participating
in the Ornamental Maintenance exam.
Nine of the candidates were certified,
with 2 candidates certified on problem
retakes. This certification fulfills HILA’s
mission to raise the bar of horticulture
expertise on the Big Island through our
education programs and LICT testing and
certification.
The field of candidates was excellent
this year. 128 field problems were given on
test day, with only four problems where
candidates scored less than the 70%
passing grade. HILA would like to extend
our mahalo and congratulations to all
our candidates for your dedication, hard
work and excellent results. Candidates
achieving LICT Ornamental Maintenance
Certification are as follows:
Caz DiMarco Hawaii Lawn and
Landscape
Kerry Wells Bodhi Creative
Gardening
Bill Bear Alii Lani Townhomes
By Christopher McCullough
Kona LICT Candidates, Caz DiMarco checking Tree Planting specs with Judges
Wess Shimada, CLT and David Higgins.
Brian Burke Grass Busters
Landscape
Michael Talesfore Hawaiian HMC
Justin Smith Hawaiian HMC
Joshua Greenspan Imua Landscaping
Co. Inc
Kalani Pahinui Imua Landscaping
Co. Inc
Kelly Delmar Proscapes Hawaii Inc
Jeffrey Wooldridge PRES Kona Coast L.P.
Pacific Minthorne Pacific Roots
Landscaping
HILA would also like to thank the
following Green Industry suppliers and
various local businesses who donated
their products and time to make the test
possible and successful: Hawaii Grower’s
Products, Crop Protective Services, Uni-versity
of Hawaii Cooperative Extension
Service, Starbucks, Hualalai Resort, Soil
Plus, Hawaiian Gardens, Kalao Gar-dens,
Service Rentals and Kekani.
HILA also gives our mahalo nui loa
to all our volunteers and judges, for
without their kokua and expertise the
exam would not be possible. The list of
Photo: ERIN LEE
volunteers and judges are as follows: Erin
Lee, John Palos, Bob Tiffany, Lee Wolske,
Ty McDonald, Hugh Landes, Ricci Be-zona,
Christopher McCullough, Winston
Ka’uhane Morton, David Higgins, Wes
Shimada, Ken Puleo and Ken Sugai.
Finally, HILA would like to commend
the CLT/LICT emeritus Garrett Webb for
an outstanding job as chairperson for this
year’s test. Garrett brought his superior
skills of organization to the test and it
really showed in the professional quality
of the event.
HILA sincerely hopes that the skills
learned by our LMT and LICT participants
will positively assist them in their endeav-ors
to beautify our Hawaii Island aina
through their mastery of landscapes skills.
Christopher McCullough is the
President of the Hawaii Island
Landscape Association and a
Board Member of the Landscape
Industry Council of Hawaii, as
well as the Head Horticulturist
for DFI Resources LLC

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‘Ōhi‘a, Ma‘o hau hele,
Wiliwili, Koki‘o
ke‘oke‘o and others
may be considered
as some of the
beloved “rock stars”
among our native Hawaiian landscape
plants. We all love and admire them as they
sing of their beauty. And if the aforemen-tioned
are the stars, than certainly our na-tive
grasses, sedges and rushes can be con-sidered
“the roadies”—not as well known,
but still valued and necessary. Sometimes
underappreciated and even unnoticed,
native grasses, sedges and rushes deserve a
place in our native landscapes.
But, why use grasses, sedges and rushes
in native Hawaiian landscaping? How can
these be incorporated in the landscapes?
Before answering those questions, let’s
briefly get acquainted with grasses, sedges
and rushes as a whole. Grasses, and Sedges
can be roughly divided into two groups:
clumping and spreading. Grasses are
members of Poaceae (Grass family). There
are about fifty or so native species with
over forty Hawaiian endemics, that is to
say, naturally found nowhere else in the
world. Sedges and rushes, also with around
fifty native species, belong to Cyperaceae
(Sedge family). A little over half of these
are endemic to the islands. The difference
between sedges and rushes is best remem-bered
by a simple rule: “Sedges have edges;
Rushes are round.” If you run your hand
along the leaves, you will soon find out the
meaning of that phrase.
So, why use them in a native landscape?
Admittedly, while not admired by all, when
used in a native Hawaiian garden they com-plete
the picture. They add visual texture,
fill in blank areas, and complement the
other trees, shrubs and even groundcovers.
There are other factors to think about too.
