Posted on: Saturday, November 5, 2005
Made in the shade: Plant a free tree to mark Arbor Day
Advertiser Staff
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Steve Nagano, left, a county agricultural extension agent, and volunteer Traci Hamamoto show off the rows of trees at the Urban Garden Center in Pearl City.
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Hawaiian Electric Co.'s tree giveaways begin at 7 a.m. today (except as noted otherwise): Wai'anae: HECO Kahe Power Plant, 92-200 Farrington Highway Pearl City: Urban Garden Center, 955 Kamehameha Highway Honolulu: Ward Avenue facility, 820 Ward Ave. Kailua: Ko'olau base yard, 1387 Ulupii St. Wahiawa: Wahiawa Botanical Garden, 1396 California Ave. North Shore: Waimea Valley Audubon Center, 59-864 Kamehameha Highway, 9 a.m.Information: 543-5670 |
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Hail, hail, the greenery is all here!
Free potted trees and shrubs small enough to be carried by hand will be given away at many locations in Arbor Day-related events.
But zip out of your pajamas, because giveaways are depleted within a couple of hours.
The variety is tremendous. There will be native plants such as alahe'e, koki'o ke'o ke'o (white hibiscus), koki'o 'ula (red hibiscus), kou, loulu palm, naio (bastard sandalwood), nanu, 'ohi'a lehua, wauke.
There also will be fruit trees, such as calamondin, fig, kaffir lime and improved Meyer lemon.
There will be some exotic plants, such as lechoso, lignum vitae, Manila palm, milo, plumeria, puakenikeni, tiare (Tahitian gardenia).
And there will be patio plants such as areca palm, bamboo palm (chamaedorea), croton, money tree (dracaena) and ti.
Not sure where to plant? Here are tips from the free booklet "The Right Tree for the Right Place," being distributed at Arbor Day tree distribution sites:
Shade the air conditioner.
Shade walls and windows on the sunny sides of a home — but not over roofs and rain gutters. Be sure to prune shrubs growing under windows so they don't block cooling trade winds.
Use the 30-foot rule for power lines: Don't plant a tree that when mature will be 30 or more feet tall within 30 feet of an overhead power line.
Don't plant trees or shrubs on top of underground utility lines, or near them if the plant has invasive roots that could damage the facilities.
Don't plant large trees near driveways, roadways, curbs and sidewalks where their roots may cause damage.
