Landscape Hawaii May June 2015

Landscape Industry Council of Hawai’iP. O. Box 22938 Honolulu HI 96823-2938

D E S I G N I S S U ELandscape Industry Council of Hawai’iP. O. Box 22938 Honolulu HI 96823-2938

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UH ROOF DESIGN

GOING VERTICAL

HOW COLORS AFFECT DESIGN

COLOR AFFECTS PEOPLE’S RESPONSES TO LANDSCAPES

DESIGNING GREEN WALLS

TIPS ON DESIGNING ROOF GARDENS

MAY | JUNE 2015

Formed In June 1986, the Landscape Industry Council of Hawai'i is a state wide alliance representing Hawaii's landscape associations: Aloha Arborist Association, American SOciety of Landscape Architects Hawaii Chapter, Hawaii Association of Nurserymen, Hawaii Island Landscape Association, Hawaii Landscape and Irrigation Contractors, Hawaii Society of Urban Forestry Professionals, Kauai Landscape Industry Council, Maui Association of Landscape Professionals, Professional Grounds Management Society, Big Island Association of Nurserymen, and the Hawaii Professional Gardeners Association.

Landscape Industry council of Hawai'i P.o. Box 22938, Honolulu HI 96823-2938

Editor Christopher A. Dacus chrls.dacus @gmailcom

Advertis ing Sales Michael Roth rothcomm@lavanet

Membership Jason Ezell jason.ezell@gmailcom

Designer Darrell Ishida

Cover Photo Andy Kaufman

BOARD O F DIRECTOR S

Chris Dacus President

Matt Lyum Treasurer

Norman Allen Orville Baldos Carl Evensen Jason Ezell Mark Fukui Randy Liu Christy Martin Chris McCullough

Director Emeritus Jay Deputy Lelan Nishek Garrett Webb

Brandon Au Vice President

Rick Quinn Secretary

Clifford Migita Dorothy Mulkern Karen Ostberg Edmundo Reyes Josh Sand Allan Schildknecht Mark Suiso

Steve Nimz Boyd Ready

THE VOICE OF HAWAII'S GREEN INDUSTRY

4 PRESIDENT COLUMN

14 CERTIFICATION COLUMN

24 PEST COLUMN

26 TURFGRASS

30 TOOLTIPS

FEATURES

4 LICHNEWS

10 NATURAL PEST CONTROL

12 GREEN PRODUCTS

23 TREE CLIMBING

27 LOW VOLTAGE LANDSCAPE LIGHTING

COVER STORIES

6 HOW COLOR AFFECTS DESIGN

14 GOING VERTICAL

20 UH ROOF DESIGN

HAWAIISCAPE.COM 3

lich NEWS .,.. WHATS HAPPENING

2015 HAWAII ASLA DESIGN AWARDS COMPETffiON

The Hawaii Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASlA) is pleased to announce the 2015 Hawaii ASlA Design Awards Competition.

Every three years, the Hawaii Chapter of the ASLA honors the best in landscape architecture design and planning in and by practitioners from Hawaii. The calendar for the 2015 awards is as follows:

• Frid ay, July 10th Entry Submissions Due

• Frid ay, Sept 18th Chapter Design Awards Gala

For more information, go to the chapter website: www.hawaiiasla.org/ call-entries-2015-design-awards/. And please share with those who you feel will be interested

Sorry, correction to March/April2015 issue ... For the Lobate Lac Scale arti

cle submitted by Zhiqiang Cheng and Bishnu Bhandari, the correct sub-title should have been "Invasive plant insect pest invades Oahu's urban landscape."

4 LANDSCAPE HAWAII MAY I JUNE 2015

HAWAII DESIGNERS CHANGED THE TROPICAL WORLD Although Hawaii is the most isolated islands in the world we have a lot to be proud of as designers. Our state has been the source for fashion, resort architecture and tropical landscape design that has changed the world.

We created what is now a billion dollar industry in surf and aloha wear. Travel anywhere in the world to surf destinations and Hawaii designs are everywhere. It's cool to wear Hawaii inspired clothes.

We can be equally proud of the impact of Hawaii landscape design. Hawaii's landscape design has been imitated in every tropical destination in the world. Much of the credit belongs to Hawaiis first designers - Richard Tonng, George Walters, Catherine Jones Richards and Robert Oliver Thompson. In 1936, Richard C. Tongg and Loraine E. Kuck, wrote the iconic book that documented tropical design - "The Tropical Garden: Its Design, Horticulture, And Plant Materials." lt became the gold standard for tropical landscape design worldwide. For 40 years, Hawaii landscape designers spread Hawaii-based tropical design around the world. Travel anywhere in the tropics and you will see the influence of Hawaii tropical landscape design.

Now almost 8o years after the birth of tropical design, the University of Hawaii School of Architecture is preparing to launch Hawaii's first Masters of Landscape Architecture.

Hawaii has been the leader in designing the tropical world and the future is even brighter as we prepare to produce a new generation of designers.

Enjoy our issue on landscape design and get inspired!

Aloha,

19 Chris Dacus President

UPCOMING ISSUES Jui/Aug 2015 I Sept/Oct 2015 I Nov/Dec 2015 Theme: Site Furniture Theme: Conference Theme: Historical Landscapes Story Deadline: June 5 Story Deadline: August 7 Story Deadline: October 2

MAHALO TO LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF HAWAII SPONSORS

II HAWAIIAN\ 'fTURFGRASSJ

WEBSITE SPONSORS

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r:iiiGEOTECH ~SOLUTIONS , INC.

BY CAROL KWAN

Jamilee Kempton did Hawaii proud by winning the International Tree Climbing Championship women's division in Kissimmee, Florida on March 22, 2015. Here's a short interview with Jamilee, our star of tree climbing:

Where did you grow up? North of Seattle, Washington

What did you like to do as a kid? /liked to play sports - basketball, volleyball, and soccer

What brought you to Hawaii? Sunshine. Seriously! It's warm here and you actually get to see the sun!

How did you get into tree climbing? When did you start? I got into tree climbing by accident. I didn't know this job existed until around August 20II when I joined the Aloha Arborist Association (AAA). I found AAA online. I vms talking to Dave Ringuette who does the arboriculture program at Windward Community College (WCC). Looking into subtropical tree care led me to AAA.l've been involved withAAA ever since. I think AAA has contributed a lot to my success as a climber because of the support from other members and the educational opportunities. I started climbing shortly after my first meeting. I had my own gear and I started learning on my own. Steve Connolly was a huge mentor and other climbers have helped along the way as welL I ~-Wnt throUfJh the subtropical urban tree program at wee and there was a course on tree climbing there too.

What do you like best about tree climbing? Working as a tree climber has been one of the most physically and mentally challenging things that I've ever done and I enjoy a challenge. Once you've learned how to well work in a tree and things are running smoothly, it brings a kind of peace, like a Zen moment.

I've heard that your first date with your boyfriend, AAA president Steve Connolly,


was climbing a tree. How did that happen? Steve had everything all ready to go at the Lyon Arboretum He'd set a throw line in a huge Ficus at 140: We ~-Wnt up and had lunch. We were tossing fruit and water bottles across to each other because we ~-Wre sitting on different branches. He took me out to sushi afterwards. It was a great date!

Do you enjoy competing on an international level? What do you like best? /love competing on an international level. I'm surrounded by about r8 women who do what I do and it's really cooL It's great to hang out with other m-Jmen just like me. I also love the emphasis on safety at all of the levels of Tree Climbing Championships (TCCs).

You broke the women's world record in footlocking. Were you surprised? Do you have any technique tips to share? Yes, I was surprised Footlocking is really difficult. It's not roo% speed, it's mostly technique. It comes down to smaller things like breathing and how high you lift your knees. I inhale when /lift my legs and exhale when /lock my feet on the rope and step really hard. That's really helped my rhythm.

How did it feel to win ITCC? It felt great! I vms happy and had a really good time. I was focused on having a ball and not stressing about trying to win the event. I didn't have any expectations for myself, I just focused on having fun and keeping it simple.

Now that you've won, do you have any new goals? I enjoy competing but I have plans to pay it forward and join the volunteer team for the International Tree Climbing Championship (ITCC). My next major goal is to go back to school and finish a business degree. I'm planning to start full time this fall at University of Hawaii.