Grasses and sedges are for the most part are
drought, heat, wind, and salt tolerant once
established. Their root systems help to deal
with erosion from wind and rain. Rushes
tend to prefer moist or wet conditions
and are great in pond or water features,
helping to keep the water clear and healthy.
Generally, grasses, sedges and rushes are
sun loving, requiring little fertilizer and low
in maintenance. And many have cultural
20 LANDSCAPE HAWAII SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2013 significance as well. Many were essential to
the early Hawaiian way of life.
The following are some examples and
how they can be used.
GRASSES
‘Aki‘aki (Sporobolus virginicus)
Highly salt, heat and wind tolerant.
‘Aki‘aki is a great plant to help retain sand
along coastal areas. Though not suitable as
a turfgrass, it has been suggested that this
native grass could be used for golf course
roughs.
Hilo beach grass (Ischaemum byrone)
An endangered species that is easy to
grow. This non-aggressive spreading grass
can be used with other coastal plants. They
also do well in pots. While xeric by nature,
this grass prefers more moisture than many
other native grasses.
Kākonakona (Panicum torridum)
The feathery greenish-white tuffs dotted
with bright orange stamens and light green
foliage of this grass makes for an attractive
setting among taller coastal natives. Heat,
wind, and salt tolerant. Best planted en
masse to showcase this beautiful grass.
Kāmanomano (Cenchrus agrimoni-oides)
An easy to grow endangered native grass
for use as a partial or full sun ground-cover.
This native grass has been used in
habitat restoration on islands such as on
Kaho‘olawe. The hooked spikelets (fruit) are
a characteristic feature of this rare grass.
Lovegrass (Eragrostis spp.)
The nine native species are either clump-ing
(E. grandis and Kāwelu E. variabilis) or
spreading (E. atropioides) grasses. Excellent
as accent plants or groundcover. Currently,
there are a few Eragrostis species in cultiva-tion
with kāwelu (E. variabilis ) being the
one most encountered. Kāwelu can be used
with a number of native plants in full sun or
open windy locations with minimal water
(xeric). When planted en masse it can also
be used as an effective soil or sand erosion
control.
Pili (Heteropogon contortus)
Early Hawaiians used pili for thatch-ing
roofs and enjoyed its pleasant odor.
This clumping grass can be used as a tall
groundcover and will grow in thick when
planted close together. Pili has been used in
conservation efforts on Kaho‘olawe and as
a roadside grass to “displace invasive species
along local transportation corridors.”*
SEDGES
‘Ahu‘awa (Cyperus javanicus)
The beautiful bluish-green leaves are
enhanced by golden seed heads. A tough,
non-invasive alternative for Umbrella sedge
(Cyperus alternifolius). Can be grown as an
accent or erosion control plant on dry land
or in wet areas.
Mau‘u ‘aki‘aki (Fimbristylis cymosa
subsp. umbello-capitata)
This small sedge is a choice plant for rock
gardens or between paving stones on lightly
Photos: David Eickhoff
Native Hawaiian
Grasses, Sedges & Rushes By DAVE EICKHOF
Away from pedestrian traffic, Sawgrass is a great sedge for large water features
as a back drop or screening plant.

• Specimen Trees in Boxes
• Fruiting Trees
• Palms
• Topiaries
• everything else
in Kona
329-5702
used pathways. It is a good replacement for mondo grass in hot
sunny locations and being a xeric plant they require much less
water too.
Pu‘uka‘a (Cyperus trachysanthos)
This is non-aggressive sedge is great for moist or wet areas.
Does well in water features and ponds. They also do well in pots
with good moisture or saucers underneath. Federally listed as an
endangered species, but is readily available at some native Hawai-ian
plant nurseries. The beautiful new seed heads are a striking
feature of this sedge.
O‘ahu sedge (Carex wahuensis)
A popular clumping sedge that may be used as a medium high
groundcover or as accent plants. They can be use sparingly or en
masse. A great example of mass plantings can be seen at West
O‘ahu Community College in Kapolei.
Sawgrass or ‘Uki (Cladium jamaicense)
The name says it all. The leaves of this water loving indigenous
sedge are very sharp! However, if you’re looking for tall sedge
to use in a larger water feature, than this may be the one you’re
looking for. Use as a backdrop or a type of screen in and around
ponds, preferably away from high pedestrian traffic.
