Another New Palm Garden in East Hawaii

[Rick Kelley]

A few days ago, we suffered another miserable wind storm, basically a tropical storm but with crystal clear blue skies. It is this kind of wind event that burned down Lahaina back in August. Luckily, we are too wet over here to catch fire. The wind was about 40 mph all day with higher gusts. My trees did not enjoy all the exercise. My location might have been particularly hard hit because I have not seen much damage driving around. I never lost electricity. About a dozen large ohi`a trees came crashing down. Most fell without doing much damage, but a few palms were in the path of destruction.  SPLAT!

First, the really bad news. Marojejya is just about my favorite palm, and I have seven in the ground. This particular one is was the most impressive because it was growing in deep shade causing the fronds to stretch especially long. 

 

The canopy was due to a huge mass of Solandra maxima vines growing in the taller ohi`a trees in the background. The vines had smothered the trees years ago. I knew that I needed to somehow remove the very tall dead trees choked with tons of nasty vines before the entire mess can crashing down on my favorite palm. But how? I’d need to get a large truck with a lift bucket to have any chance of safely removing the vines and then the dead ohi`a. This location is not really accessible to large equipment, so I kept procrastinating. Tuesday Mother Nature took decisive action.

When I first found the mass of fallen trees and vines, I had a hard time locating the palm. Then I saw one frond sticking up waving for help. After a day of careful excavation, the search and rescue team found encouraging signs of life.

 

Just as in an earthquake, there were a few miraculous survivors trapped in voids at the bottom of the pile. A cattleya. 

And vanda. I’m sure after some rehab in the orchid hospital, they will make a full recovery. 

After two days of hard work, here is what the Marojejya looks like. The new leaf spear has been knocked off vertical, but my guess is that it will survive. The big problem is that there are three more dead ohi`a trees snapped off 15 ft up still holding a huge mass of vines (upper right).  All of that is suspended directly over another favorite, Licuala peltata var Sumawongii. Not sure I can clear out the vines without crushing the Licuala. 

 

One of many loads of debris heading for the green waste pile. This nasty vine is indestructible, so the only way to kill it short of burning it, is to cover the pile with a heavy tarp. Otherwise it will just root and take over a new area.

Here is the culprit, Solandra maxima. I’m sure somebody thought that this is a beautiful plant that should be introduced to Hawaiian gardens. In reality, it is a horrible, noxious, invasive weed. Nothing kills it.

 

Here is another very sad situation. This Clinostigma samoense was the very first palm I planted eleven years ago, so it has a lot of sentimental significance. Now it is listing about 5-10 degrees. I’d really like to pull it back to vertical with cables, but I don’t think I have anything strong enough to anchor the lines to. I’d hate to have to cut it down, but if I can’t raise it, it is too dangerous to be left as is.

 

Here is a baby Oraniopsis appendiculata taking a nap after the storm. This should not be too hard to get back on its feet.

I have about ten very tall Pigafetta elata that were not bothered by the wind, but oddly this baby was knocked over. I think it should not be too difficult to straighten it back up... as long as I wear gloves. 

This Syagrus botryophora is on death row. This palm has always been unsteady. I had to keep it braced with ropes the first three years in the ground because it was always falling over. It has been doing ok the past couple of years without any support, but now it has a date with the chainsaw. 

And there were some welcome near misses. Here is a tiny Chelyocarpus ulei that narrowly missed getting squashed. It has been very slow to get going for me, but I really wanted one after seeing larger ones in other gardens. 

I’ve probably had around 80-100 tall ohi`a trees blown over in storms over the past eleven years. My fault for thinning out the dense forest when I arrived leaving only widely separated large individuals. These trees depend on their tight neighbors to shield them from wind.  Isolated trees are doomed. A recently introduced fungal disease is killing huge numbers of ohi`a in my neighborhood, and then the wind comes along and knocks over the healthy ones with full crowns that provide maximum wind resistance.

It is a little discouraging to put so much work into the garden only to see parts of it destroyed in one afternoon, but 98% of the palms were fine. Trees are always being lost in any healthy forest. Life will go on. And of course, someday the whole place will be buried under 50 feet of molten lava. When judged against that alternative, a few blown over trees is not all that bad.