Carol Kwan is the President of Carol Kwan Consulting, a Certified Arborist, and a Director of Aloha Arborist Association and the Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture.

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ARE LANDSCAPES MONOCHROMATIC

n response to the first part of the title is, of course not! Unless you have severe color blindness, the landscapes we design, install, maintain, and actually view, are filled with a multitude of colors.

To address the second part of the title, well that's when things get interesting, and as landscape designers, installers, maintenance contractors, arborists, nursery production and sales etc., we like it interesting! Essentially, what landscape industry personnel, as well as avid gardeners ask is: how to use colors in landscape design effectively? Which


BY DR. ANDY KAUFMAN, MLA, ASLA

CAN COLOR IN THE LANDSCAPE AFFECT PEOPLE'S EMOTIONAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO LANDSCAPES?

seems like a very logical question to ask! When 1 am asked this question my reply is, maybe what we should be asking is: what colors humans respond to and why, and then does this make a difference in the landscape?

At the University of Hawaii's Tropical Landscape and Human Interaction Lab, this is one of a variety of landscape

questions/issues that we explore. When 1 was taking my first landscape design class, l remember listening to the professor talk about colors in the landscape can be either cool or warm and the way they are composed can create different moods within the landscape. lt took me a while to really comprehend this, even though it seemed pretty straight forward. At the

tin1e, 1 was more focused on learning the basic elements of design such as line, texture, repetition, balance, form, variety, unity and simplicity and so forth. Color seemed so obvious, well that is untill had to render my fisrt drawing and plant my first design composition. Then, color became more ilian 1 had ever thought or seen in the context of the landscape!

What is Color To understand how color relates to

the landscape, it is helpful to understand some basic principles of color. ln looking at some basic aspects of color, it is known as the visual perceptual property equivalent in what people categorize as red, blue, yellow, etc. This notion of color that we all refer to is actually a "hue". So to be proper, the next time someone asks you what is your favorite color, to be technically correct you should reply my favorite hue is ..... ! So this concept of a color really derives from the spectrum oflight (distribution oflight power versus wavelength) interacting in your eye within the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors. So, color (hue) is also associated with objects or materials based on ilieir physical properties such as light absorption, reflection, or emission spectra

When trying to make sense of what this all means, it helps to look at the colors on a color wheel to see how they relate (Figure I). The color wheel represents colors in primary and secondary and tertiary relationships such as blue, red, and yellow which are referred as primary colors. The corresponding secondary colors

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are green, orange, and violet or purple; with tertiary colors being red- orange, red- violet, yellow- orange, yellow- green, blue- violet and blue- green. ln relation to landscape, these color relationships are referred to as Analogous colors: Colors on the wheel that are located next to one anoilier are considered analogous. These are colors that easily blend into one another. A landscape composed with an analogous palette will usually appear to be peaceful and fluid, projecting an overall sense of harmony. Next, Complimentary colors: Colors opposite one another on the color wheel are complimentary. These are usually bold, powerful pairings that lend a vibrant dynamic quality. When complimentary colors are used togeilier the human eye picks up a visual vibration where they meet. When complimentary colors are used creatively in a landscape, it can be perceived as being festive and


Figure l. Color Wheel

stimulating and plants have the tendency to pop with intensity. Following is the notion of Hot colors: Colors are grouped by temperature. Hot colors are red, yellow, orange, which in the landscape can be considered vibrant and alive. These are robustly existing hues where a little bit goes a long way. Lastly, there are what is identified as Cool colors: Blue, green, white, soft pinks and pale yellows are considered cool colors. They passive and establish some of the most valued hues for hot climates. Cool colors are also said to be majestic and sophisticated.

There are just a few more basic aspects of color iliat are relevant for a landscape

composition. These are: Saturation, Brightness, and Color value. Saturation is the attribute of color being strong and deep or shallow; brightness being tile attribute of a color being dull, sharp or clear. Looking

closer at color value, which is a term used to describe tile intensity of a color.

An exan1ple of this is a black and white photograph that shows the image in many shades of grey. The varying degree oflight and dark is what actually is creating the image you are seeing. The same applies to color intensity. When choosing bold colors to use for example in a hardscape, value can be significant. Too much value may spoil a subtle design accent, while the same color in a lighter value can become washed out. These are some of the subtle differences that landscape practitioners struggle with to find the exact hues, values etc. for a desired landscape effect. So how can we understand all iliis better?

Color Research Research has been helping to reveal

what all these color characteristics mean, and how humans respond to them. For instance, going back to tile question earlier of what is your favorite color, sorry 1 mean hue is? lt has always been thought

HAWAIISCAPE.COM 7

that hue, was the driving force in color preference. Research now has indicated that it is the saturation of a color, the attribute of color being strong and deep or shallow, that actually drives peoples color preference. Additionally, research looking at people's hue preference range indicated that peoples most preferred hue was blue, followed by green, then red, and lasdy yellow. lt has also been reported that adult association between color and emotion revealed that blue, green, red, and yellow had high positive responses. When researchers looked for the reasons behind these positive responses, they found the following results. People indicated that blue represented the ocean & water to them, green was associated with environment (trees and nature), red was reported as being a strong positive and warm color, and finally people said that yellow was bright like the sun. lt is really interesting that these color responses were relat-ed to what people responded to when viewing color chips. This information is fascinating and will make some good conversation during those odd moments at the next Thanksgiving dinner table, but for the landscape industry what does this mean, how can we use it?

Landscape and Color Surprisingly, few studies have specif

ically examined the color of plants and its influence on people's emotional and physiological behavior in the landscape. Researches in the 1990's started to think about this and commented that, "in the investigation of generic plant attributes, such as tree size and shape, color has been neglected". ln fact, early research studies on plant preferences intentionally avoided colors other than green to remove distractions.

ln order to address this lack of specific research, 1 conducted a study looking at people's psychological responses to tree color to see if the findings could be used in landscape design, installation and maintenance. Specifically, 1 wanted to provide information about whether different plant/ tree colors contribute to arousing and calming landscapes: detem1ine whether people respond differently physiologically/ emotionally to trees of different canopy colors. Since trees are the most enduring amenities in the landscape 1 thought this would be a good place to start.

Psychophysiological Measures The majority of past research that has

been done studied emotion with a focus


on arousal, since arousal indicates the degree of energy evoked or engagement in an experience, such as excited or tense versus relaxed or sleepy. As part of the Tropical Landscape and Human interaction lab, 1 have psychophysiology equipment (See figure 2.) which can measure people's emotional and physiological responses, such as arousal, to a stimulus; in this case, looking at landscape trees of different colors.

Psychophysiology measures "action potential" of a muscle from neurons generating this potential in muscles. Essentially, it is a pre-cognitive measurement similar to a person's innate flight or fight response. ln the lab, we have the ability to measure a person's: ECG (heart rate, which is an indicator of attention), EEG (brain alpha wave activity which is an indicator of wakeful relaxation), EMG (facial muscular reactions which are indicators of positive and negative processing), and GSR (galvanic skin response which is an indicator of arousal or calmness levels). For this article, 1 will just discuss GSR: Skin Conductance results as the majority of past research that has been done studied emotion with a focus on arousal. Arousal indicates the degree of energy evoked or engagement in an experience, such as excited or tense versus relaxed or sleepy which seems relevant to landscape processing.

How We Measured People were invited to the lab to par

ticipate in a landscape study. After they arrived they were seated and prepared for the study. Once electrode sensors were attached, people began to view tree pictures as their psychophysiological measures

were being recorded in real time. People viewed a randomly assigned order of 18 different images of a generic mature tree with a spreading canopy and dark trunk which was computer-generated A picture of a real tree was not used because previous research has indicated that the human brain will allow a person to process analtered image and accept it, but if a real picture is altered, then rejection of this image is more likely. Therefore, the tree image was designed to be easy to recognize as a tree and to be visually pleasing. Although this article will only be discussing the skin conductance (GSR) results; smile and frown muscle activity (EMG); heart rate (ECG) and alpha brain waves (EEG) were also measured in this study.

