In Hawaii, a landscaping crew can carry a pest from one property to another that permanently changes how a family uses their garden. Little fire ants move on plant material, soil and equipment, and once established they are extraordinarily difficult to remove. That makes where your landscaper sources plants — and how they clean their gear — a more consequential question here than anywhere on the mainland. This page lists landscapers serving Honolulu.
What Honolulu landscapers handle
Tropical planting design, with a palette unavailable in the continental United States.
Maintenance at a frequency mainlanders find surprising — growth is year-round and fast.
Invasive pest awareness and prevention, a genuine professional responsibility here.
Salt-tolerant coastal planting, given how much of the island is near the water.
Hardscape and outdoor living — lanai surrounds, pool areas, rock work.
Licensing: Hawaii’s C-27
Hawaii licenses landscape contractors as specialty contractors under classification C-27 Landscaping Contractor.
Qualifying requires a minimum of four years of experience within the preceding ten years, plus passing both a state trade examination and a business and law examination.
Tree work may require a separate licence. Businesses focused on tree trimming and removal may need the C-27b Tree Trimming and Removal Contractor licence, which is distinct from C-27. If your project involves substantial tree work, ask which licence covers it.
Verify licences with the state before hiring, and confirm general liability and workers’ compensation directly.
What’s specific to Honolulu
Little fire ants and other invasive pests. Hawaii faces serious invasive species pressure, and landscaping is one of the pathways. Little fire ants are the one homeowners feel most directly — they sting, they drop from vegetation, they infest homes, and they can blind pets over time. They spread on nursery plants, in potting media, and on equipment.
Responsible practice looks like this, and it’s worth asking about:
- Sourcing plants from reputable suppliers who inspect and treat stock
- Inspecting incoming plant material before it goes into your garden
- Cleaning equipment between properties, so an infestation isn’t carried from job to job
- Knowing current pest concerns — Hawaii also contends with coconut rhinoceros beetle affecting palms and other established threats
A landscaper who can talk about how they source and inspect plants is telling you they take this seriously. One who has never considered it is a genuine risk to your property and your neighbours’.
Interisland and inbound plant movement is regulated. Moving plant material between islands and into the state is subject to agricultural quarantine rules. A contractor bringing material from another island should know what applies.
Year-round growth changes the maintenance equation. Honolulu sits in a tropical zone with no dormancy at all. Grass grows every week of the year, hedges need frequent attention, and weeds never stop. Maintenance frequency and annual cost run higher than mainland norms — compare contracts on visits included rather than per-visit price.
Salt and trade winds. Coastal properties take persistent salt-laden trade winds that burn sensitive foliage and corrode irrigation hardware and metal fixtures. Salt-tolerant species — many of them native or long-established Polynesian introductions — perform reliably. Specify corrosion-resistant components near the shore.
Volcanic soils, and sometimes very little of them. Soil depth varies dramatically, and in places there is little soil above rock. Drainage can be extremely fast in some sites and perched in others. Raised planting and imported media are common practical answers. Ask what a contractor expects to find before they quote excavation.
Microclimates over short distances. Oʻahu’s leeward and windward sides differ enormously in rainfall, and elevation adds more variation. A plant list that thrives in Mānoa may struggle in Kapolei. Ask which side of the island a contractor mostly works.
Water. Honolulu’s supply is groundwater-dependent, and conservation matters. Efficient irrigation and appropriately adapted planting are worth doing regardless of current restrictions — confirm any in force with the Board of Water Supply.
Pricing expectations
Typical US ranges for 2026 are listed on the homepage.
Treat these mainland figures as a floor. Hawaii’s cost of living, shipping costs on materials, and year-round maintenance frequency all push real pricing above them, sometimes substantially. Imported hardscape material in particular carries freight costs that don’t exist on the mainland — which is a good argument for local stone and locally grown plants.
Neighborhoods served
Landscapers listed here work across Honolulu, including Mānoa, Kāhala, Hawaiʻi Kai, Nuʻuanu, Kaimukī, Waialae, Diamond Head, Makiki, Pearl City and Mililani.
Most also serve wider Oʻahu — Kailua, Kāneʻohe, ʻAiea, Waipahu, Kapolei, ʻEwa Beach and the North Shore.
How this directory helps
Every landscaper here is listed with business name, address and phone so you can verify them yourself, with C-27 licence numbers where available.
Three questions sort Honolulu contractors. Ask for the C-27 licence number, and the C-27b separately if substantial tree work is involved. Ask where they source plants and whether they inspect for little fire ants — this is the question that protects your property long-term. And ask which side of the island they mostly work, because the microclimates are genuinely different.