Small Trees for the Tropical Landscape

This is a great reference book, packed with useful information concisely written. Many people have difficulty selecting trees that are appropriately sized for their yards, especially in urban and suburban areas of Honolulu where yards are small. This book is a perfect reference for landscape architects, arborists, property managers, homeowners, and others who deal with tropical landscapes in tight spaces. The photos are great (both overview photos and close-ups of flowers) and the text flags whether a plant has thorns, is poisonous, causes skin or other irritations, or needs extra care when handling. There is also an indication when a plant is considered a high weed risk. Practical information, such as if the tree needs full sun or can handle some shade and whether it needs good draining soil, is also included. A must have for green industry professionals and a nice addition to home gardeners' libraries.

This is not just a gardener's guide to small trees but a plea to do something about the vanishing "urban forest."Fred Rauch and Paul Weissich begin by citing former Forest Service chief Michael Dombeck's claim that "we are losing four trees through clearing and grading for every tree planted in real estate and other land development."This may be misleading. Post-development, owners plant lots of trees. I was greatly struck, 40 years ago, by Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith's observation that he "lived in a forest." Los Angeles was not a forest before the developers got there.True or only partly true, Rauch and Weissich also observe that crowding in cities leaves less and less room for big trees. So they offer this volume to encourage landowners to make best use of space by planting small trees, defined as 30 feet tall or less.This is less of an issue on Maui than on Oahu, although if Planning Director Jeff Hunt realizes his goal of crowding us together, we could become more like Honolulu. On the other hand, as the Urban Land Institute never tires of reminding us, only four percent of Oahu has urban zoning, and the island of Oahu has lots of trees.Just maybe not where the people are.While Maui is not short of trees of all sizes, what it does lack is variety. The landscape architects who make presentations to the Urban Design Review Board all seem to work from the same "palette" (as they call it) of about a dozen species."Small Trees for the Tropical Landscape" could expand that by at least an order of magnitude, as it offers suggestions (profusely illustrated) of 129 species (with additional dozens of subspecies and cultivars) that they judge suitable for urban planting.In addition, they present a further list of 68 shrubs that can readily be trained to look like trees up to about 15 feet high, "very useful for the small property."Curiously, there is not a single palm tree in this extensive list. The authors do not mention palms or why they leave them out. Nor are there any conifers, popular Upcountry even if they don't look tropical.Around 10 percent of suggestions are natives, plus a couple of Polynesian-introduced species.Many can provide fruit, although the authors warn not to plant fruit trees if you're not willing to gather it up.I would have included koa. It gets to be big, but it grows so fast, you could afford to cut one down and start over every 15 years or so. Then you could sell the wood, as long as you are careful to never put any nails or wire in it while it is growing. Sawyers are wary of urban trees because metal breaks their blades.Cultivation advice is minimal, but all entries conform to the strictures of the Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment Project."Small Trees in the Tropical Landscape" is directed explicitly to Hawaii, and a majority of suggestions are true tropicals. However, there are enough species included that could grow in the extreme southern parts of Mainland states that readers outside the islands could find the book useful.The problem for Maui readers will be finding these plants, most of which are seldom or never offered by local nurseries.

LIKE IT'S SIZE.