Oahu, HI Palms

[xoRudy]

Hey everyone. I’m taking a trip out to Oahu in April and would love to visit places on the island that have tropics! I already have Hoomaluhia BG scheduled, is there any other Botanical Gardens that are a must see? Any growers out there that have land that would provide a mini tour of what they’re growing? Any must see nurseries? I’m flying from Arizona so would love to see things that won’t grow in the desert. thanks! 

[aztropic]

Foster BG should definitely be on your list. Paradise in the middle of a concrete jungle! Lots of Lodoicia (double coconut) trees to see.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[Harry’s Palms]

Pretty much most of what you see , botanically speaking , is going to be things that won’t grow in the desert . The islands I have visited do have some desert areas but most areas are high humidity and warm trade winds bringing tropical rains . The growth rate of tropical or some temperate plants is about 3x the growth rate even here in Southern California . I have never been to Oahu , other than a stop over , so I can’t recommend any specific gardens . I am sure you will see plenty of palms and tropicals . Some nurseries will sell orchids and small palms , with certs, that you can bring home . The palms I brought home from Maui were growing in shredded paper and came with import certificates . They are still living in my garden 25 years later. Enjoy your trip! Harry

This Pritchardia was a seedling that I carried home in my back pack!

Not pictured is the Chambeyronia I brought home that is now flowering . I think I paid less than $5 for each seedling in 2002. Harry

[Brad52]

I would surely add Lyon Arboretum in Manoa to your list.  The arboretum adjoins a trail hike to a waterfall via a bamboo - Sinobambusa tootsik - forest , plus lots of heliconia and lush tropical looks abound.

[mnorell]

There is A LOT to do on O'ahu in the world of horticulture and landscape...pardon my very long post here but Honolulu is a big city, O'ahu is a good-sized island, with several diverse climate-types, and this is just some of what is there for your botanical enjoyment...

The single most important place for you to go is Lyon Arboretum, part of the University of Hawai'i, at the top of Manoa Road. Truly spectacular and you'll probably want to go up there more than once. The late great Ray Baker along with Bob Hirano were the driving forces there in the latter 20th century, establishing amazing collections of palms, Heliconia and many other plants in this perfect, rainy greenhouse of a place. You can really wander into the deep tropical forest there, and you can see things like Amherstia nobilis and lots of other rarities thriving. There are also a lot of plantings on the UH campus further down the valley toward town.

For a flip-side experience, you should go to Koko Head Crater and botanical garden...this fascinating crater has a semi-desert climate with one of the best collections of Plumeria on the planet. Also many other tropical plants that thrive in such a dry, hot environment (Madagascar, etc.). Very useful to inspire you for your Arizona garden. Very importantly, remember to bring water with you if you go there...water/beverages are not available, and the dehydration factor may remind you of Arizona!

Foster is important because it's a very old botanical garden and thus has some very large specimens of many tropical palms and other plants that represent early introductions. I lived in Honolulu in '88-'89 and would often visit Foster Gardens, it was the first place I ever saw the beautiful Satakentia liukiuensis...I was really transfixed by those palms and I'll bet they are really something after all these years. You might also look into Wahiawa Botanical Garden...interesting because it is located upland, in the middle of the island (near the Dole Plantation). Also Waimea Botanical Garden on the windward side of the island, I remember that being a very nice walk up into that valley...but not sure if it's worth the ticket price considering how many other options you have.

To me some of the best experiences are to be found just wandering in town and through some of the old parks like Ala Moana, and Kapi'olani. If you walk down along Kapi'olani Park (on Kalakaua Avenue) by the Aquarium and toward Diamond head it's a really pleasant experience parallel to the beach and it's fun just to explore the neighborhoods flanking Diamond Head, just to look at the residential landscapes. More Singapore Plumeria and Tahitian Gardenia than you can shake a stick at, and lots of beautiful uses of lava-stone walls and other Hawai'i-style landscaping elements that may give you inspiration for your own landscape back at home.