 

 

[Hilo Jason]

Sorry to read about and see the damage that your garden saw due to the wind. I remember a friend in Puna messaging me and saying that he hoped our construction project was not affected by the wind that day and here at my place in Hilo it was incredibly still when I received that text. I didn’t even know what he was talking about!  So strange how different the weather can be here just a short distance away. 

I always enjoy reading your updates, thanks for taking the time to post them along with great photos. 

[realarch]

Oh boy Rick, what a mess on your hands. Looks like the Marojejya will pull through, although it might look a bit funky for awhile. The Clino can be replaced and the other stuff can be straightened out.  

Like Jason said above, I didn’t even know there was a wind event, our micro climate in this part of Hilo is somewhat protected…….TG. Wind is what I worry most about on this side of the island. 

Tim

[Brad52]

It’s been bloody windy and super dry here, I’m seeing drought stress starting again…

[Kim]

Sad to see the damage to your garden, but often these tough palms will pull through just fine. Many times I've had trees fall and rip off fronds or land 1/2" to the side of the growing point without resulting in death. In 13 years only 3 palm deaths due to falling ohias although I'd wager I've lost 98% of those trees due to Rapid Ohia Death. Garden went from shady to sunny in a few years.

I arrived on the day of the wind event, and it was quite blustery, but not severe at my place. I've seen worse. I found a couple of trees down, but they were out in the weeds, gratefully, and for all I know might have fallen during the rains preceding the winds. 

Gardening in Hawaii is not as easy as it looks. Good luck, Rick!

[Cindy Adair]

I am so sorry about your terrible wind damage Rick! 
 

I had read Solandra was too aggressive to grow unless severely contained, but I had no idea it was that bad a plant in Hawaii. 

I appreciate the disaster documentation to remind all of us that this sort of landscape trauma will eventually become “before” photos as our plants and new additions take advantage of the new microclimate. 
 

And I look forward to those future updates on better days.
 

 

[mike in kurtistown]

I'm closer to Rick than to Jason or Tim, so I have had two windstorms the past couple of weeks. But they weren't nearly as destructive as in Rick's location. Our winds on Hawaii Island are normally easterlies, but winter cold fronts in the north Pacific suck air from the south and southwest. Fierce winds had fronds all in one direction and really whipping around. This 6-ft Drymophleous litigiosus went over in the first storm, while a larger one next to it stayed upright.

Stakes hammered into the ground and small bungees kept it up during the second storm. One of my Syagrus botryophoras ended up resting against a neighboring tree. This species is notorious for succumbing to winds, but are noted for continuing growth, flowering and fruiting as new growth is perpendicular. My worst problem was from the group of my neighbors'dead albezia trees on my west fence line that rained dead branches on my property. I spent hours after the first storm cutting and disposing this material, and now I have to do it again.

[palmfriend]

Rick,

a sad report this time - especially with the shocking pics of your Marojejya at the beginning - but I am sure your garden will

recover soon. I am just wondering if there is no other opportunity to create a kind of (better) wind protection with an other species 

than the ohi'a trees...

All the best!

Lars

 

[Rick Kelley]

Lars,

It looks like the local population of ohi`a trees (many millions of them) will be completely killed in the next decade by the new fungal pathogen. Everyone is thinking about replacement species. I have a few clumps of various bamboo species planted around the property. They might provide a bit of protection to palms immediately downwind, but it is not practical to shield each palm with bamboo. Even varieties that are sold as 'clumpers' spread quickly in our climate, so bamboos bring as many problems as they solve. As far as shade goes, I am gradually replacing the dying and fallen ohi`a with Elaeocarpus angustifolius, known locally as the blue marble tree. These are super fast growers in Hawaii, but seem to have stronger wood compared to the catastrophic, introduced albizia, famous as the tree that ate Puna. Albizia produce billions of wind dispersed seeds that quickly transform any landscape into a dense forest of 100 ft tall trees ready to fall over if someone sneezes. The seeds from blue marble trees are big enough to fall straight down, so they don't spread. Routine mowing under the trees gets rid of the many babies. Presumably the seeds are dispersed by some large bird in its native habitat. My blue marbles were started from seed and the oldest have been in the ground 8 years. They are now almost 80 ft tall with two foot diameter trunks. I think they look great with a tall, straight, bare trunk topped with a massive open crown. I suspect that the comparatively open crown is an adaptation that helps such a huge, top-heavy tree survive high winds. As they grow, they shed all the lower side branches so they never need pruning. In another ten years when they are 120 ft tall with six foot diameter trunks, I might regret this choice, but for now, I think they are a million times better landscape tree than ohi`a. One blue marble provides more and better canopy than dozens of scraggly ohi`as. One or two trees per acre is all you need. Their far-reaching roots might be a problem in some settings, but I have not planted any within 100 ft of the house. The massive root system should provide stability. After many decades, they develop huge buttress roots resembling a giant washing machine agitator. So blue marbles are great for filtered shade, but probably provide little wind protection to the palms below.