RUSHES
‘Aka‘akai (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani)
With a height of 8 to 10 feet and beautiful blue-green stems,
this rush fails to capture attention. The stalks are suitable as a
screening or a free form hedge in larger water features and ponds.
Kaluhā (Schoenoplectiella juncoides)
An attractive rush that can be used in water features or in pots
with good moisture and good sunlight. A great plant for soggy
areas in the landscape where most other plants would perish.
Kohekohe (Eleocharis obtusa)
Because of its small size, height and its clumping habit it is a
highly recommended for small water features. Kohekohe is an
excellent subject for a pot and saucer combination or an open
topped aquarium with bright lighting. It does not do well in
competition with many other water plants and often slowly gets
crowded out.
Makaloa or Ehu‘awa (Cyperus laevigatus)
This charming short sedge can be used with other native
water-loving plants in smaller water features with limited space.
Early Hawaiians used these rushes to plait mats.
Makai or Kaluhā (Bolboschoenus maritimus)
This sedge grows in soil with a pH 6.0-9.0 in fine clay, silty
loam, or sand and is tolerant of alkaline and saline soils. The
roots form a thick interwoven mass that helps with soil erosion
in wetlands sites and filters waste products from the water.
These are a few examples of the diverse variety among the
native Hawaiian grasses, sedges and rushes. While some may not
always be available at nurseries, it is hoped that we will see them
incorporated more in native Hawaiian landscapes as the “roadies
for the stars.”
* “Pili Grass as Roadside Vegetation” by Joe DeFrank and Scott
Lukas in Hawaii Landscape, February/March 2012
David Eickhoff has enjoyed learning, propagating
and growing native Hawaiian plants for over 30
years. He currently works as a researcher for the
Native Plants Hawai‘i website http://nativeplants.
hawaii.edu/.

low hanging
FRUIT
Of all the fruits I
Biriba: ADAM M. WILLIAMS
have ever had
the good fortune
of trying, the
Biriba is
probably my
22 LANDSCAPE HAWAII SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2013 absolute favorite. Its hard to
pick just one because there is so
much variety out there, so many
different textures and tastes, but
if I had to pick one this would be
it. I was first introduced to this rare
gem by the name Amazon Custard
Apple, a name that invokes one of the
fruit’s finest qualities, smooth creamy
custard. But after making various inqui-ries
and conducting some more in-depth
(though informal) research, it appears that
name is not so widely used for this particu-lar
fruit. And just as well, for I detest the
widespread application of anglicized fruit
names to ultra exotics bearing no close re-semblance
or relationship, in this case, to
an apple. Custard-like, yes. Apple, not even
close. So let me back up a little further.
Magnoliales, that’s the order. What that
mean? Well, yes, it’s distantly related to
a Magnolia. But more importantly, that
means it’s somewhat primitive, or in other
words descended from an older lineage
than other “true” dicotyledonous plants.
The family is Annonaceae, and hope-fully
you will at least recognize its most
well-known and commercially successful
member, the Cherimoya, or Annona cheri-mola.
Originally called Chirimuya by the
indigenous peoples of the South American
Andes, Cherimoya does well at higher el-evations
in the tropics and is much valued
by consumers for its creamy, custard-like
flesh. Less popular but arguably just as deli-cious
are some of its congeners (other spe-cies
sharing the same genus): A. reticulata,
A. squamosa, A. glabra, A. ilama, and several
others – but despite a litany of perfectly
good common names where they are na-tive
in Tropical America, the name custard
apple is generically applied to most of
them (a notable stand-out is the Guabána,
Cherimoya’s
Lesser-Known
Half Cousin
A. muricata,
erroneously
anglicized as the Soursop though actually
quite sweet).
Now, I will agree that a rose by any other
name would smell as sweet, but I still think
a name is important. We must have some
common ground to stand on, some shared
language to agree upon, because apples
are not oranges, and a Biriba is certainly
not an apple! So Biriba is the common
name I’ve come to terms with, apparently
derived from an indigenous language of
South America (Tupi). Just as well, though
I will admit that it doesn’t have a lot appeal
to my ear but I believe this fruit can stand
on its own merits as absolutely delicious
no matter what you call it. Normally I
might insist on referencing a botanical
name, a Latinized binomial description,
which I still strongly recommend using,
especially when dealing with uncommon
plants (where “common” names may not
be so common). But botanists have all
these rules about which botanical name is
the correct one, and well, this fruit used to
have the most perfect name, Rollinia deli-ciosa.