Other well-heeled areas that feature very nice landscaping and good for an easy driving tour include Kahala (on the other side of Diamond Head, this is where Magnum P.I. was largely shot), and up on Tantalus and Makiki Heights (Round Top Drive, Makiki Heights Drive), very jungly area with large estates hiding behind some wonderful plantings, you can work that area in with a trip to Manoa. Through this area and going up to the Pali, you'll see gigantic pothos and Cup of Gold vines snaking through the trees that will blow your mind. There is also a botanical garden at Tantalus but I haven't ever been there.

As far as public-facing landscaping palms are concerned, Pritchardia pacifica in particular is used all over the place, particularly in commercial and hotel settings, and seems to reach its visual zenith in Honolulu's climate, and you may really fall under the spell of that palm. Honolulu is famous for its huge banyan trees and you will also see incredible Monkeypod (Samanea saman) trees wherever there is room for them, along parkways, especially Moanalua Road/Hwy and at the Moanalua Gardens. If you have time, try to include the historic areas of downtown. Fort Street Mall, University Avenue, King Street all have wonderful old plantings around the historic buildings, lots of mature Pritchardia pacifica and Ptychosperma, et al. in random plantings in the commercial center. Also lots of beautiful red and pink ginger and Heliconia all over the place around Honolulu. I assume since my last visit (I think 2008) many new tropical palm and other plant introductions have arrived and thrived in landscapes around the city as well, especially in hotel landscapes. I remember noticing during my last visit that in particular Areca vestiaria had become more common in landscapes there.

In Waikiki proper, you must wander, wander, wander, especially through the larger hotel properties, and go to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and see the Banyan filled with its crowd of garrulous Mynah birds and some really magnificent old plantings of Ptychosperma macarthurii up against the hotel walls. The landscaping there epitomizes old gracious Hawai'ian landscaping of the early 20th century, and everything is very well maintained in the "Hawai'i style."

Keep in mind that Honolulu enjoys a really interesting convergence of mostly Pacific/Asiatic cultures, Polynesian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and others, and so there is some real landscape diversity based on those cultural traditions. The East-West Center Japanese Garden next to UH is well known, and the Hawai'i Int'l Airport's cultural garden (yes, in the middle of the airport!) was designed in the early '60s by famed Landscape Architect and author Richard C. Tongg and hopefully you can work that in with your arrival or departure.

And for just the natural beauty of the island, don't forget to drive out along the Kalaniana'ole Hwy to Makapu'u Beach (famous for the sand that will be deposited in your swimsuit, and you can see Maui!) and further along, the view of the Ko'olau Mountains in Waimanalo is truly spectacular and should not be missed. If you take that trip (which could include Koko Head), you might also visit some of the nurseries along that route. Just a few I remember are nurseries like Ni'i Nurseries (Charles Ni'i Nursery and also R&S Ni'i Nursery, there are two of these) above Hawai'i Kai near Koko Head. Frankie's Nursery (mostly tropical fruit trees but also some ornamentals) in Waimanalo is very well known, and may be worth visiting for a wander. If you're interested in Plumeria there are some major nurseries like Jim Little Plumeria Farms. Many of these nurseries will ship to the mainland as well. There used to be quite a few well-known mom-and-pop nurseries specializing in orchids, anthuriums, etc. around the island and I'm not sure how many of these are still around. But you might just google nurseries and call around, and I'm sure there will be a good selection to choose from.

While many people associate Honolulu with coconuts, banyans, breadfruit, monkeypods, Plumeria, Anthurium, orchids, gingers, Cordyline, et al., Honolulu is also famous for its flowering trees, and you will likely see some nice ones in bloom in April, including Pink-and-white Shower (Cassia javanica), Rainbow Shower (Cassia x nealeae), Silver Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia aurea) and the Primavera (Tabebuia/Cybistax/Roseodendron donnell-smithii).

If you can't tell from my verbose listing, there's a lot to see pretty much everywhere you go!

[John hovancsek]

To bad u are not coming to big island 

[Brad52]

When I lived walking distance to Lyon Arboretum, they used to have an open greenhouse where you could buy plants and I can’t quite remember if it was limited hours or special events, but it might be worth looking into, as they had unusual plants.

If you go to the airport with the intent of going through the Hawaii Ag Dep portion of flight check in you know declare any plants you buy and let them inspect them if they want and it’s not very many things you can’t get out that way but there are somethings.

