Great idea. I've planted Koa every place I lived for 20 years. Some grow, some do not but we have a few more trees on the planet thanks to those who plant.
Since it is a tall forest tree greenhouse culture isn't really practical. They are also very resistant to life in containers. I would stick to maple, walnut or cherry. They will grow right in the garden.
absolutely love what you are doing, building a better future for evereyone. I am at about 1000ft elevation and have sprouted koa but thay dont make it far its so good to see your sucsess. Keep up the good work.
Thank you. Don't you find it odd that many people do all they can to make the world a miserable place? Then there is the group that does little not directly related to their existence. I was a naïve young man when I decided to try and leave the world better than I found it. With the way things go it isn't hard to make improvements! Aloha
Koa will not reproduce from a cutting. Seeds are the only way to grow the tree. I have potted trees in the nursery and it is possible to ship them to NY but what would you do with them? They are large growing trees and will only tolerate the slightest bit of cold.
A permit to do what? I gather seed in the Volcanoes National Park and there is no permit required. I have been checked several times by the Park Rangers because my car was hanging on the road. No good place to park. When asked what I was doing I tell them gathering Koa seed and they tell me to do a better parking job. National Park website states gathering mushrooms, fruits and seeds is legal for personal consumption. If you are gathering for business you probably need a permit.
This is fascinating. Is it possible to order Acacia Koa seeds to ship overseas? I’m planning to purchase a property with 6 acres in the Caribbean I’d like to grow them there
I sell Koa seed at www.greengardenservice.net but I do not ship over seas. You would have to ship them to the Mainland then carry them. The tree prefers to grow at 4000 feet and up in Hawaii. Below that it is susceptible to water molds. I grow them at 1680 feet in HI and about half of them die before maturity. They need cool soil but only tolerate a little frost.
That was a year ago these were planted. I never keep Koa in the nursery for more than 12 month. They don't like living in pots. I have nothing to show, that entire batch of tree has been sold out. A client told me his was 6 feet tall this week. I have another batch planted about 5 months ago. They are around 2 feet tall but there are only 3 left from that planting! Koa never hang around here for long.
I'd love to grow that in Jamaica. I think I'll try to get some seeds to see if I can grow any. Hearing it grows in California I'm hopeful. That would be a great thing to add to my timber forest.
I guess I painted myself into this corner. Koa seed is almost impossible to buy on the market place. My experiences with trying to ship seed abroad have been miserable so I stopped trying. I will be willing to discuss the issue via my email greengardenservice@yahoo.com
So I have a Question Sir. I always watch your videos and visit the Big Island as much as possible. I have recently had a koa tree randomly pop up in the front of my house usually where I hose off our "adventure shoes". I'm assuming the seed came from the bottom of one of our shoes and just so happened to start growing. My question is i let it grow and is now about 6ft tall but cant let it stay in its current location. what would be the best way to transplant the tree? I figured id let it establish itself before i attempted to relocate it. Any advice would be awesome. I live in North County San Diego California by the way. Thanks!!
Transplanting large Koa that are field grown isn't totally impossible but the trees suffer terrible set backs. Usually they die. Koa should not be held in containers for more than 12 months. I sprout seed in 4" pots, transfer to gallon pots or the field after 6 months. If they are in the nursery longer than 6 months they go to 5 gallon pots and then the field in 12 months. The roots are extremely sensitive and don't tolerate walking from people and animals or car tires. Digging will cut much of the root system and usually cause death from root infections. Since it's in a bad place I would dig and move it but expect the worst. I sell seed for these trees and it is easy to grow one from seed. Try again. Aloha
@@GreenGardenGuy1 Thank you! that's what I was fearing. Just thought it was cool how it randomly popped up. Unfortunately where its growing is underneath the awning of my house so I will give it a valiant effort in relocating. HAHA
@@shaunpinkston6793 Best of luck. The random act of a Koa making it home on a shoe is quite far fetched. Shoes moving fungus is what is killing the Ohias here. So I guess stuff moves that way.
