PROJECT RESULTS
"An Assessment of the Supply and Challenges of Cultivating Native Species in Kauai Nurseries"
Abstract
Hawaii currently holds the title of being the “Endangered Species Capital of the World” (Ricordi, 2014, p. 127). In terms of plants, 45% of species listed on the US Fish and Wildlife Federal Register of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants, are from Hawaii (US Fish and Wildlife Service, n.d.). This is due to habitat loss and invasive species competition. Literature has shown that horticulture is one of the major pathways that pests, pathogens, and invasive species are introduced to new landscapes. This pathway, especially in Hawaii, has had a large impact to native species, residents, and the islands’ watersheds, yet screening processes and regulations are less strict than for agricultural imports. Landscape architects and designers are significant influencers when it comes to what is planted in public and private spaces and what nurseries will grow for the industry. Previous surveys with landscape architects and designers showed that their limitation in using native species was availability and knowledge of native plants. Interviews were done on Kauai in November 2019 to better understand what was limiting growers to meet the demands. Results showed mirrored limitations such as plant material source availability, knowledge of growing native species, and the demand for nonnative species from their customers. In order to increase the supply that landscape architects and designers require, greater collaboration and communication needs to occur between both arms of the industry. With current environmental education on the rise and policies encouraging local sourcing, the issues previously observed in the industry can be alleviated once suppliers’ challenges and needs are better understood. Both perspectives are crucial to the goal of saving threatened and endangered species and the environment desired by all resident species.
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Results
Five nurseries were able to be interviewed in November 2019.
Below are the results summarized.
Table 2. Common Responses for Challenges to Growing Native Plants Commercially
Table 3. Number and Percentage of Native Species Grown in Nurseries on Kauai (n=128)
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Defining native
All nurseries agreed on the first question in the interview, which asked to define native. One hundred percent of responses explained that native plants came to Hawaii without human aid and any plants brought by the Polynesians were not considered native but typically called canoe plants or Polynesian introduced.
Plant Species Available
Table 1 shows select native plant species available at nurseries interviewed on Kauai in November 2019. Species that were found in all five nurseries were considered easy to grow, had more source availability, and marketable, since they were in all interviewed nurseries. Species that were found in at least two nurseries were considered more difficult to grow, had less source availability, and less marketable. Since these species are still found in nurseries it is assumed that they are somewhat in demand by landscape architects and designers, for restoration projects, or by individuals.
Clientele Demands
Nurseries and growers were asked who their typical clients were and what those clients’ needs and demands are. “Clientele Demands” was recognized as one of the three challenges to growing natives commercially in the interviews for this research.
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Plant Material Sources
Obtaining native plant material was another common challenge to growing and selling native plants on Kauai. Nurseries expressed lack of seed sources and propagule availability as barriers to growing native species and new varieties. Most nurseries already had established sources on their property, or bought plants from local plant sales or other island nurseries to become their mother stock. A majority of the nurseries would collect seeds from the wild while one nursery would get free seeds from the Kauai Native Plant Society and receive cuttings from their customers or employees. In addition to finding plant material, a few nurseries were also unaware of the rules and laws in Hawaii or thought the rules and laws got in the way for collecting new material.
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Knowledge of Native Plants
Interviewees ranged from beginners to experts on native plant knowledge. Native plant knowledge, such as care, growth, maintenance, and propagation, was a common limiting factor for use of native plants found in previous surveys with landscape architects and designers and seed production companies (Hooper, 2003, p. 32, Peppin, Fulé, Lynn, Mottek-Lucas, & Sieg, 2010, p. 117, Hooper, Endter-Wada, & Johnson, 2008, p. 132, Ricordi, Kaufman, Cox, Criley, & Cheah, 2014, p. 136). Ricordi says, “Although the propagation and care of plants are usually the responsibility of nurseries and landscape contractors, they affect plant selection options for landscape architects as they limit the designer’s plant palette and influence the quality of the landscape after installation” (Ricordi, Kaufman, Cox, Criley, & Cheah, 2014, p. 136-137).
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Conclusion
Previous surveys given to landscape architects and designers indicated that general availability like desired plant size and species, maintenance including care, growth, and propagation, and knowledge of native plants were the most limiting factors to using native species in their projects and work. When finding literature there seemed to be far more written from the perspective of the landscape architects and designers’ use. This research in 2019 attempts to give the supplier’s perspective on limiting factors to growing native plants on Kauai. The results of the 2019 research illustrate that the limitations to increasing supply were due to seed and plant sources, demand for native species, and knowledge of growing and caring for them.
Almost like the chicken or the egg conundrum, landscape designers cannot use native plants if they are not readily available and nurseries cannot grow them if there is no demand or reliable material available.
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As one Kauai nursery expressed actively growing new native varieties for their clients, it will take a greater and consistent demand from the public and private sectors to improve the supply nurseries have available.
It would be beneficial for landscape architects to become better acquainted with nurseries – their challenges and perspectives – since they should work as partners in the industry.
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