 

[Rick Kelley]

I'm sure you will have a great visit and see plenty of beautiful palm species on Oahu. But just to inject a pinch of wretched reality, Oahu is being attacked by swarms of coconut rhinoceros beetles. They were introduced around 14 years ago, but the state's response has been pathetic. 'Too little, too late' does not begin to describe the bungled half measures taken. Large beetle populations are firmly established across Oahu and there is no realistic strategy to eradicate them. The department of Ag has stopped monitoring surveillance traps around the island because every region is now infested. Hundreds of large coconut palms growing in beach parks have been cut down to prevent the towering dead trunks from falling on people as well as to destroy any larvae that might be developing inside the rotting trunks. Driving around you will notice the characteristic V-shaped cuts to palm fronds that signal that the end is near. 

I think the public botanical gardens have not been hit hard, yet. But the outlook is pretty bleak. Good that you are visiting now. In five years there might be many fewer palms to see. Here is a map showing the latest infestation data. The map on the left shows no detections along the mountain chain, but that is only because nobody placed or monitored traps in this very steep terrain. The right panel shows color coded population densities with darker blue being worse, but the data are pretty incomplete. The beetles are pretty much everywhere.

If you can possibly arrange a free day on your trip, I recommend a quick hop over to the Big Island. Depart Honolulu on the first flight of the morning, arrive in Hilo before 9, then hit four or five private palm gardens you see on PT, plus Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden 10 miles north of Hilo, fly back to Honolulu by 7. You will be very tired, but you will see great palm collections. CRB arrived on the dry Kona side of the island two years ago, but so far has not been sighted on the wet east side of the island.

[Brad52]

Rick, there are/were a line of mature coconuts on private property near the intersection of 12th & Paradise.  The crowns have all collapsed on all of them.  I can’t imagine (sure I can) that CRB is the cause but what else would do this?  Did the HPPOA cull them as they might be in an easement?  Dunno but they look like pics of CRB damage…

[WaianaeCrider]

Call the Arboretum before you go to be safe 

  Talking bout SAFE zzDO NOT LEAVE ANY THIBG OF VALUE IN CAR WHEN YOU PARK ANY PLACE

[xoRudy]

On 2/17/2026 at 6:31 AM, aztropic said:

Foster BG should definitely be on your list. Paradise in the middle of a concrete jungle! Lots of Lodoicia (double coconut) trees to see.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

Will check it out! Thanks Scott.

[xoRudy]

On 2/17/2026 at 12:35 PM, mnorell said:

There is A LOT to do on O'ahu in the world of horticulture and landscape...pardon my very long post here but Honolulu is a big city, O'ahu is a good-sized island, with several diverse climate-types, and this is just some of what is there for your botanical enjoyment...

The single most important place for you to go is Lyon Arboretum, part of the University of Hawai'i, at the top of Manoa Road. Truly spectacular and you'll probably want to go up there more than once. The late great Ray Baker along with Bob Hirano were the driving forces there in the latter 20th century, establishing amazing collections of palms, Heliconia and many other plants in this perfect, rainy greenhouse of a place. You can really wander into the deep tropical forest there, and you can see things like Amherstia nobilis and lots of other rarities thriving. There are also a lot of plantings on the UH campus further down the valley toward town.

For a flip-side experience, you should go to Koko Head Crater and botanical garden...this fascinating crater has a semi-desert climate with one of the best collections of Plumeria on the planet. Also many other tropical plants that thrive in such a dry, hot environment (Madagascar, etc.). Very useful to inspire you for your Arizona garden. Very importantly, remember to bring water with you if you go there...water/beverages are not available, and the dehydration factor may remind you of Arizona!

Foster is important because it's a very old botanical garden and thus has some very large specimens of many tropical palms and other plants that represent early introductions. I lived in Honolulu in '88-'89 and would often visit Foster Gardens, it was the first place I ever saw the beautiful Satakentia liukiuensis...I was really transfixed by those palms and I'll bet they are really something after all these years. You might also look into Wahiawa Botanical Garden...interesting because it is located upland, in the middle of the island (near the Dole Plantation). Also Waimea Botanical Garden on the windward side of the island, I remember that being a very nice walk up into that valley...but not sure if it's worth the ticket price considering how many other options you have.