Correct, the leaves are much the same but it is a distinct tree. The flowers and fruit are different and the location of growth is too. Hawaii is the only place on Earth with Koa.
You can find Koa on the Big Island above 6500 feet elevation. They get light frosts at that elevation. Most of the Bay Area in CA in zone 9 support the tree. I have heard about trees in zone 8 but have never seen them.
They are separate species in the same genus. They probably originated from the same Acacia seed eons ago. The low land tolerates the warmer drier shore conditions. The upland is suseptible to imported water molds at high soil temperatures and doesn't grow much below 2000 feet. The lowland form will grow to around 500 feet. It is smaller and the wood generally darker.
@@davidkoba Spreading growth and different shaped seeds and seed pods. Try using a google image search to compare the two trees. Differences are subtle.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 ah I will look to see what the seed differences are. I see a lot of them in the forest where I hike and was wondering which variety they are.
Great video as usual Bill. Curious, we bought a koa tree in a pot. It did well, so I planted it. It died. Anyway, they’ve always fascinated me with their two leaf types and I like to try your seed method. When is a good time of the year to collect koa seeds? Thanks!
The only time you can collect is Autumn unless you can figure out how to rob rat middens. The See is ripe around Oct although it was early last year and absent the year of the volcano. By November the birds, the rats and the Koa seed borers have finished off the crop. I have plenty of Koa trees in the nursery if you need any.
@@markmorrissey672 Koa is a fairly easy tree to grow it has a singular problem. It used to grow in lower elevation but imported diseases effect it below 2000 feet. I plant it at 1600 and lose about half of the trees to disease. Planting a single Koa at low elevation isn't a great idea. One for the weather, one for the bugs and one for the gardener.
GreenGardenGuy1 - Yes, I can believe that. We’re at 1500ft. I think our biggest problem is that our soil soaks up water like a sponge and the plants/trees basically sit in water all the time. We live on 25 acres of former sugarcane land with cattle running on most of it. I have 1/3 acre hog fenced and experiment with different trees/plants, e.g. tea, coffee, banana (doing well), citrus, local trees, etc. some do well. The coffee looks to be prospering. If I can find out what grows ( and how to grow it) things here I’ll rope off another area. I used to grow blackberry and grapes in Oklahoma. It took about 5 years but I finally got good at (or at least found out what types took to the soil and climate). The Arkansa blackberry plants grew over the 5 ft trellises easily. I have one Arkansas variety (forgot what type) that refuses to die but doesn’t grow anywhere near like they did in OK. It sounds like your soil (ash) is completely different from ours (you probably have drainage 😀). Btw, we’ll have to make our way up to your place and compare notes.
I'm sorry, it was quite a while back but I did ship Koa seed to several foresters in New Zealand. I suspect there are some fair size trees there by now. I can no longer remember the names of the guys that got the seeds. I have seed if you are interested.
Aloha from Waianae Bill, I just purchased 3 Koa plants (Momma, Poppa, and baby lol) from Home Depot, which I’ve been looking at for several months so are sure to have over grown roots. Am I already dead in the water here or is there something you can recommend ? LOVE your videos! We started 3 different blueberry bushes in our back yard last week inspired by you. 🦋MsDaWn
I would just plant them and hope for the best. The longer they are left in containers the worse the issue becomes. Usually we would cut the root ball but this is not advisable with Koa because it opens the trees to infections. If all else fails i have nice fresh Koa in my nursery. I dump them if they get pot bound.
You can use this treatment but I find the Royal Poinciana often germinate easier than Koa without treatment. If the seed is very dry then this treatment will probably be required. It works on many hard to germinate seeds.
