Where can you buy these plants?
Some of the native Hawaiian plants described within this site are commercially available; others are not. Before asking for your help with the plants you cannot buy, below is a list of nurseries and organizations that regularly sell native Hawaiian plants. For any nursery owners we've missed, please contact us at EickhoffandKoebele@gmail.com so we can add your nursery to the list. However, please be sure you have a native Hawaiian plant inventory of ten or more species.
Now, regarding the native Hawaiian plants you cannot buy, we are asking for your help.
If the plant you want to buy IS NOT threatened or endangered (i.e., is not on the State of Hawai‘i T&E plant species list), contact one or more of the commercial growers listed below and encourage/pester them to start growing and selling the species you are interested in buying from them. We will leave it up to you to be creative and come up with a convincing reason(s) they should do so.
If the plant you want to buy IS threatened or endangered (i.e., is on the State of Hawai‘i T&E plant species list), first, find a nursery, organization, or person growing this T&E plant and ask them to submit a Commercial Use of Hawaiian Threatened and Endangered Plant Species Permit Application to the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). Second, contact your local state representative(s) and politely ask them to pressure DLNR to follow the original intent and letter of the revised State of Hawai‘i Law regarding T&E plants in Hawai’i and establish and maintain the diverse 5-plus-person committee described in the administrative rules so it can transparently (e.g., online minutes of meetings would be nice) and continuously review ALL of Hawai’i’s T&E plant species for commercial use.
When talking with your representative(s), it’s particularly important to make them aware of Chapter 107 of Title 13 subsection 13-107-6, which states, “All threatened and endangered plant species from garden-grown stock can be used commercially,” and that “Petitions to exclude certain threatened and endangered plant species from being used commercially must be submitted in writing to the department.” In other words, the original intent of the 1998 law was to make ALL of Hawai’i's T&E plant species grown from garden-stock legal for sale unless someone petitioned otherwise. An exclusion petition would then be reviewed by a diverse committee of five or more members, and they would decide whether the exclusion was merited. As far as I (Koebele) know, this committee was never established or maintained, and no exclusion petitions were ever reviewed. Rather, it seems DLNR has used a provision in the law (i.e., “Commercial-use plants may only be sold if accompanied by a tag provided by the department.”) as a way to avoid committee review and maintain exclusive control over which species (or even subspecies or variety) can be legally sold.
On Kaua‘i
Kaua‘i Native Plant Society (The Society hosts native plant sales featuring plants grown by local nurseries.)
https://kauainativeplants.org/
kauainativeplantsociety@gmail.com
Kauai Seascapes Nursery, Inc.
http://kauaiseascapesnursery.com
808.828.0444
4741 Kahiliholo Road #A, Kilauea, HI 96754
On O‘ahu
Hui Kū Maoli Ola (Plants are also available at City Mill and Home Depot locations.)
http://www.plantnativehawaii.com
808.235.6165
nativehawaiianplants@gmail.com
46-403 Haʻiku Rd., Kaneʻohe, HI 96744
Harold L. Lyon Arboretum (The Arboretum offers native plants primarily through its semi-annual plants sales. However, it is also possible to special order some species.)
https://manoa.hawaii.edu/lyonarboretum/
808.988.0456
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
3860 Mānoa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822
La‘au Hawaii/Hawaii Fern Project
808.237.8488
PO Box 5364, Kaneohe, HI 96744
Mari's Gardens (A place to buy native plant seeds as well as plants.)
808.625.2800
94-415 Makapipipi St. Mililani, HI 96789
Native Ecosystem Services LLC (Provides hydroseeding service with native plants.)
808.469.9432
2541 Waolani Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96817
Native Plant Source
808.227.2019
2076 Kalawahine Pl., Honolulu, HI 96822
On Maui
Maui Nui Botanical Gardens (MNBG has weekly featured native plant sales.)
808.249.2798
150 Kanaloa Ave., Kahului, Maui, HI 96732
Maui Native Nursery (Not open for walk-ins. However, retail outlets include Kula Hardware & Nursery, Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-mart, and Safeway Lahaina.)
808.878.8276
1267 Na‘alae Rd., Kula, HI 96790
On Hawai‘i Island
Aikane Nursery & Landscaping, LLC
808.430.8198
808.769.2304 (Nursery phone)
55-3472 Akoni Pule Hwy., Hawi, HI 96719
Aileen's Nursery
808.936.2671
942 W. Kawailani St., Hilo, HI 96720
Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden
https://www.amygreenwell.garden/
808.767.1814
82-6160 Hawai‘i Belt Rd., Captain Cook, HI 96704
Big Island Plants
808.985.8596
PO Box 338, Volcano, HI 96785
Future Forests Nursery, LLC
808.325.2377
P.O. Box 847 Kailua Kona, HI 96745
Lehua Lena Nursery
https://lehualenanursery.wixsite.com/website
PO Box 1479, Keaau, Hi 96749
Māla Lā’au Hawai’i
808.855.5402