Going Native in Hawai'i: Opportunities and Barriers for Using Native Plant Material by Landscape Architects

Landscape architects play an important role in Hawai'i by specifying the nature of plants that are used in landscape projects which, in turn, affects what is grown locally by landscape nurseries. Invasive species used in landscape projects impact not only the native environments, but the economic stability of an entire industry. As a response to these issues of invasive species and native plant endangerment, the Endangered Species Acts 73 and 236 of the Hawai'i State Legislature mandate the use of native plants in design of public projects. This study surveyed landscape architects in Hawai'i in 2010 and identified an increase in the use of native plants in landscape projects. Limitations to native Hawaiian landscape plants in 2010 were similar to those reported in a survey conducted in 1999; lack of material availability and knowledge of appropriate maintenance practices continue as the major constraints. Principal sources of native plants and of information about these plants include specialized nurseries, books, and Cooperative Extension agents and specialists. The landscape industry should receive increased investments to expand its capacity to propagate native plants and provide information pertaining to their care and use in landscape design. Landscape architects will be able to successfully specify native plants at their full potential only after the market overcomes the limitations of an insufficient availability of both plants and information pertaining to their use in the landscape.