The U H at Manoa claims 21 years under Hawaiian conditions. I have no explanation but I found the trees grew twice as fast in California. I had an 8 year old Koa in the front yard at Fremont,CA. The head was growing up into the power lines when we decided to sell the house. I figured the sale would work out better if I just cut the tree down. I ended up with one 8' log 2' in diameter and pile of smaller wood. I put the wood on Craigslist and sold it for $200 before we moved. How they grow down by the Gulf is anyone's guess. I did not mention in the video that they take a bit of freezing weather but they hate heat. Most of the Koa grow in a range where temps are between 45 and 80 degrees. Mine survived 90 degree temperatures in Fremont but the trees will go dormant above 88 and do not enjoy water when this happens. I killed several before I figured it out.
Hi, I’m from the Midwest USA and was wondering where I can buy some seeds for personal?? (My boyfriend and I love gardening and Hawaii; we even named my first son Koa)
Insecticides kill insects, herbicides kill trees. As long as you use a proper insecticide to control the ants the tree will not be harmed. As a spray I like to use Spinosad because it is a bacteria rather than a chemical. I also like to use boric acid and sugar water as a bait. They will feed it to the entire colony.
Depending on the color and grain the price can go as low as $20 per board foot and as high as $250. The nice dark colored chocolate Koa with curly grain and good tigers eye like luster is the most valuable. Plant the trees now for guitars of the future. Marketable timber can grow in as little as 25 years.
On occasion Koa seed will grow in a rounded shape but over 80% of the seed has a watermelon seed shape. By now there would be thousands of miss named trees and a lot of people wanting to lynch me!
Is there a source for seeds you can recommend. One that could send seeds here??? There is a process requiresd to ship seeds here but I'd be happy to pay for this.
Thank you for the clarification. I sell koa seed but only with in the borders of the USA. Rules outside the country are far too complicated for me to deal with. I used to try this and most of the seed either vanished or was returned months later by customs. I am sorry but I know of no source for Koa seed that does international shipping.
Hō`ihi nui - may your work with the trees be blessed
I love trees.
Thank you for this wonderful video. I have some Koa seeds from Maui, and I can’t wait to start them ❤
Glad to hear you have seed. The crop failed on the Big Island last year. I am hoping to have a harvest for 2024.
Thanks me and my dad are going to grow koa in our backyard
Great idea. I've planted Koa every place I lived for 20 years. Some grow, some do not but we have a few more trees on the planet thanks to those who plant.
I didn't know that it was a nitrogen fixer, awesome!!!
The Koa and the Mamane' are the two major nitrogen fixing trees on the Island.
This video was so informative and I loved your demeanor. Thanks for the nice video and the useful tricks for koa production
Mahalo Alex. Thanks for dropping by. Plant more trees, it is a family tradition.
I've learned so many little tips & tricks from watching your videos. Thanks for putting out another great one!
Thankyou
U gonna kiss the camera too? 😂😂😂 That's what it look like you were about to do at the very end of the video. Lol
Nope, I'd have to clean the lens.
Bill will the koa grow in North of England if brought in to a green house in winter , its such a lovely wood 🪵
Since it is a tall forest tree greenhouse culture isn't really practical. They are also very resistant to life in containers. I would stick to maple, walnut or cherry. They will grow right in the garden.
absolutely love what you are doing, building a better future for evereyone. I am at about 1000ft elevation and have sprouted koa but thay dont make it far its so good to see your sucsess. Keep up the good work.
Thank you. Don't you find it odd that many people do all they can to make the world a miserable place? Then there is the group that does little not directly related to their existence. I was a naïve young man when I decided to try and leave the world better than I found it. With the way things go it isn't hard to make improvements! Aloha
@@GreenGardenGuy1 I hear ya. I do mangoes and avos here on the coast. Keep on planting.
@@ianr9004 I recently started with the low land Koa, Koa'ia. We will see how it does at my elevation. I lose a lot of regular Koa at 1600 feet.
Thank you for sharing. Take care.
Aloha, plant those Koa! Bill
I’d like to plant and help reproduce to the asland
Well then, grab a bag of seeds and get planting. I have tree seedlings for Koa in the nursery if you need them.
