What and How to Plant in Your Area

Click here to read about Oahu's Waterways

Zone Number Zone Description Zone 1 Dry (0-47" annual rainfall) Elevation <150ft Zone 2 Dry (0-47" annual rainfall) Elevation 150-1000ft Zone 3 Dry (0-47" annual rainfall) Elevation 1000-3000ft Zone 4 Mesic (48-98" annual rainfall) Elevation < 150ft Zone 5 Mesic (48-98" annual rainfall) Elevation 150-1000ft Zone 6 Mesic (48-98" annual rainfall) Elevation 1000-3000ft Zone 7 Wet (>98" annual rainfall) Elevation <150ft Zone 8 Wet (>98" annual rainfall) Elevation 150-1000ft Zone 9 Wet (>98" annual rainfall) Elevation 1000-3000ft

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These zones are general guidelines to help you select the right type of Hawaiian plant to use in the landscape on O'ahu. Select the zone that best fits your area.  Hover over the interactive map (above) to locate your neighborhood. Then click to find a list of appropriate plants displayed with scientific name, common/Hawaiian name and it's growing habit.  They are grouped according to their growth form (ie. Groundcover, Shrub, Tree).  Most plants can be listed in more than one zone and can be planted in a variety of conditions.

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS:
The zones were created based on rainfall and elevation from data initially compiled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. BWS GIS staff revised the map in 2009. The plant information was gathered from the Manual of Flowering Plants of Hawai'i by Warren L. Wagner, Derral R. Herbst, and S.H. Sohmer and from Hawai'i's Ferns and Fern Allies by Daniel D. Palmer. The lists were compiled by Dr. Gregory Koob, who also provided plant information. The most recent scientific names, as updated by the Smithsonian Web site supplement to the Manual (as of April 2004), were used and these lists only include natives that were recorded to exist on O'ahu.  There may be other suitable Hawaiian plants that are not listed here because they were not historically found growing on O'ahu. 

Many thanks to Forest and Kim Starr of the United States Geological Survey for allowing us to include several of their plant photos on our site. Their website can be found by accessing http://www.hear.org/starr/index.html. A big mahalo also goes to Gregory A. Koob for allowing us to include several of his plant photos on our site.  Several of his photos can be found at http://pbin.nbii.gov/. Other photos provided by Amy Tsuneyoshi of the Board of Water Supply.

Some caveats to the planting list:

• The measurements given are approximations, conversions from meters, and rounded to the nearest whole number. They are considered the maximums, not necessarily the norms. Plants that have a wide range usually have that range due to environmental conditions (elevations, wind, stresses, etc.) but may just be a highly variable species.
• There is a "Waterways list" to incorporate plants that require wet conditions to grow.
• Federal and State listing status of threatened or endangered plants is not noted in the lists and will be added in the future when individual plant information and pictures are incorporated into this site.