Big Island residents might be able to buy tiny locally grown Christmas trees next year.
Since 2014, the Hawaii Forest Institute has conducted the ‘Aina Mauna Christmas Tree Demonstration Project, which planted stands of various coniferous tree species at different locations around the island to determine whether it may be possible to start a Christmas tree industry on the island.
That project has finally borne fruit: HFI Executive Director Heather Simmons said the institute will be able to sell small potted trees next year.
The institute has received a $40,000 grant from the state Department of Agriculture to continue the project into what Simmons called Phase 3. Using data gathered since 2014, HFI identified three non-native tree species that grow well on the Big Island and also work as desirable Christmas trees: the Italian stone pine, the Norfolk pine and the western red cedar.
In addition, the project has also identified two native trees — ‘a‘ali‘i and ‘alahe‘e — that are not the coniferous trees typical of Christmas trees, but have been deemed, based on their general shape and size, to be an effective alternative.
“If you get a native one, it might grow better,” Simmons said.
Simmons said 800 trees — 200 each of the non-native species, and 100 each of the native ones — will be grown at a pair of nurseries in Hilo and Kealakekua in 2023, and the institute will begin selling the young trees by the end of next year.
Simmons said the institute also will gift 100 Big Island families financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic a free Christmas tree between 2023 and 2024.
The trees will not be fully grown even by the end of 2024, because Christmas trees generally need at least six years to grow to their typical festive height. Simmons said recipients of trees will be given pamphlets outlining how to care for their tree and plant them so they can continue to grow.
“We like the idea of little table-sized trees,” Simmons said.
While Simmons said the program might continue beyond 2024, when the grant period ends, she said the program alone won’t lead to a fully fledged tree industry on the island.
“We’re not trying to be the growers and sellers of trees,” Simmons said. “We’re just trying to show that it can be done.”
Simmons said that thanks to the project’s data on versatile tree species, island landowners can open their own tree farms and sell full-grown trees in the future. While some tree farms do sell Christmas trees on the island, there are not many and they sell out quickly.
Until then, however, most residents wanting a natural, full-sized Christmas tree are advised to buy an artificial tree. A 2012 study by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources estimated that 96% of the more than 190,000 trees sold in Hawaii each year are imported, which can lead to the introduction of invasive species hitching a ride into the state.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.