It’s a pleasure to say and couldn’t be
more accurate. Well it turns out someone
gave a less flattering name to the same
plant in the 1800s, and by the immutable
laws of botanical nomenclature and
priority being given to the oldest name,
the delectable and enticing Rollinia
deliciosa has become Rollinia mucosa.
I know, sounds gross, but remember
the Shakespeare rose thing? Trust
me, and lets just stick with calling
it Biriba for now.
While Cherimoya is quite well
known, and some of the other
Annona species somewhat popu-lar
locally, Biriba remains almost
completely unheard of outside
the closed circles of tropical fruit
aficionados and the mercados of
Tropical America. It apparently has
not been successfully commercialized
beyond such local markets, and for good
reason. The medium to large conical fruit,
which can weigh up to 8 pounds (though
frequently much less), is covered with
fleshy protuberances that bruise easily,
quickly turning black as the fruit ripens.
Add to that a shelf life of about a week or
less, and you have a very sensitive fruit
which has not lent itself to commercial
production at any appreciable volume,
let alone globalized shipping. These small
drawbacks, however, are far outweighed
by the outstanding characteristics of the
fruit itself: large, creamy and custard-like,
with a hint of lemon meringue. If you like
Cherimoya, you’ll love Biriba, because the
flavor is at least comparable if not supe-rior,
and the fruit is anywhere from two to
three times as big. This has led to an ever-increasing
popularity among small farmers
and backyard growers, despite a relatively
non-existent commercial market.
Keep in mind, presently there are still
very few selected varieties. Much work re-mains
to be done through selective breed-ing
and cultivar improvement programs.
The fruit quality can be somewhat vari-able,
and a number of previously different
species are included within the current
circumscription of the species, Rollinia
mucosa. Native from southern Mexico to

Biriba (Rollinia mucosa)
the Amazon, there is a lot of genetic varia-tion
lumped within this species. Though
some cite the Brazilian Amazon as the
home of this wonderful fruit (indeed, that
was my impression before researching), as
it is currently described it is native across a
much wider Tropical American range.
Within the fruit are numerous shiny
black seeds; these can be used to propa-gate
the plant and should be planted fresh
and not stored. Nicking the seed coat will
speed up germination, but be careful not
to damage the embryo within. Unless you
have multiple varieties of Biriba growing
near each other, propagtion by seed works
great as the perfect flowers are self compat-ible
and the resulting seed will come true.
If outcrossing is an issue, it is reported that
propagation can also be by airlayer or graft-ing
to perpetuate a superior genotype.
The tree itself is generally considered
fast growing, reaching heights of fifteen
to fifty feet, but is often much smaller in
Hawai‘i. Well drained, fertile soils plus
regular water are necessary for healthy,
vigorous growth. From seed, fruiting can
occur in as little as three years, with an-nual
harvests on mature trees sometimes
exceeding fifty fruits a year under ideal
growing conditions. Regular water with
good drainage is essential, but the trees
will also benefit greatly from wind protec-tion.
They thrive in full sun, with typical
humid, hot tropical conditions, and do not
tolerate cold temperatures or freezing.
A number of pests and diseases can
hinder the cultivation of this handsome
tree, but can be avoided or minimized by
choosing an appropriate, sheltered loca-tion
and using proper pre-planting prepa-ration.
Poor draining soils are almost
guaranteed to lead to fungal diseases,
and should be avoided or amended. Twig
Photos: ADAM M. WILLIAMS
borers can cause branch and stem die-back,
especially in drought stressed trees.
Affected branches should be pruned off
and disposed of off-site. Common garden
pests such as white flies and mealy bugs
may also afflict your Biriba tree and, in
severe cases, can be dealt with by applying
topical insecticides. Regular fertilization to
support the tree’s vigorous growth is also
recommended.
Look for these fabulous fruits at your
local farmer’s markets or natural food gro-cers,
as they slowly start to become more
widely available. If you have an opportu-nity
to try the fruit, don’t pass it up! To
purchase trees for your back yard, you can
call Frankie’s Nursery on O‘ahu at (808)-
259-8737, or contact Ken Love on Hawai‘i
Island (ken@mycoffee.net). The fruit tree
nursery wholesaler Plant It Hawaii also
has Biriba listed on their website as one of
the many fruit trees they offer. For a list
of retailers they distribute to, please visit
http://plantithawaii.com/our-retailers/.
