On the makai side of Manoa Valley District Park, three newly planted cherry blossom trees stand where enthusiasts hope to view delicate flowers in bloom in years to come.
“In Manoa Valley it’s warm during the day. It gets passing showers that come through that will nourish these trees, and its cool evenings will remind these ‘sakura’ trees of their home in Japan,” said Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell at a tree planting ceremony held Friday at the park.
The ceremony was attended by more than 50 people where the small cherry blossom (sakura) trees were planted near the Kaaipu Avenue parking lot of the park.
The tree plantings are an ongoing effort to determine the best variety of cherry blossom trees to thrive in Hawaii.
The honored guests included Caldwell, Honolulu Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, Consul General Koichi Ito of Japan in Hono- lulu, Jane Sugimura of the Hawaii Sakura Foundation, Chairman Masatoshi Nozaki of the Japan Traditional Cultural Association and James Matsumoto and Chako Setoyama of the Toronto Sakura Project Committee of Canada.
The tree plantings symbolize the bond and friendship between Japan and the U.S. Cherry blossom trees were first planted in the U.S. in 1912 in Tidal Basin, Washington, D.C., where trees still thrive today.
Efforts to bring more trees to the country took place in 2011 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Japan’s donation of the ephemeral cherry blossom trees to the U.S.
At the time, Consul General Yoshihiko Kamo of Japan in Honolulu also wanted to plant cherry blossom trees in Hawaii. He consulted with botanist Tetsuyo Koyama, who was director of the Makino Botanical Gardens in Kochi prefecture, to discuss how they could make it happen.
The state initially faced hurdles because the U.S. Department of Agriculture had strict regulations on importation of the cherry seeds at the time, according to Sugimura, vice president of the Hawaii Sakura Foundation.
Under a special permit, Gov. Neil Abercrombie allowed a one-time importation of approximately 8,000 sakura seeds to the state Department of Agriculture.
The Agriculture Department and the Waimea nursery of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources began the germination process of two heat-tolerant species: Cerasus speciosa from Hachijo island south of Tokyo prefecture, and Cerasus jamasakura Cv. sendaiya, which grows in Kochi, according to the foundation website.
In February 2012, five healthy cherry blossom trees from the seedlings were planted at Waimea’s Church Row Park in Waimea during a ceremony at the cherry blossom festival. (Dozens of other cherry blossom trees from different seedlings had been previously planted in Waimea during the 1970s.)
Koyama and state agriculture officials decided to establish the Hawaii Sakura Foundation, a nonprofit to help distribute the remaining sakura seedlings from Hachijo island and Kochi to more places in Hawaii, said Sugimura, who spoke at Friday’s ceremony on behalf of Koyama, who was unable to attend because of a medical condition.
The three young trees planted at Manoa Valley District Park are from the seedlings from Kochi and distributed by the foundation.
“We sincerely hope that the sakuras will be treasured and loved, and hopefully in the near, near future they will bloom to the delight of those who love sakura blossoms,” Sugimura said.
