Tropical Gardening: Urban landscaping keeps Hawaii green

A bold tropical ambiance may be created in water-stressed locations with a number of Philodendron relatives like this Monstera deliciosa. Many tough canoe plants like ti and breadfruit may be also used as well as native plants like the kamani tree and naupaka. (Voltaire Moise/courtesy photo)

Planting shade trees in along streets and parking lots can reduce temperatures by 20 to 30 degrees. Urbanization without sufficient landscaping is impacting Kona and Hilo, but Puna, Kohala and other population areas are also seeing a trend toward removing trees.