Drought Resistant Tropicals

[hpp4me]

One of the reasons we bought a lot this summer (actually, we won't officiall own it for another 3 weeks) is to get started on landscaping. We'll be going for a tropical look (lots of palms and such) and would like to get them into the ground, even if we don't actually start construction for another 2-3 years.

There will be no water source. In fact, we'll be on the mainland. Thus anything we plant will have to survive on its own. We will have a young fellow come by once a month to keep the weeds under control.

Can you gardening pros provide some recommendations of plants that will be drought resistant and will give a tropical look and feel to the property?

The lot is on the sunny/dry side of HPP (3rd Avenue.

Thanks!

[leilaniguy]

We spent the 4th at a friends house on 5th st. in HPP that I built and started the landscaping of in 2003. Some of the things that have done well there are plumeria, bouganvillea, brugmansia, ti, dracena, hala, palms, ulu, poinciana, african tulip tree.

[macuu222]

We live on 5th in HPP. Since your lot is not ripped and is lacking additional dirt/cinder....the only way to grow anything is by planting in the lava cracks. Palms are one of the best for growing in cracks and need very little attention. If the crack is large enough you may also want to try a mango tree (we planted one on 5th in a large crack and its now 30 feet tall and producing lots of mangos).Hibiscus and Gardinia also do well.

[missydog1]

good choices given already ...

Plumeria loves the heat and drought.

one I'n not sure if it would make it withoug water is the brugmansia / angel's trumpet. The broadleafed trees wilt quickly if exposed to wind. Tough plant though.

Bougainvillea needs to be trimmed or it will grow in very untidy runners equipped with sharp thorns. I'm not sure I'd put it in and then let it do its thing, but it does survive well without much water. Did I mention the stickers? My son calls it poor man's barbed wire ... good on perimeters.

Aloe vera, puakenikeni tree, Mexican clumping bamboo (otatea azuminata), crown of thorns, lantana, pineapples, allamanda, agapanthus (lily of the nile), spider lilies, oha'i ali'i (dwarf poinciana), penthas ...

Palms, dracaena, crotons, ti, bougainvillea, spider lilies, hibiscus (not so much the new hybrids, but the common tough ones), these are workhorses of Hawai'i dryside gardens, for borders and boundary lines. Other plants in the list make good specimens.

I'm ambivalent about mango trees because they get to 60 feet and dominate the landscape, cutting off other people's views. I like them but kept under control.

[hpp4me]

This is great info, friends! Thanks!

Now, how about DROUGHT RESISTANT FRUIT TREES? You have already mentioned Mangos. What other ones can be planted and left alone for a few years to grow while we wrap up our mainland lives?

And what's the story on coconuts? I've seen a couple of articles on how some new fungus is killing them off in Hawaii. Are there any types that are resistant to this fungus? We'd rather have the short ones that are easily harvested. Not sure what their name is, though.





Edited by - hpp4me on 07/06/2007 04:46:22

[Mitzi M]

Let me recommend Pritchardia affinis, lo'ulu, a member of Hawai'i's only genus of native palms. P. affinis is an endangered species with a small number still surviving in the wild. Their native range is leeward coastal lowlands and south eastern mesic lowlands on the Island of Hawai'i (lower Puna). The majority of wild survivers grow in coastal areas of Kona/Kohala that are likely to be developed in the future. P. affinis is a lovely fan-type palm that grows to 30'-70', and is quite drought tolerant. See link below:

http://www.centerforplantconservation.or...PCNum=9744

This palm grows more slowly than many others (like coconut). Consider it a long term investment in the landscape and a little help for a species on the brink. You can interplant it with faster growing palms to get the look you want sooner, and in a few years the lo'ulu will catch up. You can find this and other Pritchardia palms for sale at Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden and probably a few other local nurserys as well. If you're not going to be around, I recommend that you put a ring of hog or chicken wire around your new plantings to fend off pests and errant weed wackers until they get established.

Aloha,
Mitzi

Uluhe Design
Native Landscape Design
uluhedesign@yahoo.com

[hpp4me]

Thanks, Mitzi. I think we can find room for one or two endangered palms!

The chicken wire suggestion is a good one. Is there a wild pig problem in HPP?

[missydog1]

fruit trees --

citrus can survive with a lot of neglect once established, but baby citrus does require water. I don't know whether the rainfall there will suffice -- maybe.

Avocado trees survive here totally neglected, but again I wouldn't be so confident with a sapling, nor even with a mango.

Most if not all young fruit trees require regular deep waterings until they get a root system established. They also need fertilizer while young. Citrus is a heavy feeder.

Bananas like water, but can be tough.
Papayas -- are pretty tough.

Unless you have made arrangements for a gardener to care for your young crop trees until they are established, I would not make the investment. And your post indicates that's not an option to have a caretaker.

I would start with palms, natives, and the trees and shrubs that were mentioned.

If you plant in the late fall when temps are down and rainfall is up (say November), that would be a lot better than plunking in stuff in August and leaving it to fend for itself.

Best of luck!

A

[hpp4me]

More great advice! Palms now, fruit trees later. Thanks!

[emorata]

I think if you can start establishing your basic background elements, then you can have something to build on when you eventually start to develop your property. It would make sense to start planting in the perimeter portion of your property or other areas that will not be touched by a buldozer so you do not have to deal with transplanting which would be extremely difficult if a plant starts to form and attach itself to rocks underneath.

I would consider base plants things that need time to get establish and get mature and survive off the natural conditions of the environment, this can also include native species. i would consider planting palms (alexander, coconut, manila, kentia,etc) , hardy shrubs (ti plants, princess flowers, gardenias,hibiscus,etc) , tubers ( cannas, heliconias, bananas, etc., certain trees and grasses, most of these can survive on vacant land, but i would take the effort to either put them in openings with more soil put into the hole (pukas) or building earth berms so there will be soil available for the plants to be enriched by and last include enough mulch for the new plantings to have moisture saved during the dryer spells.

I would probably also start planting during the wetter rainy season when you do not have to worry about new plants trying to get established by themselves.