As mentioned earlier, skin conductance is done by measuring sweat gland activity, which is a direct indicator of activation in the sympathetic nervous system and positive readings indicate arousal or emotional dimensions. Changes in skin conductance are associated with viewing pleasant or unpleasant pictures, as compared to neutral materials. Again, during the presentation of tree images, psychophysiology measures were recorded and after the 18 tree images were viewed a post-viewing questionnaire was given so people could now comment on each tree they had viewed.

What Did We Find Out People responded differendy to trees

with different hues (Figure 2). All readings in this study were below zero, (Figure 2) indicating that viewing these images of trees was calming. These responses support past research that plants have calming and restorative effects. Additionally,

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Tree Canopy Color Figure 2. Skin Conductance: Green Versus Non-Green Hues

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Tree Canopy Color Figure 3. Skin Conductance: Different Green Hues

it turns out that people physiologically responded differently to the different hues of trees that they viewed; and they also responded differently to the different saturation levels of a particular hue (Figure 3). The data revealed that people apparendy felt calmer when viewing the tree with the control green canopy than when viewing trees with red, orange, or yellow canopies. Viewing the yellow canopy, which could indicate a tree with low vigor or a severe nutrient deficiency, appeared to be least calming (Figure 2). Conversely, this non-calming yellow tree response could be an activation of internal evolution-ary responses to landscapes in us in the context of"landscape Sustainability". One explanation could be when seeing a tree/ plant in flower could be indicating future resource on an evolutionary level and such as immediate resource if there were fruits. Or, if it was just a healthy green tree could be indicating a tree with lots of sugars and carbohydrates available for consumption.

Specifically, this can be explained by an innate response to plant color intensities as they would represent different nutri-


ent levels of a plant just as other research studies have indicated in primates. An important aspect to remember is, when peoples physiological recording are being captured, it is a pre- cognitive (before rational thought) measurement, and they were not told if a tree had fruit or flowers, they were simply responding to the images. Even more intriguing is the differences in skin conductance within the green hues (Figure 3). Skin conductance was significantly lower when viewing the tree with the control green canopy than when viewing either the dark green or the light green canopies, indicating that the control green was the most calming. This suggests that humans maybe able to discriminate an10ng particular plant color saturation levels based on the potential nutritive value, just as has been documented in other primate studies who have trichromatic vison (the same vison capabilities that humans have).

What Does All This Mean For the landscape industry, this may

have tremendous impacts from design,

installation, and maintenance. First, these results empirically validate the assumption that plant color has different physiological effects on people. While viewing a tree canopy in any color was calming; the presence of plants with a good healthy green color was particularly calming physiologically. So by maintaining heathy plants in a landscape can produce positive physiological and emotional response from people viewing and interacting with them.

Additionally, depending on the intended outcome, planting a tree/plant of a specific color may actually matter! For instance, plants of calming color characteristics could be used in hospital settings to calm not only the patients, and visitors, but how about the doctors and nurses! 1 think we would all rather have a relaxed hospital staff member attending to us than someone who is stressed! Additionally, plants with calming characteristics could be used in parks, senior citizen developments, and business districts, etc. Conversely, plants of arousing color characteristics along highways, oh maybe like H-I in bumper to bumper traffic and your head starts to drop from monotonous boredom of 3-6 miles per hour maybe of some benefit? Or may be sport complexes and places of commerce could value from plants with arousing characteristics to keep the excitement going?

By understanding more about what plant colors humans respond to and why, and then how they may be better utilized in landscape, the design, installation and maintenance, practices could produce more profitable, sustainable and aesthetically pleasing landscapes in Hawaii.

Dr. Kaufman is an Associate Professor/Landscape Specialist with the University of Hawaii and heads the Tropical Landscape

and Human Interaction Lab. He is an award win

ning landscape designer with an extensive background in the landscape industry over the past twenty-eight years. He teaches landscape architecture and horticulture courses. His research focuses investigating how plants affect people socially, psychologically, and physiologically and implications on landscape design. He also conducts research on the mitigation of tsunami and storm surge by plants, tropical tree research and on green roof technologies for tropical environments.

HAWAIISCAPE.CDM 9

PART2

NATURAL PEST

STEPS TO A ORGANIC LAND CARE PEST CONTROL PROGAM

BY MICAH BARKER

f you've worked in Hawaii's Resort Landscape industry for awhile, you may have realized that despite our very best efforts at controlling or eliminating insect pests from our plants,

whether chemical or organic, the pests always seem to return.

Over the past eleven years of designing, installing, and managing landscapes, l have finally found success in achieving a landscape completely free from pest infestation - and the best part is - absolutely NO chemicals are required. ln fact, for best results - exclude the use of ALL chemical inputs -herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and even chemical fertilizers, because they all negatively impact soil life and beneficial predatory insects. Healthy SOIL LIFE is one of the secrets to developing a landscape that is TOTALLY PEST FREE, and your clients will LOVE you not only for the beauty and vibrance of their property but especially for not applying any po-tentially hazardous and toxic materials on their landscape that may increase their risk of cancer and disease.

Last issue l shared the first 2 steps of my 4 step process, Step I: remove heavily infested plant materials and make sure plants are well suited for their location - move or eliminate them if not. Step 2: treat the remaining pest population with organic, non-toxic controls such as neem oil so-lution and soapy water solution. Always rotate applications of your chosen organic controls. Refrain from using chemical controls, they will continually set back your progress by killing off beneficial predatory insects already living in your landscape.

Rather than more control measures,


the next two steps are fundamental cornerstones of an organic land care program in Hawai'i - here comes the coveted TRADE SECRET, and l share it with you today in hopes that you will try out a new approach, experiment, find what works for you and relinquish those chemicals for the benefit and safety of us all.

Firstly, a daily watering schedule (especially overhead spray) in a hot dry climate will 100% guaranteed create

the perfect warm-humid conditions for molds, fungal disease and explosive plant growth - all undesirable for landscapes in an arid climate. instead of watering daily, get that program down to 2x and at the most 4X per week. it's simple, just add up the total amount of time a station needs for I week. Example: 7 min/day = 49 min/ wk. Divide the product by the number of desired run times per week, let's say 3- Now set the station to run for

I6min. at 3 times per week. Simple, easy, everyone can do it and the pest infestations will hate you for this.

Finally, let's develop plant immuni-ty and resistance. A plant that is well suited for it's location, watered properly, and resistant to pests - WONT BE INFESTED. Sure, during the wet season a few insect pests might show up here and there, but scantily, and this never leads to infestation and ongoing control in my experience.

So how do we grow resistant plants? We start by putting LIFE back into the soil and onto the plant surfaces with once per month applications of Actively Aerated Yermi-Compost Tea, which is an aerobic compost tea made with worm castings and high quality compost. We apply this at the rate of I gal./75 sqft. to the ENTIRE landscape soaking all plants, trees, ground covers, and even the turf grass. Beneficial microbes in the compost tea help by digesting sugary exudates on the leaf surface further reducing food supply for unwanted pests like black sooty mold and sap sucking insects. The compost tea drips profusely off of the leaves and into the soil, super-charging it with trillions upon trillions of beneficial bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. Furthermore, key trace minerals and nutrients, pre-digested in the worm gut, are made many times more available to the plant and readi-


ly absorbed directly through the leave surfaces immediately in-creasing plant health, vigor, resistance and beauty. The benefits are to numerous to fit here and the science surrounding the depth and breadth of soil-plant-microbial associations is vast and still developing, but l can tell you with utmost certainty THIS WORKS.

What l have presented here is the culmination of a decade of experience and study, but the real treasure in all of this is YOU, and it always will be. You are vital to what's going on, and it is your choice to make a change, l can only make it easy, available, and within reach, but you must reach out and grab it. All great change starts first in our own backyard.

Micah Barker runs the organic landscape company Bio-Scape Hawaii LLC, and also serves as Secretary on the HILA

Board of Directors.

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HAWAIISCAPE.COM 11

BY EMMA SKALKA

What To Look For When Purchasing "Green" Site Furnishings

Many fail to realize the impact benches, litter receptacles, tables, bike racks and the like have on an outdoor setting. They contribute to visitors' perceptions of the campus and to the "greening" of the campus. When considering a purchase or standardization of site furniture, research manufacturers and consider the following.

