KAILUA-KONA — After almost 30 years of serving Kona’s gardening community, Margo Lundstrom is closing her Sunrise Nursery to take a long overdue vacation.
Getting the right plants in the right places in West Hawaii has been a tireless job and she’s ready to do some traveling to see some unusual plants in out of the way places.
Margo grew up on a 13-acre orange farm in Ojai, California, with an avid gardener for a mother but her love of plants didn’t really blossom until she moved to Hawaii. Once she arrived, more than 40 years ago, she was delighted to find that she could propagate and grow plants outdoors year-round.
“I realized I had caught my mother’s passion for plants,” she said. “It was probably in my blood all along.”
After she and her husband, Eric, started a family, she wanted a job she could do from home while her kids were young. Propagating and wholesaling plants worked well for a few years. As her business grew, she realized she had to expand beyond her backyard. Since her kids were a little older and Eric had offered to take on more child care, she was ready to open her first nursery. In 1991, she started selling plants out of a lot in Kona’s new industrial area next to Kona Irrigation. That lot expanded to a quarter-acre lot nearby and Sunrise Nursery started its successful trajectory as one of Kona’s best places to find interesting plants.
She got ideas for ways to run a successful nursery in her first few years as a nursery woman.
“Attending lots of plant sales taught me that stocking a large variety of healthy and unique plants attracted customers and kept them coming back,” she said. “I tried to make every day at Sunrise a plant sale.”
From early on, she was able to draw home gardeners, farmers and professional landscapers, as well as resort and condo groundskeepers to her door. Margo’s love for plants was evident in those she selected and the way she cared for them. She usually stocked the “cream of the crop” and her willingness to take special orders also appealed to local gardeners. As her business grew, she also became very skilled at helping folks select the right plant to match their microclimate and fit well into their landscape.
Though he is pretty much behind the scenes, Margo credits her husband, Eric, for making her successful business possible.
“At one point he reduced his commitment to his roofing job and became my part-time backup guy for errands, deliveries and lots of the heavy lifting,” she said. “I couldn’t have done this without his support.”
As her business grew, she expanded to a new location, 73-4939 Kamanu St., above Home Depot in Kona’s new industrial area. At that point she realized that she needed assistance beyond her six full days a week and Eric’s help. She now has several part-time employees. Sara Krepps, Cheri Sather and Radha Hendrickson are there watering plants and helping with sales several days a week. Margo says she’s always looked to hire people who are really interested in plants.
“I know that plants respond to the way they are treated,” she said. “I need helpers who care about plants. I can usually tell right away if they are going to work out. Plant lovers last a lot longer at the nursery than those just looking for a job.”
The help has allowed Margo to expand her stock. She now buys and sells thousands of plants a year. For all the years she’s been in business, however, Margo has resisted relying on technology.
“I’m still old school,” she declared. “I write out every receipt by hand and keep my stock records on order forms and vendor receipts in a filing cabinet”
This works well for her. When the power is down or her computer has a glitch she can always find what she needs in her files.
This month, Margo is starting to wind down. Since she’s now offering a 25 percent discount to move her inventory, the place is beginning to empty out. Word has traveled fast that she is moving on. She plans to stay open until Aug. 30 and stay around to clean up into September. Then she’s off on a much-deserved vacation.
Landscape Gardeners like Peter Vellos and Chauntelle Sharp from Lost Monarch Gardens are stocking up this month.
“We’ve relied on Margo’s dependable stock of native and edible plants to supply our installations jobs,” Peter said. “We’re buying what we can now, but are really wondering where to go in the future.”
Margo’s large diversity of plant species including natives, edibles and ornamental plants and trees has been a great service to professionals as well as home gardeners during Sunrise’s three decades in Kona. Many local gardeners and landscapers will also be looking for new sources.
Sunrise Nursery has also served as a great community resource. Margo’s bulletin board is packed with cards, flyers and brochures of local landscapers and other vendors offering supplies and services to gardeners. She will be much missed.
Looking back on her years at the nursery, she reminisces about how she started.
“My favorite gardening activity was always propagating,” she said. “Hopefully, now, I’ll have time to do that and explore some new ways to serve the local gardening community.”
Diana Duff is a plant adviser, educator and consultant living in a dryland forest north of Kailua-Kona.
Gardening Events
Monday: “Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Monthly Meeting,” 7-9 p.m. at West Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers office, 81-6393 Mamalahoa Highway in Kealakekua. Info: Brian Lievens President West Hawaii Chapter at 895-8753 or greenwizard@hawaii.rr.com.
Tuesday: “Rat Lungworm Disease Information Session,” 6-7:30 p.m. at the Waimea Civic Center 67-5189 Kamamalu Road in Waimea. Workshop for commercial growers and ag professionals covering overview of disease, rodent, slug and snail management, food safety concerns and consumer education.
Saturday: “Hawaii Organic Farmers Association Annual Conference,” 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Maona Community Garden at 84-5097 Keala O Keawe Road in Captain Cook. $10 for HOFA members; $35 for nonmembers includes membership and lunch. IMO demonstration, Rat Lung Disease presentation and other topics including invasive species, water issues, and climate change. Schedule and registration at: www.hawaiiorganic.org/membership/conference-registration.
“Work Day at Amy Greenwell Garden,” 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Meet at the Garden Visitor Center across from the Manago Hotel in Captain Cook. Bring a brown bag lunch. Water and snacks provided. Info: Peter at 323-3318.
Farmer Direct Markets
Wednesday: “Sunset Farmers Market,” 2 p.m.-sunset at the HPM parking lot.
Wednesday and Friday: “Hooulu Farmers Market,” 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Sheraton Kona Resort &Spa at Keauhou Bay
Friday: “Pure Kona Market,” 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at Amy Greenwell Garden in Captain Cook
Saturday: “Keauhou Farmers Market,” 8 a.m.-noon at Keauhou Shopping Center
“Kamuela Farmer’s Market,” 7 a.m.-noon at Pukalani Stables
Sunday: “Pure Kona Green Market,” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Amy Greenwell Garden in Captain Cook
Tuesday through Saturday: “U-Pick greens and produce,” 10a.m.-4 p.m. Tropical Edibles Nursery, Captain Cook.
Plant Advice Lines
Anytime: konamg@ctahr.hawaii.edu
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 9 a.m.–noon at UH-CES in Kainaliu, 322-4892
Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays: 9 a.m.-noon at UH-CES at Komohana in Hilo:981-5199 or himga@hawaii.edu