Native Plants

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A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Sunday - January 08, 2012

From: Arlington, TX
Region: Hawaii
Topic: Plant Lists, Planting, Propagation
Title: native plants for landscaping in Honolulu
Answered by: Anne Ruggles

QUESTION:

Hi, wildflower.org has been a great help for me in learning about different plants, their Latin names and characteristics. I was looking for a list of plants (trees, shrubs, ground covers, perennials etc)that do well in Honolulu, Hawaii. I found one in wildflower.org and was a great help. I still am looking for other internet resources that will give me the information about the plants that can be used in landscaping. So could you please help me find those resources. Thank you so much for your consideration

ANSWER:

There are several good sources for learning about landscapig with native plants in Honoluu.

The Board of Water Supply for the City and County of Honolulu has an excellent site that helps you assess the microsite conditions where you want to plant, assessing your soil, water availability, etc. They also have an extensive list of places in Honolulu where you can see native plants growing, sources of where to purchase native plants, and sources to learn about the care of native plants.

The Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Hawaii has an excellent illustrated Brochure by Heidi L. Bornhorst and Fred D. Rauch, Best Native Plants for Landscapes that you can download as a pdf document. Another useful publication by the Cooperative Extension Service is Native Hawaiian Plants for Landscaping, Conservation, and Reforestation by Melvin Wong.

There is a searchable native plant propagation data base at the University of Hawaii website.

The Botanical Gardens of Honolulu are another good source of information about native plants and how to cultivate them.

An older but very informative document is this pdf, How to Plant a Native Hawaiian Gardern.
This handbook provides color photographs, detailed informtion about site preparaton, propogation, and care of many native plants.

Have fun on your project!