To me some of the best experiences are to be found just wandering in town and through some of the old parks like Ala Moana, and Kapi'olani. If you walk down along Kapi'olani Park (on Kalakaua Avenue) by the Aquarium and toward Diamond head it's a really pleasant experience parallel to the beach and it's fun just to explore the neighborhoods flanking Diamond Head, just to look at the residential landscapes. More Singapore Plumeria and Tahitian Gardenia than you can shake a stick at, and lots of beautiful uses of lava-stone walls and other Hawai'i-style landscaping elements that may give you inspiration for your own landscape back at home.

Other well-heeled areas that feature very nice landscaping and good for an easy driving tour include Kahala (on the other side of Diamond Head, this is where Magnum P.I. was largely shot), and up on Tantalus and Makiki Heights (Round Top Drive, Makiki Heights Drive), very jungly area with large estates hiding behind some wonderful plantings, you can work that area in with a trip to Manoa. Through this area and going up to the Pali, you'll see gigantic pothos and Cup of Gold vines snaking through the trees that will blow your mind. There is also a botanical garden at Tantalus but I haven't ever been there.

As far as public-facing landscaping palms are concerned, Pritchardia pacifica in particular is used all over the place, particularly in commercial and hotel settings, and seems to reach its visual zenith in Honolulu's climate, and you may really fall under the spell of that palm. Honolulu is famous for its huge banyan trees and you will also see incredible Monkeypod (Samanea saman) trees wherever there is room for them, along parkways, especially Moanalua Road/Hwy and at the Moanalua Gardens. If you have time, try to include the historic areas of downtown. Fort Street Mall, University Avenue, King Street all have wonderful old plantings around the historic buildings, lots of mature Pritchardia pacifica and Ptychosperma, et al. in random plantings in the commercial center. Also lots of beautiful red and pink ginger and Heliconia all over the place around Honolulu. I assume since my last visit (I think 2008) many new tropical palm and other plant introductions have arrived and thrived in landscapes around the city as well, especially in hotel landscapes. I remember noticing during my last visit that in particular Areca vestiaria had become more common in landscapes there.

In Waikiki proper, you must wander, wander, wander, especially through the larger hotel properties, and go to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and see the Banyan filled with its crowd of garrulous Mynah birds and some really magnificent old plantings of Ptychosperma macarthurii up against the hotel walls. The landscaping there epitomizes old gracious Hawai'ian landscaping of the early 20th century, and everything is very well maintained in the "Hawai'i style."

Keep in mind that Honolulu enjoys a really interesting convergence of mostly Pacific/Asiatic cultures, Polynesian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and others, and so there is some real landscape diversity based on those cultural traditions. The East-West Center Japanese Garden next to UH is well known, and the Hawai'i Int'l Airport's cultural garden (yes, in the middle of the airport!) was designed in the early '60s by famed Landscape Architect and author Richard C. Tongg and hopefully you can work that in with your arrival or departure.

And for just the natural beauty of the island, don't forget to drive out along the Kalaniana'ole Hwy to Makapu'u Beach (famous for the sand that will be deposited in your swimsuit, and you can see Maui!) and further along, the view of the Ko'olau Mountains in Waimanalo is truly spectacular and should not be missed. If you take that trip (which could include Koko Head), you might also visit some of the nurseries along that route. Just a few I remember are nurseries like Ni'i Nurseries (Charles Ni'i Nursery and also R&S Ni'i Nursery, there are two of these) above Hawai'i Kai near Koko Head. Frankie's Nursery (mostly tropical fruit trees but also some ornamentals) in Waimanalo is very well known, and may be worth visiting for a wander. If you're interested in Plumeria there are some major nurseries like Jim Little Plumeria Farms. Many of these nurseries will ship to the mainland as well. There used to be quite a few well-known mom-and-pop nurseries specializing in orchids, anthuriums, etc. around the island and I'm not sure how many of these are still around. But you might just google nurseries and call around, and I'm sure there will be a good selection to choose from.

While many people associate Honolulu with coconuts, banyans, breadfruit, monkeypods, Plumeria, Anthurium, orchids, gingers, Cordyline, et al., Honolulu is also famous for its flowering trees, and you will likely see some nice ones in bloom in April, including Pink-and-white Shower (Cassia javanica), Rainbow Shower (Cassia x nealeae), Silver Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia aurea) and the Primavera (Tabebuia/Cybistax/Roseodendron donnell-smithii).

