02-26-2009, 04:40 PM
Well, waiawi makes great cooking/smoking wood for barbecues. The mottled bark is really lovely and I have seen it used in non-load bearing architectural situations (like ornamental pickets for a deck railing) a couple of times. I have noticed that the bugs really go for it once it dries so if you wanted to try that I might start small and would seal it really well right away.
As Rob says, they do re-sprout vigorously. If you are hand clearing, I suggest you try cutting as low to the ground as possible and then painting the stumps with herbicide. I never used manufactured chemicals in the landscape before I moved here. I confess, I even thought that people who did were just lazy. I wish it were different, but I have learned that it's really pretty much impossible to control the invasive plants like waiawi here without using herbicide. I try and use the least toxic ones I can find to do the job and then apply them "surgically" meaning a very tiny dose where it counts - like on the stumps immediately after you cut them.
It's a lot of work but it amounts to good stewardship and possibly a fine barbecue.
Aloha,
Mitzi
As Rob says, they do re-sprout vigorously. If you are hand clearing, I suggest you try cutting as low to the ground as possible and then painting the stumps with herbicide. I never used manufactured chemicals in the landscape before I moved here. I confess, I even thought that people who did were just lazy. I wish it were different, but I have learned that it's really pretty much impossible to control the invasive plants like waiawi here without using herbicide. I try and use the least toxic ones I can find to do the job and then apply them "surgically" meaning a very tiny dose where it counts - like on the stumps immediately after you cut them.
It's a lot of work but it amounts to good stewardship and possibly a fine barbecue.
Aloha,
Mitzi
Uluhe Design
Native Landscape Design
uluhedesign@yahoo.com
Native Landscape Design
uluhedesign@yahoo.com