Look For Recycled Content How much of the product comes from

recycled materials? The majority of site furniture manufacturers will offer steel and recycled plastic; some also offer aluminum and other recycled materials. A quick perusal of the manufacturer's website will typically tell you the recycled content of their materials.

Look For Proven Durability Will these products last in the intend

ed setting? At colleges and universities, site furniture must sustain high usage. The more durable the product, the less often replacement purchases are made; durability lowers your long tern1 costs. infrequent purchases also cut down on the carbon emissions from shipping. Another benefit is durable products tend to be low maintenance; low maintenance translates to less use of energy, water or cleaning chemicals.

Look For Recycling Options How can these products be used to

encourage our students to recycle? Many site furniture catalogs provide you with ways to promote green initiatives on campus, particularly recycling initiatives. This can often be achieved with special lids and decals on existing litter receptacles or through recycling stations customized to accept your unique recyclables and litter.


Look For Green Companies What steps has the manufacturer taken

internally to be green? From skylights to save on electricity, to reusing scrapped material for packaging, to energy efficient infrared technology to eliminate C02 emissions, there are many ways a company can proactively be environmentally conscious.

Through carefully integrated design and innovative use of material and technology, we at Victor Stanley, lnc.® have committed ourselves to manufacturing durable, attractive, strong, comfortable and environmentally sustainable site furniture. From design to production, we continually strive to reduce the energy and resource demands of our manufacturing

PHOTOS COURTESY: VICTOR STANLEY

process. We utilize thousands of tons of recycled material each year to help conserve our planet's natural resources. Our commitment to energy efficiency has resulted in a huge long-term investment in technology and equipment, reduc-ing our net

impact on energy resources. 100% of our steel bar material is from domestic (USA) electric furnace mills and is g8% recycled steel. Our recycled plastic slats are over go% recycled plastic and are extruded domestically in our facility.

Victor Stanley products are designed and constructed for commercial

~-==jpilllliiiiiallliil~!!o.. application. Their components are designed to withstand abuse and constant traffic. All steel products are coated throughout with a polyester powder coating, providing a highly durable and long-lasting

surface. Visit www.victorstanley.com for more

information on our full line of site furnishings.

Emma Skalka is a native Swede with degrees from the University of Umea, Sweden

aru:l UClA. In 2007 she joined Victor Stanley, Inc., a site furnishing man-

ufacturer located in Dunkirk, Maryland, where she is currently the Sales aru:l Marketing Director. She is also an avid supporter of the ASIA as well as the Cultural Landscape Foundation, where she is a Stewardship Council Member."


Arborjet and University of Hawai'i Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences a re working together to find solutions to Banyan Stem Galling Wasp and Lobate Lac

Scale, two pests threatening Hawai' i's banyan trees.

For more information visit www.arborjet.com .A A~ iEt or call 781-935-9070 ::=,=.:=.~.,)(

HAWAIISCAPE.COM 13

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landscape indt.Stry \72certified

Softscape Installation LICT Test this year in Kona

June 20, 2015 Test registration Deadline: May 26

Registration Forms are available on the

LICH web site, www.hawaiiscape.com


CERTIFICATION AND THE L/CH WEBSITE

Are you an experienced landscaper?

Too busy to take classes?

Know the value of getting

Landscape Certified?

Want to add a certification

to your resume?

Self Study A Different Route to Certification

lardscape i~ <qcertified

Training Manual Order Forms

on the LICH web site:

www.hawaiiscape.com/training/

For more options, call the

LICT Administrator at

808 960-3650

Log on to discover all your landscaping needs online Why we need to be regular visitors to www .hawaiiscape.com?

LlCH has a wonderful web site, full of useful infom1ation, blogs, past magazine articles and more. But more than just being a fun place to explore - for the certified landscaper or those interested in becoming certified, it is an important resource and deserves being bookmarked right on your home screen so you get there quickly when you need to. Let's look at some of the ways that you as LlCTs and LlCMs can manage and even market your certification (see Hire a Professional towards end on this article!) and how all the information you need to get started in certification is right there at your fingertips.

On the hawaiiscape.com home page, when you click on:

Certifications: you will see a description of the landscape certifications available in Hawaii.

Do you need a Registration Form or study materials to study for the Landscape Industry Certified Manager test? You can find that and all the basic information on what certifications are available in Hawaii, from LlCT to Certified Arborist to Restricted Use a Pesticide license.

When you place your cursor on Certifications you will see the following page headings in the drop down box:

LlCf Program: more details on the LlCT program, a Training Manual Order Form, and a link to the LlCT test registration forms state-wide. The PlANET (or NALP) Training Manuals are used in many training classes and are a great option if you want to Self Study for the LlCTTest.

They are also great resource for land-

scapers and landscape companies.

Training: you will find yet another Training Manual Order Form. And on this page you can download Class Registration Forms for Oahu, the Big Island and Maui.

LlCfTest Registration and information: everything you need to know about taking the LlCT test, dates and times and locations and other useful information; registration Forms for Oahu, Hawaii and Maui are there for you to download.

Keeping your LlC Certification Current: LlCH is initiating a campaign to promote companies that have Certified Landscapers on staff. On this page and on the Hire a Professional Page, there is a list of every company in Hawaii who has current LlCTs on staff. The key to being part of this marketing campaign is for the individual LlCT to re-certify and stay current with PlANET (soon to be NALP)! This page has all the information you need about recertification; when and how to re-certify, forms needed etc. lt also has a form that you can fill out and submit right on line to update your current information. This allows LlCH and PlANET (NALP) to stay in touch with you about your certification and will assure that your company contact infomution is correct.

Another important feature of this page is the Training Flyer. This online form is available to Companies and Associations etc. to request that their workshop or other training event qualifies for CEUs; after the form is submitted, a CEU Attendance Form for that event is emailed to the provider of the workshop. All training events, workshops, and lectures should submit the Training Flyer so that LlCH can help LlCTs know about opportunities for gaining CEUs!

Hire a Professional: lets the reader know the benefits of hiring a professional landscaper. Up until now, there has not been a way for the public, property managers, or government agencies to find a company with LlCTs on staff. To see a list of companies with LlCTs on staff, click on the green button Now, companies with staff who have kept up their certification with PLANET (NALP) are on this list with their contact information so that the companies with LlCTS, can be found.


Spend some time on the LlCH web site, and you will be surprised to see how many of your questions may have answers right at your finger tips.

Happy surfing!

Garrett Webb, Landscape Industry Certified Manager (LICM) is the State Administrator for the Hawaii LICT Program and board

member for LICH.

HAWAIISCAPE.CDM 15

~I..A..L.L spaces are being revitalized with vibrant green walls

BY BERNICE FIELDING

lants aren't just for yo ur traditional gardens anymore. ln recent years green walls have picked up much momentum and these structures are being

developed more readily in the urban environment. Not only are green wails aesthetically pleasing, they bring lush and vibrant life to even the coldest and barest of surfaces, both indoors and out. These walls are a big part of the future of green design and technology - they take the technology and benefits of green roofs and make it even more visually appealing by: softening bare concrete, providing shade, helping to conserve energy, providing urban agriculture, purifying the air, yielding humidity and oxygen and a much-needed touch of nature in the urban built environment.

The term "green walls" encompasses all forms of vegetated wall surfaces.


However, there are three main categories of design: green fa~d es, living retaining walls, and living walls.

Green Fat;ades Green fa~des are systems in which

vines and climbing plants or cascading groundcovers grow onto supporting structures. Plants that grow on green fa~des are generally rooted into the ground at the base of the structure, in elevated planters, or even on rooftops. Green fa~des can be attached to existing walls or built as freestanding structures and are used for shade, provide privacy and security, cool buildings and can screen or embellish hardscape and other built structures.

Living Retaining Walls Living retaining walls are engineered

living stn1ctures that are designed to stabilize a slope, while supporting vegetation contained within their structure. They provide structural strength, protect slopes against erosion and, are often modular for ease of installation. While performing the same structural function as their more widely known non-living, solid-faced predecessors, the mature living retaining wall is intended to be fully covered by its vegetation so that it will not only becomes visually appealing green infrastructure but also creates a space that can help to controls storm water and become a habitat for wildlife.

