Steven M. Starnes

I spent a good portion of last Saturday morning watching the news and revisions of the tsunami warning. The wave that reached Hilo was about 3 ft. high. It was interesting watching the tidal surges on TV. It was about half of the predicted size. Unlike earthquakes and hurricanes, tsunamis impact the low elevations just along the coast. Fortunately many of our grocery stores are well outside of the evacuation zone. Our malls and big box retailers are also located outside of the evacution zone. So even if the wave had been substantially larger, the affected areas on the Big Island would have been the small downtown area of Hilo and Kailua Kona and some parts of ocean front subdivisions at very low elevations.

A friend went to Home Depot to buy paint and there were people fighting over bottled water; evidently a few people seemed to panic. I guess that they have never watched anything about tidal waves on the Discover Channel or PBS. Overall most people exited the evacuation zones in an orderly manner. Even a sustantially larger wave will not impact the majority of the infrastructure on the islands. I live at 250 to 300 ft. above sea level and felt no need to panic. I didn't feel any need to rush out and stock up on groceries or water. The bottom line is to heed evacuation warnings and stay calm. According to the scientist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, exact wave heights can be difficult to predict.

The Big Island Association of Nurserymen will be having their spring plant sale on March 5th and 6th at the Edith Kanakaole Tennis Stadium in Hilo, Hawaii. The stadium is located at the corner of Pi'ilani St. and Kalanikoa St. This is a great opportunity to pick up both rare and common plants for the tropical garden. Usually over 30 growers participate and there are thousands of plants from which to choose.

It appears that we may be hitting the bottom for home sales in Hilo and Puna districts. After large drops in sale prices in late 2008 and early 2009, the decrease moderated in the 2nd half of 2009. Recent contracts over the past couple of months seem to indicate that we are at or near the bottom of this market cycle. Of course if the economy suddenly got much worse, there could be some additional decreases in sale prices.

Hilo Residential Median Sale Price 1/1/2009-6/30/2009:$256,250 (70 Sales) and 7/1/2009-12/31/2009: 277,000 (101 Sales) Homes that have a contract date of 11/1/2009 to 1/11/2010: Median List Price: $280,000

Puna Residential Median Sale Price 1/1/2009-6/30/2009: $180,000 (202 Sales) and 7/1/2009-12/31/2009: $175,000 (239 sales) . Puna homes that have a contract date of11/1/2009 to 1/11/2009: Median List Price: 174,700.

Most homes have a sale price within 4% to 5% of list price. Indications are that large drops in price have stopped in Hilo and Puna. Now the cost of buying an existing home is typically much less than building a new home. Foreclosures and short sales continue to keep prices down in some neighborhoods.

Although I'm primarily working on the east side of the island, I keep my eyes open for good deals near the resort areas in Kona and Kohala. The median condo sale price in Kailua-Kona and surrounding areas dropped from $335,000 in 2008 to $250,000 in 2009. Lowest sale price in Kona in 2009 was $45,000 and the highest was $4,900,000. Currently there are 302 active condo listings with prices ranging from $49,000 to $7,300,000. The low end is usually short sale or distressed sale. If you are patient it is a great time to pick up bargains. Many of the condos in Kona can be used as vacation rentals; so there is potential to make a profit or at least pay for most of your mortgage when you are not using the unit.

This is both a delicious fruit and a nice tree for the landscape. Clusters of bright red fruits ripen in the summer. The flesh is white, juicy and sweet. A tree loaded with ripe fruit is quite pretty; the red stands out against the deep green foliage. Generally, trees form a rounded crown and provide dense shade. In Hawaii, lychee can be grown almost anywhere below about 1400 ft. in elevation. At higher elevations, the yields are often lower. Trees will tolerate moderate frost without damage and can be grown in Southern California and South Florida. Soils need to be slightly acidic but trees will grow and fruit in rocky areas as well. I'm growing in ripped lava with mulch. For best fruiting, a dry and cool period in the winter is best. Also, simply fertilizing the trees with potash (K20) or K-Mag in late December or January will encourage a spring flush with blooms. After fruit set resume fertilizing with a complete balanced garden fertilizer. It is best to prune lightly after harvest since severe pruning may reduce yields the following year. Pruning every year will keep the tree smaller and facilitate harvest. Without pruning, trees can reach 40 ft. to 50 ft. tall.

Lychee originated in South China and there are thousands of cultivars. Propagation is by airlayering. Usually airlayers will begin to fruit at 3 years old. One of the best cultivars for Hawaii is Kaimana which was selected by the University of Hawaii; large sweet fruits with an excellent flavor and a low spreading growth habit. Bosworth III which was selected in Australia and Groft which was selected in Florida perform well in Hawaii. Bosworth III has a large seed but Groft has a tiny seed and small fruit. The photo below is a cluster of ripe Groft lychee.

Botanical Name: Litchi chinensis Family: Sapindaceae