Will you ship live cuttings to new york?
Koa will not reproduce from a cutting. Seeds are the only way to grow the tree. I have potted trees in the nursery and it is possible to ship them to NY but what would you do with them? They are large growing trees and will only tolerate the slightest bit of cold.
Visiting Oahu and would like to pick up a couple of pods to try starting some seedlings. Found out you need a permit. Is that true for every island?
A permit to do what? I gather seed in the Volcanoes National Park and there is no permit required. I have been checked several times by the Park Rangers because my car was hanging on the road. No good place to park. When asked what I was doing I tell them gathering Koa seed and they tell me to do a better parking job. National Park website states gathering mushrooms, fruits and seeds is legal for personal consumption. If you are gathering for business you probably need a permit.
This is fascinating. Is it possible to order Acacia Koa seeds to ship overseas? I’m planning to purchase a property with 6 acres in the Caribbean I’d like to grow them there
I sell Koa seed at www.greengardenservice.net but I do not ship over seas. You would have to ship them to the Mainland then carry them. The tree prefers to grow at 4000 feet and up in Hawaii. Below that it is susceptible to water molds. I grow them at 1680 feet in HI and about half of them die before maturity. They need cool soil but only tolerate a little frost.
I'd love to see how the trees look now.
That was a year ago these were planted. I never keep Koa in the nursery for more than 12 month. They don't like living in pots. I have nothing to show, that entire batch of tree has been sold out. A client told me his was 6 feet tall this week. I have another batch planted about 5 months ago. They are around 2 feet tall but there are only 3 left from that planting! Koa never hang around here for long.
I'd love to grow that in Jamaica. I think I'll try to get some seeds to see if I can grow any. Hearing it grows in California I'm hopeful. That would be a great thing to add to my timber forest.
I guess I painted myself into this corner. Koa seed is almost impossible to buy on the market place. My experiences with trying to ship seed abroad have been miserable so I stopped trying. I will be willing to discuss the issue via my email greengardenservice@yahoo.com
So I have a Question Sir. I always watch your videos and visit the Big Island as much as possible. I have recently had a koa tree randomly pop up in the front of my house usually where I hose off our "adventure shoes". I'm assuming the seed came from the bottom of one of our shoes and just so happened to start growing. My question is i let it grow and is now about 6ft tall but cant let it stay in its current location. what would be the best way to transplant the tree? I figured id let it establish itself before i attempted to relocate it. Any advice would be awesome. I live in North County San Diego California by the way. Thanks!!
Transplanting large Koa that are field grown isn't totally impossible but the trees suffer terrible set backs. Usually they die. Koa should not be held in containers for more than 12 months. I sprout seed in 4" pots, transfer to gallon pots or the field after 6 months. If they are in the nursery longer than 6 months they go to 5 gallon pots and then the field in 12 months. The roots are extremely sensitive and don't tolerate walking from people and animals or car tires. Digging will cut much of the root system and usually cause death from root infections. Since it's in a bad place I would dig and move it but expect the worst. I sell seed for these trees and it is easy to grow one from seed. Try again. Aloha
@@GreenGardenGuy1 Thank you! that's what I was fearing. Just thought it was cool how it randomly popped up. Unfortunately where its growing is underneath the awning of my house so I will give it a valiant effort in relocating. HAHA
@@GreenGardenGuy1 Good to know I can get some seeds from you which I probably will do! Thanks!!
@@shaunpinkston6793 Best of luck. The random act of a Koa making it home on a shoe is quite far fetched. Shoes moving fungus is what is killing the Ohias here. So I guess stuff moves that way.
@@shaunpinkston6793 They are listed at www.greengardenservice.net
Do you ship seeds to Arizona?
Yes.
Koa leaves and acacia auri is identical?
Correct, the leaves are much the same but it is a distinct tree. The flowers and fruit are different and the location of growth is too. Hawaii is the only place on Earth with Koa.
