Ohia rescue

[topograph]

Many of our ohia trees were being choked by ferns, and when exposed, have tall bare trunks with only branches way high up. Is there anything we can do to get branching down lower?

[Andrew]

It's pretty typical for Ohia to have their branches very high up on the tree. I'm pretty sure there is no way to stimulate branch growth lower down.

What you may want to do instead is to plant under-story plants such as Hapuu fern. Ohia and Hapuu grow well together, they are both native and look great.

Andrew

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[Carey]

There are quite a few bushy ohia trees, esp in town yards.... I know that one of our neighbors 'manicures' their planting of a salmon, a red & a yellow ohia...
One of my classmates was working with UH-H's CAFNR on working with native trees to have them more 'landscape' ready... something about dead-heading & stripping.... really this is now way beyond my knowledge.... unless rainbow teddybears are involved...

just found this on leaf stripping... might be what he was doing???
http://mynanninghorticulture.blogspot.co...onsai.html

[Hotzcatz]

The tops of trees grow like their roots. When the roots grow in dirt they can branch out so the limbs above branch out to match. If the ohia are growing in cracks in the lava the limbs above won't branch out because the roots below can't branch out.

[Mitzi M]

In my experience, generally, the younger ohias look the bushiest. As they get older they grow tall, with higher branches unless they're exposed to strong winds, like near the coast. (I'd imagine that this may be nature's version of the pruning method Carey described.) Ohias have evolved along with a rich and diverse understory of smaller trees, shrubs and ferns. Sometimes people think that the uluhe fern, which looks like a vine and often climbs on ohias, is smothering the tree. In fact, these ferns are native and play an important role in soil development and moisture retention. The introduced "trash fern", which looks like the houseplant Boston Fern, does choke out small plants, but if your trees are reasonably taller, then the ferns may at least be helping to conserve moisture in place of the native understory. Drought times like right now are particularly rough on stressed ohias. A couple of ideas to get a bushy, filled out look: try adding some of the native understory trees and shrubs that would have been on your land. Depending where you are and how mature and shady your canopy is, these could include akia, mamaki, maua, and alahe'e. Also, you can wait until it starts to rain some more and try air layering nicely shaped ohia side branches. Eventually you'll have a crop of smaller more filled out trees to fill in the sunnier spots.

Aloha,
Mitzi

[JWFITZ]

I think that take on the ferns is very interesting and borne out in my experience at this point.

One thing really shocking spending time here coming from further north is the evaporation rate, being below in latitude the bulk of the northern hemisphere sulfide smog--its actually pretty scary how dry it gets so very fast. Canopy cover is the only answer to that, and with plants bred to handle the UV. Those are far and few between, but I think we should at this point be very happy for everything green and alive.

[StillHope]

quote:

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Originally posted by Andrew

It's pretty typical for Ohia to have their branches very high up on the tree.

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I guess,I might have to learn to understand why ohia trees considered to be beautiful.
For me they are as beautiful as those huge tall palm treas with little foliage on the top.
It's like naked man in the hat.

Disclaimer. Didn't have a chance to see the prototype)):.

[Carey]

Stillhope, there are some really pretty ohias in our neighborhood, but they have been manicured & such by the neighbors.... More like tallish bushy shrubbery with beautiful lehua in salmon, red & yellow...

[StillHope]

OK,Carey,I admit that the man wearing the hat only could be handsome.

[Carey]

All depends on how they are manicured, trained, & the flowers they are wearing... right?