Living Walls Perhaps some of the most ingenua

tive and well-known green wall systems are living wails. They are composed of pre-planted panels, modules, blankets or bags that are then affixed to a structural wall or freestanding frame. These modules support a greater quantity and diversity of pla nt species than green fas;ades and perform well in: both full sun and shade, interior and exterior applications, and can be found in both tropical and temperate locations.

Perhaps no one is more well-known for living wall creations than Patrick Blanc, a French botanist, who, although he did not invent the vertical garden, he is responsible for modernizing and popularizing it. Beginning in 1988, Blanc is responsible fo r many breathtaking living walls, including one at the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris, which boasts 15,000 plants and 150 different species.

Another example of Patrick Blanc's stunning living walls, is the Siam Paragon shopping center in Bangkok Thailand. lt features a lush, rainforest-like cascade of ferns, vines, sedum and moss, plants that could be easily utilized in Honolulu's tropical climate.

As the living wall trend continues to generate more interest over the years, the world 's largest living wall was constructed for japan's Aichi Expo in 2005. Measuring almost 500 feet long and 40 feet high, it was named 'bio-lung' to convey the message that such expanses


of vertical vegetation can help to purify the air in urban environments.

The largest living wall in North America is at One PNC Plaza in Pittsburgh, the headquarters ofPNC Bank. The 2,380 square-foot living wall contains a grand total of 14,448 plants and, since its installation, studies have shown that the south-facing wall of the building is 25% cooler behind the green wall than ambient temperatures, proving that living walls and vertical vegetation can help to reduce energy consumption.

Edible Living Walls More recently, some critics of these

popular vertical greenery designs argue that such gardens aren't being used to their maximum potential unless they're edible.

Edible living walls can be used to produce food in dense urban areas. Using less space, edible walls can "produce fruit, vegetables and herbs." According to The New York Times, urban farming advocates see edible living wall systems as a way to "lower food costs, increase nutritional quality and cut fuel consumption and carbon emissions by using fewer delivery trucks."

There have been a multitude of businesses such as; hotels, restaurants and non-profits that have begun to implement living walls and utilizing vertical space for urban agriculture. The Campbell's Soup Company teamed up with Green Living Technologies LLC to create a living wall of the tomatoes grown for the compa-ny's iconic soup in Harlem, New York. This "edible" food-producing wail brings fresh, pesticide-free produce to an area that lacks space for traditional horizontal gardens.

In the south Bronx, an economically challenged urban area and the nation's poorest Congressional district. A

non-profit, the 'Green Bronx Machine' is on a social mission: to transform their neighborhood into an organic farm, feed their community healthy foods and develop marketable skills for a brighter future. They take over abandoned buildings and vacant lots and while using no fossil fuels, they grow fruit and vegetables on walls, while helping people get healthy and creating jobs for underprivileged youths."

Green Walls conserve energy by cooling buildings, purify the air, help to con-trol stormwater and pollution, beautify the built environment and can help to provide food in otherwise unusable urban spaces. The benefits of implementing green walls into the built environment seems endless, Where will you take it next?

Bernice Fielding was born in Singapore and raised internationally, she owns her own horticultural consulting business and focuses her efforts on sustainable landscapes in the urban environment. She is LEED accredited, a horticulturist, arborist, garden writer and landscape designer. Her work has been featured in multiple garden books, and magazines, as well as being on HG1V.

References: W\\IW.webecoist.momtastic.com/ 2009/03/02/beyond-green-roofs-1svertically-vegetated-buildings/ www.en .wikipedia.orglwiki/Patrick_ Blanc www.dirt.asla.org/2009/ II/19/edible-walls-grow-in-popularity/ www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2013 fo6fosf growing-food -on-walls-to-vegecate-kidswhats-next-in-social-transformation/

Green Fa~de Image www.grea. udl.ca tfen/fthesis.php?id=J4 Living reta ining walllmage: https:// stewardsofearth.wordpress.com/tag/retaining -wall/ Musee du quai Branly Image www.greenroofs.com/projects/pview. php?id=ss3 Siam Paragon shopping center Image www.pingmag.jp/2006/12/o8/verticalgarden-the-art-of-organic-architecture/ Bio lung Image http:/ fwww. umassdining.com/blog!sustainability/green-walls -multifunctionat-urban-gardening-technique PNC Green Wall Image http://imaginepittsburgh.com/nowftag/ tower-at-pnc-plaza/

HAWAIISCAPE.COM 17

Island Topsoil honored for work on Coconut Rhinoceros Beetles

orra Naholowaa of Island Topsoil and Tom LeFevre of Carmel Partners were honored with an award for the "Greatest Hit" at the third annual Hawai'i

Invasive Species Awareness Week Awards Ceremony held at the State Capitol Auditorium on March 2.

18 LANDSCAPEHAWAII MAY I JUNE2015

The award stemmed from the June 2014 discovery of a major coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) breeding site at Iroquois Point on land managed by Carmel Partners, and the mitigation work that was conducted by Island Topsoil.

CRB lay their eggs in mulch, compost, rotting logs, and even manure. Larvae hatch and spend several months eating

the rotting material before they pupate. Adult beetles emerge at night few weeks later and fly to the tops of coconut and palm trees, burrowing into them to feed on the sap. The Iroquois Point CRB breeding site had all stages of CRB: eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults.

"This project was personal," said Naholowaa. "CRB were reproducing in this

huge pile of mulch, and they could do a lot of damage to agriculture, to coconuts, to our culture."

Island Topsoil, Carmel Partners and officials at the Hawai'i Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture worked together on the best protocols for short term and long term clean-up of the site. This included using a horizontal grinder on the mulch, although eggs and smaller life stages could survive, and the material still needed to be disposed of so that it did not get re-infested. Next came screening of the materials, with some finished materi-als spread onsite at no greater than 1.5 inches deep (CRB prefer deeper mulch for stable temperature and moisture content), and the removal of the rest of the material to H-Power.

Thousands of CRB were removed and 3,6oo cubic yards of mulch was eliminated. As of January 2015, the site is considered to be completely mitigated with all suitable breeding habitat removed.

Carmel Partners and Island Topsoil are great examples of the business community partnering with government to effectively protect Hawaii's agriculture, environment, and the community from the impacts of invasive species. Congratulations and mahalo!

For more information about CRB and the eradication program, visit http:// hdoa.hawaii.gov/pi/main/crb/.


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Photos courtesy: BELT COLLINS HAWAII

The entry plaza provides a welcoming experience with planting and permeable concrete that reflects the color of the paving at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and compliments the Information Technology Center.

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I

BY DAWN EASTERDAY AND RANIA SAWYER

pened in February 2014 on the University of Hawai'i's Manoa campus, the information Technology (lT) Center is a world-class

communications technology systems and services center, which supports all ten UH campuses throughout the state. The building and the site landscape design reached toward the highest standard of occupant comfort and high quality, modern workspace environments. Sustainability was approached as a tean1, with the goals of collaboration and cross-pollination and integration being achieved. The facility boasts over 7 4,000 square


feet of interior space with an additional 31, 400 square feet of exterior landscape and hardscape space. The design team was led by Ferarro Choi and Associates as architects and Belt Collins Hawai'i LLC project manager, Dawn Easterday served as the landscape architect. Integrating sustainable practices throughout the building and site, then linking to the campus network were integral goals of the design team.

The site features a showcase of sustainable practices to serve as a sampler for the University to observe and evaluate on a smaller scale for consideration on a broad based use throughout the campus. included within this project are pem1eable concrete for stormwater storage, native and adapted planting to reduce water consumption and fertilizer

requirements, a bio-infiltration swale for existing downspout conveyance, shaded hardscape to reduce heat-island effect, planters designed to accept rainfall from building canopy, efficient automatic drip irrigation system, and two levels of green roof providing bio-diversity and additional rainwater storage. Storm water was a particular concern for this site because during the October 2004 rainfall event that flooded Hamilton Library, the IT Center site was covered in nearly 2 feet of water.

The entry landscape provides a welcoming experience with planting and permeable concrete that reflects and compliments the color of the building. Simple hardscape lines organize the space while the building's rain canopy is artfully paired with an entry planter for rainwa-

ter catchment. Required elements like the firelane were made more pedestrian friendly by reflecting the patterning and colors of the Hawai'i institute of Geophysics plaza and by planting 8 feet of the 20 foot width in native ground covers in a reinforcing grid cell. This design decision greatly softens the north-south corridor and creates a space that caters to the more prevalent pedestrian rather than the occasional vehicle.