How cold hardy are they?
You can find Koa on the Big Island above 6500 feet elevation. They get light frosts at that elevation. Most of the Bay Area in CA in zone 9 support the tree. I have heard about trees in zone 8 but have never seen them.
What is the difference between lowland koa and regular koa?
They are separate species in the same genus. They probably originated from the same Acacia seed eons ago. The low land tolerates the warmer drier shore conditions. The upland is suseptible to imported water molds at high soil temperatures and doesn't grow much below 2000 feet. The lowland form will grow to around 500 feet. It is smaller and the wood generally darker.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 So aside from the smaller tree and darker wood is there a way to distinguish the two?
@@davidkoba Spreading growth and different shaped seeds and seed pods. Try using a google image search to compare the two trees. Differences are subtle.
@@GreenGardenGuy1 ah I will look to see what the seed differences are. I see a lot of them in the forest where I hike and was wondering which variety they are.
Hi I’m from Midwest USA and am wondering where I can buy seeds for personal?
www.greengardenservice.net
Great video as usual Bill. Curious, we bought a koa tree in a pot. It did well, so I planted it. It died. Anyway, they’ve always fascinated me with their two leaf types and I like to try your seed method. When is a good time of the year to collect koa seeds? Thanks!
The only time you can collect is Autumn unless you can figure out how to rob rat middens. The See is ripe around Oct although it was early last year and absent the year of the volcano. By November the birds, the rats and the Koa seed borers have finished off the crop. I have plenty of Koa trees in the nursery if you need any.
GreenGardenGuy1 -Thanks Bill. Hope to take you up on that. I know I could learn a lot from you.
@@markmorrissey672 Koa is a fairly easy tree to grow it has a singular problem. It used to grow in lower elevation but imported diseases effect it below 2000 feet. I plant it at 1600 and lose about half of the trees to disease. Planting a single Koa at low elevation isn't a great idea. One for the weather, one for the bugs and one for the gardener.
GreenGardenGuy1 - Yes, I can believe that. We’re at 1500ft. I think our biggest problem is that our soil soaks up water like a sponge and the plants/trees basically sit in water all the time. We live on 25 acres of former sugarcane land with cattle running on most of it. I have 1/3 acre hog fenced and experiment with different trees/plants, e.g. tea, coffee, banana (doing well), citrus, local trees, etc. some do well. The coffee looks to be prospering. If I can find out what grows ( and how to grow it) things here I’ll rope off another area. I used to grow blackberry and grapes in Oklahoma. It took about 5 years but I finally got good at (or at least found out what types took to the soil and climate). The Arkansa blackberry plants grew over the 5 ft trellises easily. I have one Arkansas variety (forgot what type) that refuses to die but doesn’t grow anywhere near like they did in OK.
It sounds like your soil (ash) is completely different from ours (you probably have drainage 😀). Btw, we’ll have to make our way up to your place and compare notes.
@@markmorrissey672 Yes, we drain. The rain is high and phosphorous gets locked up but puddles are impossible one hour after a storm.
Hi Bill. Thanks for sharing this with us. Love the Koa. You mention there are some Koa trees in NZ. Are you able say where this is?
I'm sorry, it was quite a while back but I did ship Koa seed to several foresters in New Zealand. I suspect there are some fair size trees there by now. I can no longer remember the names of the guys that got the seeds. I have seed if you are interested.
Hello is there anyway you could maybe get in touch with me about retrieving some Koa seeds?
Seed is listed on the website at www.greengardenservice.net
Aloha from Waianae Bill, I just purchased 3 Koa plants (Momma, Poppa, and baby lol) from Home Depot, which I’ve been looking at for several months so are sure to have over grown roots. Am I already dead in the water here or is there something you can recommend ? LOVE your videos! We started 3 different blueberry bushes in our back yard last week inspired by you. 🦋MsDaWn
I would just plant them and hope for the best. The longer they are left in containers the worse the issue becomes. Usually we would cut the root ball but this is not advisable with Koa because it opens the trees to infections. If all else fails i have nice fresh Koa in my nursery. I dump them if they get pot bound.