With a short shelf life and sensitivity to
bruising, the Biriba may not be the next
commercial success. But considering how
truly delicious this rare fruit is, there’s no
good reason that it shouldn’t be grown
widely across the many suitable microcli-mates
that Hawai‘i has to offer. Though
uncommon and hard to find now, I hope
to see this delicacy become more abundant
as word of its heavenly fruits with lemon
custard flesh steadily spreads, and as
backyard growers along with small farmers
increase its cultivation across the state.
Adam M. Williams is an
avid gardener, native plant
advocate, and tropical fruit
enthusiast.
PALAI NUI
Continued from page 15
to give it to lucky friends. Since it has
a loose open character, a good layer of
mulch topdressing will help to hide bare
dirt beneath it and give it a more finished
appearance, not to mention all the addi-tion
benefits of mulch in general.
Like some other native Hawaiian ferns,
Palai nui doesn’t seem to be bothered
much by pests. Watch for caterpillars
or snails, and plant it where it won’t get
trampled by people or pets. Any fertilizer
labeled for foliage plants can work for
ferns, but use half the amount recom-mended
on the label per application.
Besides being an attractive landscape
plant, native ferns like Palai nui can be
an important component of an ecosys-tem
approach to using native plants in
landscaping. Native fern roots and fern
leaf litter form important associations
with mycorrhizae and bacteria that
presumably could help to create a soil
profile that could benefit other native
plants.
Palai nui can be observed in the wild
in the Wai‘anae Mountains on Oahu
between 480-1280m elevations. It’s also
native to Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i.
The availability of Microlepia spelun-cae
for landscape use is limited. It can be
found at plant sales that include native
Hawaiian ferns, such as the spring and
fall Lyon Arboretum and Foster Botani-cal
Garden plant sales, where it is offered
by Kay Lynch of Lā‘au Hawai‘i, the native
fern research nursery (Next sale: Lyon
Arboretum Fall Plant Sale, Saturday,
Nov. 23rd). It can be seen growing as
an understory fern (with several other
native ferns) in the native plant garden
at the Shidler College of Business, UH
Mānoa. Hopefully, we’ll see it become
more available as designers and nurseries
discover the contribution it can make to
native landscapes.
With its fresh green and robust ap-pearance,
Palai nui has become one of
my favorite plants to give a lush tropical
feel to the understory of a native garden.
Richard Quinn is a landscape architect
and is a principal in the firm of Helber
Hastert & Fee Planners. He has over 30
years of experience with landscape design in
Hawaii and has a special interest in the use
of native Hawaiian plants in landscaping.’
and author foti

pest
COLUMN
Acacia koa Pests and Diseases of
Koa (Acacia koa), meaning
‘warrior’ in the Hawai-ian
language, is Hawaii’s
iconic tree. However,
most Hawaii residents
probably can’t recognize
24 LANDSCAPE HAWAII SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2013 a koa tree. Unlike its hardy cousin the
monkeypod (Samanea saman), koa is
seldom planted in landscape settings
because it is susceptible to injuries, dis-eases,
and pests.
The thin bark on young koa trees is
easily injured by lawnmowers and weed
whackers. Once injured, rot tends to
set in and the tree’s days are numbered.
Death is even faster if an injured trunk
is sprayed with herbicides. As with most
fragile trees, it is best to apply a wide
band of mulch and keep weed-eating
implements away.
Koa is a mountain tree and grows best
between 2,000 and 7,000 feet elevation.
At lower elevations (where most of the
human population resides), koa often
succumbs to fungal diseases, particularly
koa wilt, a vascular wilt disease caused by
Fusarium oxysporum. While research is
under way to develop wilt-tolerant lines
of koa for planting at low elevations,
reliable results are years away. Fusarium
is not the only plant-pathogenic fungus
affecting koa, however. Pythium and
other root rots are common, as are root
knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.). Root
rots are particularly a problem on poorly
drained sites. Several koa rusts (e.g.,
Ateoclauda digitata) may cause deforma-tion
and “witches’ brooms” but as native
diseases on a native tree are not fatal.
The black twig borer (Xylosandrus
compactus) is the most common in-sect
attacking koa at lower elevations.
