Go Native!

When considering plants for your home garden… go native! Native Hawaiian plants are beautiful, beneficial to our ecosystem, tend to be “unthirsty”, and many are becoming extinct.
Where can you get native Hawaiian plants? As many of them are endangered, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT collect them in the wild. You can get them from friends, neighbors, private hobbyists, or your local nursery or garden shop.
There are two categories of “native” plants: Endemic means that these plants came on their own via the ocean currents or carried by the wind. Then over thousands or millions of years they evolved into a plant that is totally unique to Hawaii. Indigenous means, again that they came on their own, but remained unchanged and can be found in other parts of the world.
Plants that are NOT native are those that were brought here by humans. When the early Polynesians came to Hawaii they brought with them plants that they needed to survive. To name a few, “ulu” (breadfruit), “kalo” (taro), and “kukui” (candlenut). Many of these plants have been incorporated into the Hawaii ecosystem. Unfortunately many compete with the native plants and are now considered “invasive”. According to the Hawaii State Alien Species Coordinator (DLNR), the “awapuhi” (white and yellow ginger, commonly used in leis) is on the list of Hawaii’s Most Invasive Horticultural Plants. We at Halawa Xeriscape Garden kindly ask that you do not grow these plants.
At Halawa Xeriscape Garden we highly encourage growing native Hawaiian plants as they are well adapted to growing in our climate and tend not to need a lot of watering. Your garden will show your love of Hawaii if it has the “ma’o hau hele”. A beautiful yellow hibiscus which in 1988 was designated as Hawaii’s state flower. If you want something easy to grow try the “pohinahina”. A sprawling ground cover which is drought, wind, salt, and heat tolerant. It has silvery green leaves which has a pleasant sage-like aroma and clusters of lavender flowers. The early Hawaiians ate the leaves of the “pohinahina” to cure stomach ache and insomnia. Also consider growing the “ohi’a lehua”. Although the most abundant native tree, in recent years hundreds of thousands have died due to a fungal disease referred to as Rapid Ohia Death (ROD). Normally growing in Hawaii’s rain forests, the trees are not necessarily “unthirsty”, but they help to maintain a healthy ecosystem, provides a habitat for native Hawaiian birds and effectively replenishes our aquifers. There is an organization called Ohi’a Legacy Initiative which, in their effort to establish ohi’a trees in residential areas, will from time to time giveaway ohi’a plants.