Nineteen mature palms (Foxtail, Blue Fan and Loulu palms) were protected in place to preserve shade and soften the building fa~de of the Physical Sciences building. These now provide a lush backdrop that transforms three seating areas with tables into cozy study or lunch tables for students, faculty, staff and visitors. So popular are these seating alcoves that it is rare to find an opening. The landscape design repeated the use of Foxtail palms along Correa Road to further weave elements of existing and new planting together.

ln order to achieve a higher level of sustainability and education, feedback is a critical component. The IT Center building design employs a Building Automation System (BAS) where appliances form


The extensive green roof has growing media that is less than 6" in depth, by American Hydrotech. The most hardy and drought tolerant species proven in a green roof environment in Hawai'i were specified: Echeveria colorata, Kalanchoe thyrsifolia, Senecio, Aloe barbadensis, and Bulbine frutescens.

HAWAIISCAPE.COM 21

building blocks that provide critical data that serves as a measurement on how the building is performing on energy usage, water consumption and other important metrics. The ground floor drip irrigation system and the green roof irrigation is monitored by BAS components, so that changes and improvements in water use reduction can be monitored and improved.

North of the IT Center is a small swale with two miniature check darns to handle and partially infiltrate stormwater from the adjacent Bilger Auditorium. The check darns hold back 4 n of water to allow for infiltration into a bed of Carex wahuensis and Dianella sandwicensis. With only a few hours daily of direct sun, these plants enjoy the shade while handling the periodic inundation during storm events. Dianella prefers a bit of cinder around the base, rather than the moist topsoil. During larger rains, the check dams overflow with water and if necessary there is an inlet into the storm drainage system.

The UH lT Center's stepped green roof is located on levels 5 and 6 on an extended lanai. The green roof benefits users visually from the inside rooms and creates opportunity for physical connection as the green roof is accessible from the outdoor lanai seating. Green roofs are generally harsher environments with higher winds, sun exposure and higher temperature. The design theory behind IT Center roof is that small plants (sprigs) have less of a shock period and adjust better when they grow in this harsh environment from a very young age. A monolithic or layered system was specified, specifically the American Hydro tech extensive green roof (less than 6" depth). The most hardy and drought tolerant species proven in a green roof environment in Hawai'i were specified: Echeveria colorata, Kalanchoe thyrsifolia, Senecio, Aloe barbadensis, and Bulbine frutescens. The irrigation uses an overhead spray system rather than a drip system to cover the area as the growing media is so welldrained that very little capillary action is present. Micro-spray heads are used to prevent loss from wind.

After reflecting on the project, particularly the green roof portion, Easterday recommends a few tips to readers:

1) Make a site visit during the 24-hour water tight test. It's better if you see it firsthand.

2) Be on site during installation. Spontaneous errors can happen even with the


Drought tolerant Carex wahuensis is complemented by a collection of three species of Crinum along the north-south pedestrian spine which also serves as firelane.

most experienced installer and being on site can prevent costly mistakes which effect time and materials.

3) The fewer trades involved the better. This helps narrow the list of responsible parties. For UH lT, the roofing contractor installed all of the green roof layers, including growing media, only the plant installation was completed by the landscape contractor.

4) Specify contractors are responsible (as part of the capital improvement) for weed control and pest control for the first three years of plant establishment. This helps to ensure 100% establishment of the intended species and a weed-free green roof. For UH IT, the plants were noted as upon site delivery and stored overnight. Even with precautionary measurement the plants became infested with ants. Pest removal prior to placement of the plants on the green roof was critical to easing maintenance performed on the roo£

Campus design can be an opportunity to innovate and evaluate using site specif-

ic design that is sensitive to the existing context. However, using the best known practices that have the best chances of success is also important. The University needs design solutions that will withstand the test of time. UH lT Center's nuanced planting and conscious hardscape tactics marries forms of landscape and a1·d1itecture at ground level and the above green roof design. A functional yet beautiful landscape, it becomes a precedent for sustainable technologies in Hawai'i in the realm oflandscape design providing a theoretical framework for green roof technology that can be furthered and built upon in future projects.

Dawn Easterday, ASIA, LEED BD+C, GRP is a registered landscape architect with Belt Collins Hawaii with 21 years of practical experience. Rania Sa1~er is a landscape designer with Belt Collins Hawai'i with a background in environmental design receiving her education at CU-Boulder and Cornell University.

THE 50TH STATE REPRESENTS AT 2075 WCISA TREE CLIMBING CHAMPIONSHIP Justin Donahue and Jamilee Kempton win spots on the podium

BY CAROL KWAN

he usual schedule for Tree Climbing Championships got changed around for 2015. Normally the International Tree Climbing Championship (lTCC) is

held in conjunction with the International Society of Arboriculture's (lSA's) annual conference in August (this year August 8-12.) However, because the conference will be held in Kissimmee, Florida and Florida would be a very hot place to be climbing in August, the lTCC was held on March 21st & 22nd instead. The winners of the regional Chapter competitions compete in ITCC, so Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture's (WC!SA's) TCC was held earlier than usual on February 21st and 22nd, about the time when Aloha Arborist Association (AAA) would normally schedule the Hawaii TCC. As such, the 2014 Hawaii TCC champions competed in the WClSA TCC representing our state without having competed locally yet in 2015. Planning is now undetway to hold Hawaii TCC in October 2015.

Since our competitors, Justin Donalme and Jarnilee Kempton, were footing the bill on their own, AAA put out a call to its members asking for sponsorships to help them pay the costs of attending the competition. Mahalo nui loa to the following companies and individuals who answered the call, raising a total of $525. This money was split between the two competitors.

• Alaka'i Landscaping • Arbor Global • Carol Kwan Consulting LLC • Kendall Landscape Services, LLC • Makani Consulting • Premium Landscape Maintenance • Trees of the Tropics • Ms. Elaine Malina


Photos courtesy: NICHOLAS CRAWFORD

2015 WCISA TCC champions: left to right Jamilee Kempton (women's), Jared Abrojena (men's), and Rodolpho Baza (old timer's).

Congratulations to Justin Donahue, who placed sth overall in the men's division ofWClSA TCC, and to Jamilee Kempton, who won the women's division ofWClSA TCC and went on to win the women's division oflTCC.

Carol Kwan is the President of Carol Kwan Consulting, a Certified Arborist, and a Director of Aloha ArboristAssociation and the Western Chapter

International Society of Arboriculture.

HAWAIISCAPE.COM 23

pest COLUMN ..,. BY J. B. FRIDAY, LISA KEITH

AND FLINT HUGHES

newly detected disease has been killing large numbers of mature 'ohi'a trees (Metrosideros polymorpha) in forests and residential areas of

lower Puna and Hilo on Hawai'i Island (figure I). Once symptoms begin to show on previously healthy trees, it takes only a few weeks until they are dead. Laboratory tests conducted by the USDA Agriculture Research Service have identified the causal agent as the vascular wilt fungus Ceratocystis. While Ceratocystis fimbriata has been present in Hawai'i as a pathogen of sweet potato for decades, this is the first record of any Ceratocystis attacking 'ohi'a. lt is unknown at this time if these impacts on ohia are the result of

CERATOCYST/S -WILT OF

I Big Island 'ohi'a forests at risk by newly detected, fast acting fungus Ceratocystis

an introduction of a new exotic strain Figure 1. Forest stand affected by Ceratocystis wilt. of the fungus, or if this is a new host for the existing strain. This disease has the potential to affect 'ohi'a forests statewide.

Extent As of 2014, 15,000 forested acres from

Kalapana to Hilo on Hawai'i Island have been affected. The disease has not yet been reported on other islands as of the date of this publication.

Symptoms Crowns of affected trees tum yellowish

(chlorotic) and then brown within days to weeks, with dead leaves clinging to the crown for some time (figure 2). On occasion, one branch or fork of a tree will be affected before the rest of the crown of a given tree (figure 3). Trees in a stand die in a haphazard pattern; the disease does not appear to radiate out from already in-


Figure 2. Symptoms of Ceratocystis wilt Figure 3. Morality of one half of a of 'Cihi'a include rapid browning of affected fork in an 'Cihi'a tree infected with tree crowns. Ceratocystis.

