Reviews
"I love this book. It is an enjoyable read, encouraging and simplifying koa cultivation. It made me feel less intimidated by this majestic tree. I enjoyed reading about people who are growing and cultivating our native giant.
With Growing Koa as a guide, I feel inspired and empowered to plant koa and to recommend it in plantings for my clients and my students."
Diana Duff
Educational Coordinator
Kona Outdoor Circle and
Hawaii Island Landscape Association
"This is a beautiful and thoughtfully illustrated book for an esteemed Hawaiian native tree."
Dr. Bryce Decker
Director
Tropical Reforestation and Ecosystem Recovery (TREE) Center
"Growing Koa is a beautiful book, well written and organized. The illustrations show koa's remarkable diversity, both in the shape of the trees and leaves and also of the wood quality. The "state of the art" for growing koa is well presented, and the many areas where there are still unknown factors are also discussed."
J. B. Friday
Certified Forester®, Extension Forester
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Contents
Dedication by Hannah Kihalani Springer v
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Koa and Humans 2
What Happened to the Koa
Forests? 3
Koa Wood Today 5
Planting and Perpetuating Koa 6
About the Koa Tree 7
Variability 7
Koa’s Vital Role in Forest Fertility: Nitrogen Fixation 11
Other Native Hawaiian Nitrogen Fixing Trees 12
Environmental Preferences and Tolerances 12
How Big Do Koa Grow? 12
Some Ways People Plant Koa 13
Get Ready to Plant! 13
Planning 15
Who is the Planner? 15
Gathering Information 16
The Planning Process 17
Starting Small 21
Genetic Trials 23
Seeds 25
Genetic Quality 25
Selection Criteria 26
Picking 27
Drying 28
Storage 28
Nursery Practices 29
General Nursery Set-Up 30
Containers 30
Potting Media 31
Mycorrhizal Fungi 31
Getting Seeds to Sprout (Scarification) 32
Sowing 34
An Ancient Partnership: Rhizobia Bacteria and Koa 35
Restoring the Partnership 35
Rhizobia Strains 35
What Are Inoculants? 36
Nursery Care 40
Timing 43
Preparation 45
Protecting the Area 45
Preparing the Planting Site 47
Special Site Preparation 50
Marking the Planting Spots 50
Amending 50
Tree Planting 51
Timing 51
Transporting and Preparing the Seedlings 51
Planting Seedlings 52
Planting Large Koa Seedlings 54
Weed Barrier/Mulch 54
Replanting 55
A Few Guidelines to Keep in Mind 55
Management 57
Watering 57
Weed Control 57
Fertilization 58
Pruning 58
Thinning 59
Pests, Diseases, and Other Damaging Agents 59
Beyond Koa 62
Native Hawaiian Plants 63
Perspectives 65
Nainoa Thompson 65
Benton Keali‘i Pang 67
Candace Lutzow-Felling 69
Heidi Leianuenue Bornhorst 70
Patrick Baker 72
Bart Potter 74
J. B. Friday 78
Nick Dudley 79
Mel Johansen 80
Paul Scowcroft 81
Kelly Greenwell 81
Mark Kimball 82
Kanoa Kimball 83
Sally Rice 84
Ernest Pung 85
Peter D. Simmons 86
Roger G. Skolmen 86
Rob Pacheco 88
Resources 90
People 90
Recommended Reading 91
Agencies 93
Societies and Organizations 94
Trails and Hiking 96
Where to See Koa Trees 96
Web sites 96
References 97
About the Authors 101
About the Sponsors 102
Index 103
Author Biographies
Kim Wilkinson is an editor for The Overstory, an international electronic agroforestry journal with subscribers in over 160 countries. She operates a reforestation nursery on the Big Island of Hawaii. She has B.A. degrees in Anthropology and Ecology from Emory University, and is a Certified Permaculture Consultant (Tyalgum, Australia) and Master Gardener (University of Hawaii).
Craig Elevitch is an Agroforestry Specialist practicing in Hawaii since 1989. He has authored numerous management plans for forestry, forest stewardship, and agroforestry projects for landowners. As the Director of Permanent Agriculture Resources, he has also led many practical agroforestry workshops, training over 600 Pacific Island extension workers and farmers in agroforestry techniques and species choices, as well as coordinating several publicly funded research projects in agroforestry. He is an editor of the international agroforestry journal The Overstory. He has a M.S. degree from Cornell University, and manages the Hawai’iki Agroforestry Project on the Island of Hawaii.
