PO‘IPU — The plant doctor, Dr. Bob Nyvall, is in, but not in Kalaheo. Instead, Nyvall is making weekly visits on Sunday afternoons at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens South Shore Visitors Center from 2 to 4 p.m. “We thought
PO‘IPU — The plant doctor, Dr. Bob Nyvall, is in, but not in Kalaheo.
Instead, Nyvall is making weekly visits on Sunday afternoons at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens South Shore Visitors Center from 2 to 4 p.m.
“We thought he was going to be at the Kalaheo facility on Papalina Road,” said Greda Faye Sunday while waiting to see the plant doctor. “But when we got there, everything was locked up.”
Instead, located at 4425 Lawa‘i Road in the shadow of the Spouting Horn lookout, the NTBG South Shore Visitors Center will be hosting the plant doctor each Sunday through April 14.
A plant pathologist who earned his PhD from the University of Minnesota and did post-doctorate work at the Washington State University before starting work at Iowa State University, Nyvall will diagnose what ails people’s plants as well as recommend treatment for the problem.
“I don’t do identification so well,” Nyvall said. “But I can tell you if something’s wrong and try to pinpoint the problem.”
The service is free and on a first-come, first-served basis. People are encouraged to bring a sample of leaves and flowers representative of the plant and its problems. Visit www.ntbg.org, or call 742-2433 for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