Figure 4. Characteristic dark staining of sapwood in an 'Cihi'a tree infected with Ceratocystis.

Figure 5. Close up of characteristic dark staining of sapwood from Ceratocystis.

Figure 6. Perithecia, or fruiting bodies, of Ceratocystis.


fected or dead trees. Within two to three years nearly 100% of trees in a stand succumb to the disease. Other tree species in the forest such as kopiko (Psychotria) are not affected by the disease.

When 'ohi'a trees showing symp-toms of the disease are cut down, there is a characteristic dark staining in the heartwood (figure 4). The stain spreads radially through the wood (figure 5). lf wood samples are incubated by being kept moist in a plastic bag for a week, the fungus produces characteristic fruiting bodies called perithecia (figure 6).

Methods of Transmission lt is currently unknown how the dis

ease on 'ohi'a is spreading. ln plant hosts like sweet potato, cacao, mango and eucalyptus, Ceratocystis can be transmitted by insects, soil, water, infected cuttings, pruning wounds, or tools, and the same may be the case here.

What to Do There is no treatment for the disease at

this point in time. To slow the spread of the disease, landowners are encouraged not to transport wood from affected 'ohi'a trees to other areas. The pathogen may remain virulent for over a year in dead wood. Tools used for cutting infected 'ohi'a trees should be cleaned either with a Lysol ,.., spray or a 70% rubbing alcohol solution. Chlorine bleach can rust steel tools, but a 10% solution of chlorine bleach and water can be used as long as tools are oiled afterwards. Chain saw blades should be brushed clean, sprayed with a cleaning solution, then run briefly to re-oil the chain. Vehicles used off-road in infected forest areas should be thoroughly cleaned underneath so as to not carry contaminated soil to healthy forests.

]. B. Friday is with the University of Hawai'i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Cooperative Extension Service. Lisa Keith is with the USDA Agriculture Research Service Pacific Basin Agriculture Research Center, and Flint Hughes is with the USDA Forest Service Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry

Reference Keith, L. M., L. S. Sugiyama, W. P.

Heller, J. B. Friday, B. C. Bushe, and R. F. Hughes. 2015. First Report of Ceratocystis wilt on 'Ohi'a (Metrosideros polymorpha). Plant Disease.

HAWAIISCAPE.COM 25

ince Riviera bermudagrass was released in 2001 it has taken the turf industry by storm. Riviera has now been planted on all but one of the seven continents and let's be

realistic, grass is not an option in the Antarctica. Riviera has been used extensively on golf courses, home lawns, roadsides, and almost every venue of sports. Initially recognized for its exceptional winter hardiness for a bermudagrass variety in more Northern climates, Riviera has proven to be so much more. Riviera has excelled in a vast array of turf applications in United States, China, Australia, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, and the Mediterranean, just to name a few. Riviera's performance package of superior density, texture, color and early spring green-up make it a winner among turf professionals. And don't let Riviera's natural beauty be an indication for the lack of toughness. Riviera gets its share of plays on Sundays in the NFL and its share of hits on weekdays in the Major League. Wear tolerance is not an option for these applications and Riviera doesn't disappoint, not even some of the biggest critics weighing three hundred and fifty pounds. Another amazing fact about Riviera is that it can be purchased in a bag or bucket.

lt is a seeded variety, not a sod type, and therefore can be planted with very little labor and expense. Riviera has proven itself for more than a decade in some of the toughest climates and applications. It is the proven solution for the turf professional and novice alike.

Susan Owen is the owner of Koolau Seed & Supply Company, Inc.


SEEDED BERMUDA WITH

HYBRID 'RMUDA

UALITY

TURFGRASS COMPARISON Rrviera bermudagrass Hybnd bermudagrass Common bermudagrass Z~ysragrass Cool·sealon grasses

Cold Tolerance Excellent Gwd tol'oor Poor Good •~ Pucr Excellent to Good

Excellent Ellcellmt to Good Ercellml ExceMnt Drought Tolerance Excellent Excellent to Good Excellent to Good Good Good to Puor

Sail Tolerance Good Good to Poor Good Good Good to Puor Wear Tolerance Excellent Excellent to Good Good Good Good to Puor

Disease Resistance Excellent Good to Poor Gocid to Poor Good Poor

Leal Texture Excellent Excetleflt Good Good Excellent to Gooa Density Excellent Extetleflt Good to Poor Good Extellent to Good

Recuperative Potential Excellent Excellent to Good Good Good to Pocr Good to Puor

Estallistment Rata Excellent Good Excellent Puor Excellent to Good

"ES TAB L I SHES QUICK LY AND RECOVERS QU I CKLY FROM WEAR."

LOW VOLTAGE LANDSCAPE LIGHTING

INSTALLATION Tips and procedures to insure a quality product for your client BY MARTIN MIYASHIRO

y first job in the Landscape Industry was installing and servicing sprinkler systems. One of the components

of a sprinkler system is the automatic controller (clock). Early on in my career while installing a sprinkler controller, I cut a wire. ln an instant and all at once, I experienced a loud pop, a blinding flash of light, a numbing feeling in my arm, an


aching feeling in my hand and a sudden uncontrollable loss of strength! My wire cutters literally blew out of my hand! Thus began my life long respect for the invisible force we call electricity. I had just cut a live wire. Needless to say, I was very lucky that day. After all, the only thing that I experienced was an achy limb and an elevated heartbeat.

Flash forward about 3 years, and I was on a job installing landscape lighting. I was prepared! Transformer, wire, wire nuts, and fixtures with two wires coming out of it. just like a sprinkler system right?! Wrong!!! I am embarrassed to say, that I made so many mistakes on this job that I shouldn't have been paid. When I finally left the job, I supplied my client with a stockpile of bulbs in case ofbumouts and a handful of fuses in case the

lights failed to come on. I was so frustrated that I never wanted to install another lighting system again. I am hoping that you never find yourself in this position so I will share with you what I experienced.

The Scene I was preparing for a wedding and

reception for my clients son. At the far end of the property there was a large Koa tree with cascading branches reaching out over a great lawn. What I envisioned in my mind was a staggered string of pathway lights that would gently illuminate the boundaries of the lawn and several well lights that would cross light a multi trunk Koa tree creating mysterious shadows and texture. There was a large gazeebo which I intended to light using various wash lights and down lights, cre-

HAWAIISCAPE.CDM 27

ating an area where the guests could congregate. On the way up to this area were several wide flights of steps and landings made of coral with seating areas. 1 set pathway lights there to mark the landings and steps and selectively lit small shrubs, rocks and trees along the path to provide interesting visual focal points.

The Problem The installation went as planned

Anticipating the "experience" that night, 1 eagerly waited for the sun to go down. When it did, l was very thankful that my client was not there to "experience" this with mel The scene that I had imagined in my mind's eye was nothing like what lay before me. The lights around the lawn got progressively dimmer and dimmer as my eyes moved across the yardl The Koa tree was barely visible due to the lack of illumination! Some of the lights on the pathway steps didn't even come on! With panic and anxiety flowing through me, I frantically ran around the yard looking for the cause of my dilemma! 1 found nothing. So lleft a note for my customer saying that l needed to get a few missing parts and would return the following day to finish the job.