Symptoms are easily recognizable: A
single twig will collapse, wilt and die back
beyond the point where a beetle creates
a bore hole, which is the size of a pencil
lead’s diameter. The black twig borer is
best managed by periodic pruning and
removal of affected twigs. The acacia
psyllid (Acizzia uncatoides) can infest koa
plantations in great numbers and cause
dieback of terminal leaders, leading to
branchy, poorly formed trees. Systemic
insecticides may provide some protection
in areas where the psyllid is a problem.
An outbreak of the koa moth (Scotory-thra
paludicola) on the Big Island in 2013
reminded koa growers of the damage
potentially caused by this native insect,
which defoliated tens of thousands of
acres of koa this year. Fortunately, out-breaks
of the koa moth occur rarely.
Damaged or multiple leaders or mal-formed
branches can be pruned if caught
early enough so they can be removed
by clipping. Once branches have grown
enough to require a saw for removal, it
is probably too late to prune them, as
wounds in the wood of koa trees allow
entry of wood-rotting fungi.
Koa’s congener koaia (Acacia koaia)
may be a better choice than koa for land-scapes.
Koaia is native to dry, leeward
forests and is a smaller, more compact,
and more drought tolerant tree. More
importantly, it seems more tolerant
to diseases such as koa wilt. Although
koa may only live 5 to 20 years in urban
lowland settings and may never de-velop
into the huge spreading tree seen
in the forest, there is still educational
value in planting this endemic tree. At
schoolyard or demonstration plantings
especially, generations of children will be
able to see what koa and develop a con-nection
with our forests.
J. B. Friday is Extension
Forester with the Univer-sity
of Hawai‘i Coopera-tive
Extension Service,
jbfriday@hawaii.edu,
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.
edu/forestry
References
Baker, P., P. G. Scowcroft, and J. J. Ewel. 2009.
Koa (Acacia koa) Ecology and Silviculture, USDA
Forest Service, General Technical Report PSW-GTR-
211. http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/
documents/psw_gtr211/psw_gtr211.pdf
Elevitch, C. R., K. Wilkinson, and J. B. Friday.
2006. Acacia koa (koa). Pp. 1-28 in: Elevitch,
C. R., ed. Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands.
Permanent Agriculture Resources, Hōlualoa, HI.
http://agroforestry.net/tti/Acacia-koa.pdf
Friday, J. B. 2010. Farm and Forestry Produc-tion
and Marketing Profile for Koa (Acacia koa).
In: Elevitch, C.R. (ed.). Specialty Crops for Pacific
Island Agroforestry. Permanent Agriculture
Resources (PAR), Holualoa, Hawai‘i. http://www.
agroforestry.net/scps/Koa_specialty_crop.pdf
Friday, J. B. and Dudley, N. Koa wilt. Univer-sity
of Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agriculutre
and Human Resources, Cooperative Extension
Service. http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/
disease/koa_wilt.html
Gardner, D.E. 1996. Acacia koa: A review of
its diseases and associated fungi. University of
Hawai‘i Department of Botany. http://www.
botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/gardner/diseases/
koa%20diseases%20and%20associated%20fungi/
koa%20diseases%20and%20associated%20fungi.
html
Hawai ‘i Department of Land and Natural
Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Koa
moth fact sheet May 2013. http://hawaii.gov/
dlnr/dofaw/announcements/2013/koa_moth_
fact_sheet_May2013.pdf
Nelson, S. Koa pest and disease image gallery.
University of Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agricul-utre
and Human Resources, Department of Plant
Protection and Environmental Sciences. http://
www.hawaiiplantdisease.net/Koa-diseases.php
Nelson, S. 2009. Rusts of Acacia koa: Atelo-cauda
digitata (Gall Rust). PD-63. University of
Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agriculutre and Hu-man
Resources, Department of Plant Protection
and Environmental Sciences. http://www.ctahr.
hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/PD-63.pdf
J.B. Friday

turf Brief Introduction
COLUMN
ZHIQIANG CHENG, Ph.D.
Broadly speaking, major
turf pests include insects,
weeds, and fungal diseases.
In addition to these above,
bacteria/virus diseases,
plant-parasitic nematodes,
slugs, as well as some “secondary” pests
also affect turf growth and quality.
Some common insect pests in turf
include chinch bugs, billbugs, white grubs,
whiteflies, armyworms, cutworms, and
webworms. Most weeds associated with
turf can be categorized as broadleaf weeds
or grassy weeds. In some situations where
long-standing water body exists (such
as ponds in golf courses), aquatic weeds
should also be controlled, such as Duck-weeds
and Azolla. Some common fungal
diseases in turf include Dollar Spot, Brown
Patch, Rusts, Leaf Spot, and Fairy Ring.
