By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Gregory Koob, above, experiments with a group of kids for
his program on Native Plants for Schools which kicks off
Sunday at Foster Botanical Garden.
THINK about what interests fourth graders. It has to be more challenging than "Barney" and less boring than National Geographic's "Fun on the Tundra." It has to take less time than a science fair project and be as satisfying as being elected class president. How does your
Gardener Grow?Foster Gardens' new program helps
children learn about Hawaii's native plantsGregory Koob, who holds a doctorate in horticulture, doesn't claim that his new project, Native Plants for Schools, measures up to all of these standards, but it comes close. The program, which is designed for elementary school children, will be introduced to the public Sunday afternoon at Foster Botanical Garden.
Koob will have small pots, potting mixture and seeds of koa, wiliwili, ohai, mao (Ha-waiian cotton) and the state flower, the endangered yellow hibiscus, for planting.
Growing plants from seeds is a challenge, but Koob gives the kids an extra shot at success. He has prepared the seeds either by soaking or scoring them, so that they will germinate.
They should show some action within a few weeks with the appearance of small green shoots. When the plant is big enough to move outside into the garden, there's always a feeling of accomplishment.
The program at Foster will start the kids off with seeds, because that's what Koob has the most of. But the programs in the schools will use growing plants to speed up the process.
"Many of the elementary schools are putting in ethnobotanical gardens on the campus, but they haven't any money for plants. And kids like quick results," Koob said. So he has raised seedlings of a variety of Hawaiian native plants to be installed and maintained on the campus by the students.
"Some natives are harder to grow than others, and if the plant dies, we'll replace it," he said. The cultivation committee comprises volunteers who grow the seedlings in pots in their own gardens and then donate them to Koob's program.
At Sunday's event, Koob -- who is also the editor of the free monthly magazine Hawaii Horticulture, distributed at garden shops and florists -- will have growing samples of each plant, and the young botanists can choose the seeds of their favorite. Then they will pot the seeds with advice from Koob and other volunteers, and label it so they'll remember what it is when it comes up.
They will be given instructions on when to water their plants, how much sun each plant needs and when to repot; then they're on their own.
Koob ran a rehearsal of the program earlier this week, using Danielle, Chloe and Madison Wilson and their cousins, John and Reece Foy, all between 4 and 8 years old.
They were highly enthusiastic, and the 4-year-olds even offered to stay up all night to see if the seeds sprouted. They didn't seem particularly put off when Koob told them it would take somewhat longer.
John Foy, 7, was going to discuss the project with his grandfather. "My grandpa has a big garden with a covered place for starting plants," John said. "He grows carrots and watermelon and orchids and other stuff -- so much that I can't remember what. He'll like this."
That is exactly one of the results that the program is aiming for, the interaction between generations over something as simple as planting a seed.
THESE are the available seeds at Foster Botanic Garden on Sunday, and a few of the growing plants Koob is offering to school projects: Variety of isle flora
available Sunday
Koa is not the plant to choose if you live in an apartment. It is a high altitude forest tree, preferring altitudes over 1,500 feet, although it will grow in lower areas. It reaches a height of 50 feet. When the seed germinates and for a short time thereafter, the feathery leaves look like the dryland weed, haole koa, which are in time replaced by smooth stiff crescent shaped leaf stems of the mature tree.
The trees bloom in late winter to early spring with small cream-colored clusters of flowers. The seedlings actually can be kept in pots for several years before they get out of hand.
The wiliwili loses its leaves during the summer as a mechanism to conserve water, so that the vibrant color of the flowers in late summer look even more spectacular against the bare branches and trunk.
The tree grows to about 30 feet, and is ideal for coastal and dry area planting.
It has a silvery appearance because the branches and leaves are covered with a dense coat of short silky hairs. It bears beautiful flowers in various shades of pastel reds and oranges. It grows well in sandy well-drained soil, but will last only a year or so in heavier soil.
Ohai is an endangered plant but grows easily from seed.
Its flowers yield a green dye that was once used for kapa cloth. The plant itself produces a poor quality of cotton bolls which have never been utilized for fiber. It is important commercially, however, to hybridize with cultivated mainland cotton varieties to produce a superior, pest resistant plant.
The hibiscus was central in the successful fight to allow endangered species to be grown in private gardens because while it was rapidly disappearing, it is also very simple to cultivate.
It grows as a shrub to about 4 feet and flowers year round, and ought to be in every school garden.
Planting aloha
Educators interested in enlisting Greg Koob's help in native planting at their own schools should call him directly at 951-4951.
Gardening Calendar in Do It Electric!
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