The Solution Some of what 1 experienced with my

lighting system are very similar to what you may have experienced in sprinkler systems. You call it a loss of water pressure. In my lighting system it is called voltage loss. When we have low pressure at our sprinkler heads we experience poor coverage as the sprinklers do not cover the intended area. When we have low electrical pressure, we experience dim lights that don't cover the intended area. Like sprinkler heads, light fixtures require a certain amount of pressure to function properly. Too much pressure results in premature failure (burn out). Too little pressure results in dim and yellowing lights. Halogen lan1ps require between ro.s to 12 volts to operate properly. The key to installation is making sure that you have proper voltage to each fixture. In a sprinkler system when heads aren't working properly, often times we either eliminate heads or increase the pipe size. We keep eliminating heads until the system is working properly. Sometimes we increase pressure by introducing a booster pump. Our determination of a properly functioning irrigation system is often made by a visual inspection. What we see. We cannot do this in lighting


Cable Calculations voltage drop formula run x wattx 2

cc SIZE MAX SAFE LOAD CABLE CONSTANT 14/2 12 amps -144 watts 3500 12/2 16 amps -192 watts 7500 10/2 24 amps - 192 watts 11920 8/2 25 amps - 300 watts 18960

SPECIFICATIONS NUMBER OF LEOS 1 3 6 9

HALOGEN LUMEN 10 watts 20watts 35 watts 50 watts OUTPUT EQUIVALENT

USEFUL LED LIFE L70 (Avg) 50,000 hrs 50,000hrs 50,000hrs 50,000hrs

INPUT VOLTAGE 10 to 15V 10 to 15V 10 to 15V 10 to 15V

VA TOTAL (use to size the transfonner) 2.4

WATTS USED 2.0

Figure 1

systems. Remember while the effects of electricity may be visible, the electricity remains invisible. How do we know when to stop eliminating lights?

• Eliminating heads: Like a sprinkler system, as we eliminate fixtures from a line voltage increases. We determine the functionality of a sprinkler system by what we see. How do we verify proper voltage by what we see? Take a voltage measurement at each fixture while it is on.

• Increasing pipe size: While increasing wire size is a good way to keep your voltage up, how do you know where it is at, at any given point? Again, a voltage measurement is necessary here too.

• Introducing a booster pump: sometimes people use multi tap transformers that include higher taps to increase voltage. Once again, how do you determine which one to use? (Remember, the lamp needs between Io.s - 12 volts to operate properly.

One of the inherent problems with Low Voltage Lighting Systems is that we are working with low electrical pressure. ln the case of an Incandescent Halogen System, we only have I.S volts ofloss to work with. A lot of designers have opted to go with larger wire to compensate for this loss. While this is a valid engineering solution, the cost of the wire, and more importantly the difficulty in making good connections, often times causes a properly engineered system to become inopera-

4.5 13.5 13.5

4.2 10.1 11.2

ble in a short period of time. Waterproof wire connections are critical! I myself have been guilty of making bad connections. Because I couldn't see electricity leaking, I assumed it was all good.

You may find yourself in a similar situation. Please remember, a visual inspection of a lighting system is not enough to verify a soundly engineered lighting system. ln this article 1 would like to provide a solution that 1 use in engineering a lighting system today. In order to do this we need to define some terms. They are as follows.

1. watts - the amount ofload in watts that the lighting system is using. For example, three I3·S watt Lamps equals a 40.s watt load. (3 x IJ.S watts = 40.s watts)

2. Run- the total length of the wire from the transfom1er to the last fixture

3· Cable Constant - a mathematical constant used to quantify the electrical potential of the cable

When engineering a lighting system, I would recommend that you choose LED rather than incandescent Halogen lamps. One of reasons for this choice are, longer lamp life (Io,ooo hours Halogen vs so,ooo hours LED). Just imagine if you ran your lights for 12 hours a night for IO years that's only 43,800 hours. A Halogen system with the same run time will give you about 8760 hours in two years.

Another reason is that LED lamps typically need between IO to IS volts to operate. Incandescent Halogen lamps run

between Io.s volts to 12 volts. What this means is that you can afford to suffer a lot more voltage loss with LED's. This will help you in the engineering process. In the problem below you will see that you can put a lot more LED's on a line than was ever possible with a Halogen lighting system and wire distances and sizes are no longer a big issue.

Using the equation in figure I, calculate the voltage drop for the following system. Use the manufacturers VA total when using this formula.

Problem: I have a Is oft run of #I2/2low voltage wire with seven 20 watt equivalent LED path lights and five so watt equivalent LED up lights.

Run- ISO ft watts - (4.s x 7) + (IJ.S x s) = 99 watts Cable Constant - 7SOO

ISO X 99 X 2 divided by 7SOO = 3-96 voltage drop (See Figure I)

If you were to use the IS volt tap on the transformer you would end up with II.04 volts. (IS - 3-96 = n.o4) Remember, LED

~~~CEH~~~~ OAHU HILO

lamps need between 10 and IS volts to operate! And we only used #12/2 wire to run 12 lights in this scenario!

Important Things to Remember 1. Electricity is invisible. Because we

can't see it sometimes we get careless in our connections. Good quality waterproof connections are essential. Whenever electricity begins to flow, heat is created. When heat is created moisture will wick into the wire. If your connections are not water tight, corrosion will occur. Remember, the lamps are supposed to last for approximately ro years. Make sure your wire does tool

2. Always take a voltage reading at the fixtures before completing your waterproof connection. This fom1Ula is used to calculate your wire size and run based upon the load There is no way for anyone to guarantee that your source of power is correct. This would include the primary power that feeds the transformer and the output of the transformer. Some manufacturers recommend that you use the I4 volt tap as a safe practice in case the primary power is higher than a noVA C. Remember again, electricity is invisible.

KONA KAUAI

It is impossible to determine if the fixture has the proper voltage by using your eyes alone.

Final Thoughts You can provide your customers with

a high quality lighting system that will enable them to enjoy the landscape that you have created for them during the nighttime hours for years to come. If you follow the basic rules of proper installation and engineering you will always be successful. Remember, ultimately you are the artist and creator of their back yard resorts. All you are doing is increasing their usage to the night. I think it's the better time to be out there!

Coming Up • The Mystery Behind Electricity:

Managing and Manipulating the Invisible • Design: Scenes and moods and how

to create them

Martin Miyashiro, Sales Manager Hunter Industries j FX Luminaire. email: martin. miyashiro@>hunterindustries.com, phone: (8o8) 888-6g88.

MAUl

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THE VOICE OF HAWAII'S GREEN INDUSTRY HAWAIISCAPE.COM 29

tool

TIPS .,. PHYLLIS JONES

here is a growing problem spreading through the landscape industry. The problem exists not only in this state but throughout the country.

It is a problem that no one seems to want to talk about, or spend time discussing nn~<:ihlP ~nlutinn<:. ls it hPr>lliSP nn nnP

It is time to address the growing problem of a shortage of qualified mechanics

ets of the landscape industry. The problem-WHERE CAN I FIND AN EXPERIENCED, COMPETENT MECHANIC. Over the past several months, I have been asked this question by several landscape companies and/or supervisors of grounds maintenance, who, I. Have either "lost" or will be losing a mechanic; m 7 .. 1-l>~vP nuP~tions about the level of

petence of the individ!rforming the repairs. l that they are having tot done in a timely mannot working properly uipment which is putting budget. >ld-school" mechanics they are taking with ,f skill, and more impornceptual understanding :e engines and small and •· These "old-timers" 1istorical progression :power equipment has 1d the implication of 1ost companies have :> are in the position by were the most willing to seemed to be the most ically inclined within the Jf candidates, so they ' the tool cart. This is l "on the job training", or 'try this, try that" methThis can prove cosdy d no one can depend on Jesswork to keep their :quipment running. ln years past, equipment manufacturers would hold annual service schools to inform mechanics about changes in their equipment. However, most manu-

facturers have gone to giving the class on line or not giving the schools at all because of the costs involved.

Even with the expansion of battery-powered equipment, there will always be a need for gas powered equipment for those areas where long runtime is required. The skilled mechanic will not become obsolete. As equipment manufacturers redesign equipment to: 1. meet new EPA and OSHA regulations, 2. deal with increases in the cost of materials and manufacturing, and 3- meet changing market demands, mechanics will need to enlarge their skill set to adapt to these changes. As an industry, where the work that we perform is highly visible to the public, it is imperative that we recognize what it takes for landscape equipment to run properly in order to get the job done.

We need to first acknowledge that there is a body of knowledge and a skill set that the mechanic must have to do the job. As an industry, we need to have all the stake holders involved in this discussion, and agree that this would be good for every facet of the industry. The Landscape Industry Council has a certification class for operators. Perhaps there should be a similar class for mechanics, or it can be incorporated into the operators class. As an industry we are very cognizant of trends in the landscape industry and planning for the future, yet we tend to ignore a growing problem within the industry. This might be the time for us to address the future of the equipment industry in our state. ls anyone out there listening??

Phyllis jones is with A to Z Equipment and Sales, formally A to Z Rental Center, in business for over 25 years.

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