Hapu'u Pulu: How low can it go?

[Mitzi M]

I'm trying to figure out the elevation "limits" of hapu'u in lower Puna. I heard from a pretty reliable source that historically it ranged all the way down to just before the salt spray here. I've seen it healthy well makai of Pahoa and even a couple in Kaimu. I know they'll need some shade here where it's warmer and maybe supplemental water. It would be great to return some of them to part of their former range, but their numbers have been so drastically reduced that I'd hate to put them where they'd be doomed. Anyone have luck at lower elevations? (200-300'- Kalapana, Kehena, lower Opihikao, Kapoho, Hawaiian Beaches?)

[jdirgo]

I have healthy (really healthy) Hapu'u at my Hilo house and I'm just above and behind the Post Office on Waianuenue, so maybe 125' elevation and less than 1000' from Hilo Bay. Granted, it does get more rain than Kalapana-Kapoho area. Hapu'u does need quite a bit of water.

John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Island Trust Properties, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.hawaiirealproperty.com

[Les C]

This might be one of the negative effects of pin to pin clearing, whether by a D9 or by Pele: you take away the vegetation that helps to maintain a certain microclimate and that microclimate changes.

If planting just a few of them isn't successful, you might have a better chance by planting a lot of them to re-create the humidity holding environment. Drive around your area and see what kinds of tree ferns are still growing in your area. You may want to consider something other than hapu'u pulu. 'Ama'u can handle low moisture; it grows in the drier areas of Hawai'i Volcanoes Nat'l Park. But I don't know how low in elevation it does well. Also, it's a smaller tree fern.

[Mitzi M]

Thanks John, Your point is well taken that it's actually really not elevation but rainfall that would be the determining factor. And thanks Les, I think you're right about the microclimate - fortunately, right now I'm lucky to live in an older kipuka with some mature native canopy where humidity is much higher than the adjacent cleared land. Madam Pele will, of course, do as she wishes.. but the D9 pin to pin clearing is a thing I hope to do something to change. I'm interested in preserving the native plants that are left and restoring what used to thrive in an area, but was displaced by invasives - including D9's.(I wonder how many altered microclimates it really takes to alter a "macro" climate?) But I have pets too, and one of them is a very young 'ama'u. I guess it's an experiment! By the way, I noticed that the two lowest elevation hapu'u closest to me are growing inside a couple of stacked old tires. Hmmmmm...extra soil maybe?...

Mahalo,
Mitzi

Uluhe Design
Restoration Based Landscape Design for Hawai'i
uluhedesign@yahoo.com

[Les C]

So, do you use uluhe in your landscape designs? It's probably one of the more aggressive native ferns, but it seems to prefer moist areas. On O'ahu, it was mostly on the wetter ridgetops, my lower legs remember the experience of hiking through the thickets. Of course, if it existed anywhere else there, it was probably removed by the inhabitants.

[Kapohocat]

Are you also using lowland Koa or Kamani in your designs for landscaping near the ocean and how is that working out?

-Cat
Who knows building but has a brown thumb

Catherine Dumond
Blue Water Project Management
808 217-7578
http://bluewaterpm.125mb.com/index.html
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[Mitzi M]

As for the uluhe fern, I think it's a bit too unwieldy for manicured or higher use areas, but I do often encourage folks who have it on their land to leave some of it in the wilder parts of their landscape. It's a wonderful soil builder and it prevents other noxious weeds from getting a foothold. It's reign is fairly temporary though, because it needs about as much sunlight as grass. When you see it blanketing the floor of a forest with developed canopy, it's actually on the way out, as it can't tolerate shade. Unfortunately, efforts to propagate uluhe for reforestation and landscape use have been unsuccessful so far. I know when you're wading through a chest-high uluhe glade it hardly seems like a delicate plant, but in fact, its easily injured and grows back slowly once completely removed. Yet uluhe is a fast colonizer of disturbed land and does a great job preventing erosion and building soil. For this reason it's referred to as the "land-healing fern". (Although its arrogance to assume I could do the job half as well as the plant, that's why I named my practice after it).

As for koa in the lowlands, here are my thoughts... I know that A. koa is found from 300' up where there is enough moisture and soil. There are supposed to be some old ones left just mauka of Hilo. A. koali is rarer, smaller, and found in lower and drier places. I've heard that koa has never ever colonized below 1,200' on Kilauea because it needs deep soil. Having said that, I think it has potential to be a great large landscape tree - even in lower areas, if you can provide enough soil and moisture. It's a fast grower (more than 5' a year when young), it fixes nitrogen in the soil, and it could be pruned, if necessary, to keep it smaller (its normally 50-80'high and up to 40' wide). A word of caution: don't plant it anywhere near structures, pavement or pipes, as the roots will heave and are quite aggressive. With koa, it is best to use seeds or seedlings from the nearest colony or from trees growing in similar conditions (i.e. low and drier). I hear this makes a huge difference in survival rates.

Kamani, a Polynesian introduction, is well adapted to lower elevations. It will even tolerate salt, wind, and some drought, whereas koa will not. It grows moderately fast to 65' with a wider canopy, and will grow in a wide range of soils, but won't tolerate shade or high elevations. It does drop a lot of fruit, which are hard, round ping-pong size balls, so probably not great over a patio, but otherwise its a good, non-invasive tree for lower elevations in Puna.

Uluhe Design
Restoration Based Landscape Design for Hawai'i
uluhedesign@yahoo.com

[Daniel]

Mitzi,

I live in upper HPP 400' elevation and have a wild tree fern growing here. I'm not sure if it is a hapu'u but i beleive so. It is small and was doing well, until i recently moved it. Now its looking more like "dead" than "alive".

Daniel R Diamond

[jdirgo]

Mitzi, if you have a flyer or more information about your landscaping business, I love to have copies. We have people ask us about landscaping services often (and a lot of them ask specifically about planting with endemic species), so I'd love to be able to give them your contact info without having to log in here and search for it.

John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Island Trust Properties, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.hawaiirealproperty.com

[Mitzi M]

Daniel, what you have there may well be a native tree fern. Check out this CTAR link -

http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/FACULTY/CARR/cibotium.htm

They grow very slowly and can be shocked if they are moved. The thing to remember is that our endemic tree ferns can be terrestrial or epiphitic, (which means they may get their water and nutrients from the ground or just from the air.) From what I've learned so far, it may actually vary from plant to plant of the same species. You should water them in drought times, especially just after they've been planted, (maybe 5-10 gallons or like 5 minutes on a slow hose.) The main thing is to be sure to water them from the TOP down, thoroughly drenching the pulu, or downy gold filaments, as well as the soil below. Hapu'u pulu does best in semi-shade or full shade in lower areas. If you moved it from shade to sun, it might be stressed. Its best to try and match the plant's original growing conditions if you can. Either way, a little supplemental water will help.

John, thank you for your interest in what I do. I'll email you directly.

Aloha,
Mitzi

Uluhe Design
Restoration Based Landscape Design for Hawai'i
uluhedesign@yahoo.com