Honoring a lifetime of flower research: Dr. Richard Criley HFNA, 2025 Shinenkai Honoree
Posted on Mar. 3, 2025 / People in the News / Subscribe 0
By: Dr. Teresita Amore
During the Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association ‘s (HFNA) Annual Shinnenkai held on February 1, 2005, at the Fairway Grill in Hilo, Hawaii, Dr. Richard Criley and Mr. Vernon Harrington were honored for their distinguished services to the Hawaii floriculture, ornamental, and nursery industry.
An emeritus professor of horticulture at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience, Department of Tropical Plants and Soil Sciences, Dr. Richard Criley’s career, spanning 57 years, has left an indelible mark on the Hawaii floriculture industry. His lifetime of understanding and advancing the cultivation of tropical flowers, coupled with his passion for research and teaching, has blossomed into a legacy of knowledge and support for Hawaii's flower growers.
Figure 1. Dr. Richard Criley, emeritus professor of Horticulture and 2025 Shinenkai honoree. Photo credit: Jon Tanouye.
Figure 2. Hawaii legislators, HDOA Chair Sharon Hurd and HFNA president Eric Tanouye, congratulating Dr. Richard Criley. Photo credit: Jon Tanouye.
Figure 3. Hawaii floriculture, landscape, and nursery extension agents Dr. Alberto Ricordi and Hannah Lutgen, who are mentored by Dr. Richard Criley. Photo credit: Jon Tanouye.
Dr. Criley received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Penn State University in 1962 and 1964, respectively. He then headed west to the University of California – Los Angeles where he completed his PhD in horticulture in 1968. Shortly after, he joined the University of Hawaii to teach and conduct research on tropical flowers and foliage.
His research on production, nutrition, control of flowering, growth regulation and species identification of flowers and foliage, from A-Z: alpinia to zingiber, curcumas and gingers, bird of paradise and heliconias, including lei flowers such as pikake, pakalana, plumeria and stephanotis, provided Hawaii growers with a basic understanding of unknown introduced crops. Presenting his research work in extension publications and conferences benefited growers across the islands, thereby contributing significantly to the commercial success of the industry. Interestingly, he studied many of these crops – bird of paradise, flowering gingers, and heliconias, before they were commercially grown in Hawaii. Some of these crops, such as curcuma or Siam tulip have a great potential to be grown on a greater scale. Dr. Criley and his colleagues examined native Hawaiian plants for use as lei flowers, potted plants, and in the landscape.
Over the years, he volunteered as a plant identifier for the annual lei day contest sponsored by the Department of Parks and Recreation of the City and County of Honolulu at Kapi’olani Park. As lei day judge, he and Dr. Ken Leonhardt would visit Watanabe Floral in late April to assess the flower inventory in preparation for the plant identification of the lei entries on the morning of May 1st. He knew that lei makers would have sourced flowers from the Watanabe reefers.
As an educator, he also inspired generations of growers and researchers, extension agents, agriculture inspectors, and administrators, both in the state and federal levels. Practically anyone in Hawaii agriculture or horticulture was probably instructed by Dr. Criley in one of the 14 different courses he taught from the 100 up to the 600 level, including Ornamentals, Current Topics in Plant Science, Ornamental Plant Materials, Flower and Foliage Production, Plant Propagation, Plant Growth and Development, Growth Regulators in Horticulture and Graduate Seminar. In addition, Dr. Criley also taught several 491 Special Topics classes on diverse subjects such as Horticultural Writing and Public Horticulture-Public Gardens. Serving on many graduate students' committees, his former students have benefited from his encyclopedic knowledge and expert editing.
His writing skills are legendary, serving as reviewer and associate editor for the American Society for Horticultural Science journals, and he is a recipient of the American Society for Horticultural Science Kenneth Post Award for outstanding ornamental publication. As a member of the International Society for Horticultural Science, he chaired the Ornamentals Section from 2002-2010; edited several volumes of Acta Horticulturae, and convened the ornamental symposia for the International Horticulture Congress of 2002, 2006, and 2014. The 2014 Congress in Brisbane marked his 10th consecutive participation in the International Horticulture Congress.
For those who have experienced going on field trips with Dr. Criley, to be within proximity to him, one is guaranteed a great learning experience. His vast plant knowledge has earned him the reputation of a “walking plant encyclopedia” and makes him a sought-after resource person on radio, television, and print.
Figure 4. Dr. Criley at Kula Experiment Station, June 2017. Photo credit: Teresita Amore
HFNA’s recognition of Dr. Criley is another feather to his cap of accomplishments, including Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science in 1992 and Alex Laurie Awardee in 2002 given by the Society of American Florists to an individual who has made broad-scope, long-lasting contributions to research or education in the floriculture industry. Dr. Criley's lifelong research work has led to the rise of tropical flowers as an important segment of the Hawaii floriculture industry.
Teresita D. Amore, PhD CFD, Associate Reserach, Department of Tropical Plant & Soil Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resilience, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
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