The “secondary” pests oftentimes refer
to animals such as raccoons or birds that
cause physical damages to turf areas by
digging worms/grubs in soil.
Knowledge on biology, ecology, and
damages of various pests is essential for
a turf IPM program to succeed. Once an
acceptable threshold is set, monitoring
and early detection are critical in order
to timely choose effective approach to
control target pests (Figure 1).
Biological control. By definition,
biological control means reduction of pest
populations using naturally-occurring or
introduced biological enemies, includ-ing
predators, parasites, and/or diseases.
Currently, scientists are evaluating many
biological control agents. I will briefly talk
about two examples here.
Entomopathogenic nematodes. Ento-mopathogenic
nematodes (EPNs) have
broad pest host range, and can control
some common turf pests in Hawaii, such
as webworms, cutworks, armyworms, and
billbugs, at accepted efficacy (particularly
for lawns). Heterorhabditis bacteriophora
on Turfgrass IPM
(Part II)
and Stein-ernema
carpocapsae
are commonly
available/used. In fact, Steinernema
carpocapsae has been registered to use in
Hawaii. The main advantages of EPNs
include: broad pest host range; rapid kill;
mass production; possible to use conven-tional
application equipment; and safety.
However, the cost of production, shelf life,
and sensitivity to environment make EPNs
not widely used so far.
Beneficial endophytes. Endophytic turf-grass
has been mentioned briefly in Part I
in the July/August 2013 issue of Landscape
Hawaii, but here we will talk more about
the endophytes, which are beneficial fungi
associated with certain turfgrass species.
These fungi produce alkaloids (highly con-centrated
in above-ground tissues), which
are direct toxin or feeding deterrents to
some surface insects, such as Webworms,
Chinch bugs, and adult Billbugs. One of
my studies has shown that some organic
fertilizers resulted in high alkaloid contents
in turfgrass shoots (Cheng et al., 2010). En-dophytes
are present in turf seed of certain
cultivars and are passed along from genera-tion
to generation. However, no warm-sea-son
turfgrass species has been confirmed
to be associated with beneficial endophytes
yet. This is worthwhile researching on.
Chemical control. Contrary to some
beliefs, chemical pesticides are oftentimes
a necessary part of a turf IPM program
to maintain a pest population below the
predetermined aesthetic or economic
threshold. They should be selected and
applied responsibly to avoid health risks to
living organisms other than those targeted
though.
In general, chemical pesticides that have
low toxicity, are effective against target
pest(s), and have the least persistence
should be selected. If possible, avoid using
(Figure 1) highly toxic, persistent, broad-spectrum
pesticides. Effective
application methods and timing
are also important. To reduce the
amount of pesticides applied, make
spot applications only to areas where
pest situation surpasses the set threshold,
rather than broadcast applications to the
entire turf area. This is one of the major
differences between IPM and conventional
pest management in terms of pesticide
application. The use of preventive pesti-cides
should be limited to situations where
regular pest invasions are guaranteed.
To summarize, many issues caused by
insects, weeds, and diseases can be mini-mized
or even prevented by establishing
and managing turf properly. Maintaining
a healthy turf is the best weapon to fight
against many insects, weeds, and diseases.
If possible, try to manage turf through
a system approach: give cultural, me-chanical,
and bio-control approaches a try.
When unsure about your turf problems,
seek help from experts/turf extension/etc.
prior to major actions.
Zhiqiang Cheng, Ph.D. is
Assistant Specialist with the
Department of Plant and
Environmental Protection
Sciences, CTAHR University
of Hawaii at Manoa.
Further Readings
Schumann, G.L., P.J Vittum, M.L. Elliot, and P.P Cobb
(1997) IPM Handbook for Golf Courses. Ann Arbor
Press, Chelsea, MI.
Cheng, Z., S.O. Salminen, and P.S. Grewal. 2010.
Effect of organic fertilizers on the greening qual-ity,
shoot and root growth, and shoot nutrient and
alkaloid contents of turf-type endophytic tall fescue,
Festuca arundinacea. Annals of Applied Biology, 156:
25-37.
Zhiqiang Cheng, Ph.D. is with the Department
of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences,
CTAHR University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu,
HI 96822

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