Can you share Bills Nursery location?
Sure but I prefer to use my email for that. contact me at greengardenservice@yahoo.com
@@GreenGardenGuy1 ok will email now.
Thank you for the video Bill. I have a question. Do you use the same method in growing royal poinciana trees from seeds?
You can use this treatment but I find the Royal Poinciana often germinate easier than Koa without treatment. If the seed is very dry then this treatment will probably be required. It works on many hard to germinate seeds.
GreenGardenGuy1, you still on the BI?
Yes, I have no idea here to go from here.
How long would it take for them to reach harvest size? Best wishes Bob.
The U H at Manoa claims 21 years under Hawaiian conditions. I have no explanation but I found the trees grew twice as fast in California. I had an 8 year old Koa in the front yard at Fremont,CA. The head was growing up into the power lines when we decided to sell the house. I figured the sale would work out better if I just cut the tree down. I ended up with one 8' log 2' in diameter and pile of smaller wood. I put the wood on Craigslist and sold it for $200 before we moved. How they grow down by the Gulf is anyone's guess. I did not mention in the video that they take a bit of freezing weather but they hate heat. Most of the Koa grow in a range where temps are between 45 and 80 degrees. Mine survived 90 degree temperatures in Fremont but the trees will go dormant above 88 and do not enjoy water when this happens. I killed several before I figured it out.
Not a good choice for my area. Not that I would have time left to grow it for harvest. Thanks.
I guess I am a hopeless case. I just planted more Koa seeds yesterday. Bet I live to see the trees seed!
Hi, I’m from the Midwest USA and was wondering where I can buy some seeds for personal?? (My boyfriend and I love gardening and Hawaii; we even named my first son Koa)
I list seeds on my website. www.greengrdenservice.net
I have an ant problem at the base of my trees how do I kill the ants without hurting the tree
Insecticides kill insects, herbicides kill trees. As long as you use a proper insecticide to control the ants the tree will not be harmed. As a spray I like to use Spinosad because it is a bacteria rather than a chemical. I also like to use boric acid and sugar water as a bait. They will feed it to the entire colony.
250 BDF WOW
Depending on the color and grain the price can go as low as $20 per board foot and as high as $250. The nice dark colored chocolate Koa with curly grain and good tigers eye like luster is the most valuable. Plant the trees now for guitars of the future. Marketable timber can grow in as little as 25 years.
only the curly stuff is worth the price, non curly koa looks like any other wood really nothing special.
That’s not regular Koa that’s hoale koa
You're wrong. I harvested the seeds myself from the Koa groves on Mauna Loa in the National Park. No mistake, pure Acacia koa.
Sorry I guess they just look similar i actually just planted koa seeds but the one I planted the seeds were large and round sorry meant ones
On occasion Koa seed will grow in a rounded shape but over 80% of the seed has a watermelon seed shape. By now there would be thousands of miss named trees and a lot of people wanting to lynch me!
GreenGardenGuy1 well guess I’ll see when they grow thanks for the insights buy
@@redlight864 Large and round isn't Koa. Half the size of a little finger nail and shaped like a narrow water melon seed. Typical Acacia seed shape.
Is there a source for seeds you can recommend. One that could send seeds here??? There is a process requiresd to ship seeds here but I'd be happy to pay for this.
Here is Jamaica just to be clear.
Thank you for the clarification. I sell koa seed but only with in the borders of the USA. Rules outside the country are far too complicated for me to deal with. I used to try this and most of the seed either vanished or was returned months later by customs. I am sorry but I know of no source for Koa seed that does international shipping.
sorry i can,t get seeds 🤙🦘terry
Yes, Koa seed was a crop failure this year. seed will be available again by 9/2024