Of course, blue marble trees are not immortal. Each one will come crashing down someday. That should be spectacular. The resulting destruction will dwarf anything I experienced this week. Definitely not a tree for suburban residential gardens. You pays your money and takes your chances.

[Harry’s Palms]

I am sorry to hear of your loss. Here , where we are , every year , we get Santa Anna winds that can reach 60mph , some gusts higher. I have been in this area for most of my 69 years so I try to prepare by trimming up the palms and putting away the deck furniture . I still cringe when I hear the winds howling , thinking about my palms . The winds are usually accompanied by high temperatures and extremely dry conditions for several days . The Thomas Fire occurred just behind my house. It can make a tropical paradise look bad in a day or so. It is disheartening and we just pick up and move on . I hope that your palms respond to all of the care and make a recovery soon. The good news is that the climate there allows for rapid growth , good luck. 

[CLINODAVE]

Rick, I grieve for the damage your palms suffered.   I am with Tim, as I also worry more about the potential for strong winds more than any other plant calamity.  As a Catholic of long standing, my life is steeped in the ancient traditions of misery and certain doom;  therefore, I view climate change with more than a touch of alarm.  Who knows what that will bring?  As Cindy Adair alluded to, disaster really does open the door to new things.  And those new things begin to energize us.  I think,  for example, that ur blue marble trees will be a joy to your garden.  Queenslanders have reported that they are resistant to cyclones, and their shade is not so dense, so that palms who dig dappled light can probably get along well with them.  I would think also that a line of blue marbles will still do a nice job of filtering wind for the protection of taller palms downstream.  BTW, from your post-wind pics, ur garden clearly is a stunning palm and orchid paradise!

[Kim]

Blue Marble trees, wow, Rick, you are very daring! 🙂 I first saw those at Norm Bezona's garden, they really wowed me with those buttress roots. I collected some seeds. Then I read more about them and chickened out. Now I'm a little envious. 

I planted a Michelia (Magnolia) x alba and it has provided much-needed shade after the loss of most of the Ohi'a trees. Funny, though, I have Ohi'a trees sprouting everywhere, including on palm trunks! It's a little crazy. Feels weird to rip some of them out, but they tend to select the wrong location to root. I'm not necessarily recommending the Michelia -- huge roots extending great distances and constant leaf litter that's difficult to deal with and is slow to break down. It also drops the weaker branches and the wind did a nice job thinning out those little sticks, actually improving the appearance. But the dappled shade is awesome! The palms love it. My most recent tree selection is Bauhinia x blakeana, admittedly for the flowers. One is doing fantastic, the second is slow to get going.

I hope you don't cut down your Clinostigma samoense. They have extensive roots and barring another immediate windstorm, it will hang tight. Well, easy to say looking at a photo; you will know what is best.

[palmfriend]

Rick,

 

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. 

Since the Okinawian islands are hit by typhoons every year, your description of alternative species

to create a wind protection was very interesting and educating.

 

Lars 

 

Just as a side note: Besides our sup-tropical forests, the most common trees planted for wind protection over here

are the Ceylon Cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum verum) and the Yew plum pine/Buddhits pine etc. (Podocarpus macrophyllus).

 

 

[ASHCVS]

This is hard to read, I’m so sorry Rick.