If you can't tell from my verbose listing, there's a lot to see pretty much everywhere you go!

Amazing post, thank you for taking the time out and writing something like this. I will reference this as I plan my trip out! 

[xoRudy]

18 hours ago, Rick Kelley said:

I'm sure you will have a great visit and see plenty of beautiful palm species on Oahu. But just to inject a pinch of wretched reality, Oahu is being attacked by swarms of coconut rhinoceros beetles. They were introduced around 14 years ago, but the state's response has been pathetic. 'Too little, too late' does not begin to describe the bungled half measures taken. Large beetle populations are firmly established across Oahu and there is no realistic strategy to eradicate them. The department of Ag has stopped monitoring surveillance traps around the island because every region is now infested. Hundreds of large coconut palms growing in beach parks have been cut down to prevent the towering dead trunks from falling on people as well as to destroy any larvae that might be developing inside the rotting trunks. Driving around you will notice the characteristic V-shaped cuts to palm fronds that signal that the end is near. 

I think the public botanical gardens have not been hit hard, yet. But the outlook is pretty bleak. Good that you are visiting now. In five years there might be many fewer palms to see. Here is a map showing the latest infestation data. The map on the left shows no detections along the mountain chain, but that is only because nobody placed or monitored traps in this very steep terrain. The right panel shows color coded population densities with darker blue being worse, but the data are pretty incomplete. The beetles are pretty much everywhere.

If you can possibly arrange a free day on your trip, I recommend a quick hop over to the Big Island. Depart Honolulu on the first flight of the morning, arrive in Hilo before 9, then hit four or five private palm gardens you see on PT, plus Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden 10 miles north of Hilo, fly back to Honolulu by 7. You will be very tired, but you will see great palm collections. CRB arrived on the dry Kona side of the island two years ago, but so far has not been sighted on the wet east side of the island.

Horrible news! Thank you for this information 

[arty.mc.fly]

Seconding the Foster BG recommendation, along with an impressive assortment of palms, they have a beautiful cycad collection which contains an impressive specimen (or two) of Encephalartos woodii.

Lyon is a must as well, huge palm collection and beautiful location in the back of Manoa Valley. Highly recommend grabbing a meal (Off The Hook Poke or Morning Glass Coffee are favorites) at Manoa marketplace, then eating up at the arboretum in the gazebo down the hill from the parking lot. Tell the person in the little shack at the entrance that you’re going to Lyon and they will waive the $5 fee for visitors parking to hike Manoa Falls. If you’re the adventurous type, bring your own pair of hiking boots and ask the front desk at Lyon about the hike to Aihualama falls inside the arboretum. Not as manicured or impressive as nearby Manoa Falls but a lovely and authentic stroll through the thick rainforest beyond the more curated grounds of the garden. 
 

For both Lyon and Hoomaluhia, you’ll have the best time if you come prepared with a rain jacket and shoes/clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Bug spray too if the mosquitoes are fond of you. 
 

One of my favorite nurseries in town is Kawamoto Orchid. It’s tucked in the back of a valley and there’s endless shade houses to wander. If you find something special, I believe they have the facilities to pack and ship with proper ag forms so you can have a little piece of Hawaii back home. 
 

The Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle problem is quite real here. Not much you can do yourself but as you look at our landscape, take in the coconut palms. They may not be there the next time you visit. In fact, the pest is beginning to target palms more broadly, so take a moment to appreciate any palms you get to enjoy as the future is uncertain. As @Rick Kelley pointed out, the angular cutouts in the leaves are quite distinct, especially if you are a palm aficionado. Once you see it, you’ll notice quickly notice how far it has spread on Oahu. 
 

Finally, can’t recommend a visit to Hilo enough. Honolulu/Oahu is the CITY (I grew up here) and Hilo will transport you back to an old Hawaii that is quieter and full of all the little quirks and traditions that make these islands so special. Oh and of course the abundance of tropical gardens (I’ll let our Big Island folk point you in the right direction).

Have so much fun! And as always, share pics!