The most challenging months within grounds management can be from January to June because timing is everything within Arboriculture and Horticulture. Once Christmas break ends, tree planting takes place, trees need structural pruning, soil aerification and improvements need to take place while temperatures are cool, landscape plants need to be pruned for spring growth, roses need to have a hard prune before spring growth, fertilizer needs applied, and pest management strategies need to be implemented before May and June.  On top of that, the GIS department is making maps to assist SSC with grounds management as a whole, additionally providing data for turf grass and irrigation management.

Tree planting season begins within the month of October and ends within the following month of March or April, depending on weather. SSC arborists planted 74 trees this year to replace a number of trees lost in 2022 due to freeze damage, construction damage, and drought. While planting takes place, arborists are on mission to prune trees by structurally pruning their canopies or providing clearance for pedestrians that use sidewalks, streets, and lights. It is also of high importance to include soil aerification for tree root systems during the winter as well because of cool weather and high rain chances.  Soil aerification is performed by using an AirSpade tool to air excavate the soil around tree root systems.  Using an AirSpade to excavate the soil will relieve soil compaction (soil compaction is amongst the highest causes of tree decline and or death), while minimizing root damage.  While air excavating the soil around root systems, the arborists also mix in compost and fertilizer for trees, which give the roots the ability to grow because of compaction relief and sufficient nutrients.  Additionally, we must apply fertilizer in late spring, to provide the soil with macro and micro nutrients that are commonly deficient within the soil in Brazos County.

On top of the list of tasks to accomplish prior to the month of May and June, our SSC staff of 8 arborists (one of them is a TAMU student worker), are tasked with Crepe Myrtle pruning and removal after the severe freeze that occurred in December 2022. SSC arborists also assist with tree protection and preservation during construction projects on campus.  Freeze damage repair and tree protection are both unpredictable and are not easy to fit in to the management schedule but both tasks are highly important to complete because of campus aesthetics from freeze damage and tree longevity from construction damage.  Lastly, arborists unfortunately had to remove trees that were high safety risks and we proactively monitor trees throughout campus and mitigate health care practices to prevent trees from becoming high risk.  However, preventing high risk is an impossible task in Arboriculture.  SSC arborists are challenged by having over 10,000 trees to manage by providing health care before seasonal growth patterns end and summer Texas heat begins.

The Horticulture crews have had to remain on a time schedule to beat seasonal growth patterns and to prepare for campus events.  During the spring, the landscape needs a “reset” and needs thorough cleaning that will set up campus horticulture for success throughout the summer. Also during the spring, TAMU hosts multiple spring athletic and student events, such as baseball, softball, Tennis, Swimming & Diving, Parents Weekend, Chemistry and Physics events, the Maroon & White spring football game, and student graduation ceremonies.  TAMU students, alumni, and fans enjoy campus events and athletics, making campus a popular entity.  Which means, the horticulture teams don’t take lightly the fact that sidewalks need to be clean, weeds need to be eradicated, plants need to be re-planted after drought and freeze damage, edging needs to be crisp, and crews need to be out of the way before the next event begins or when gates open. 

Additionally, while the turf grass was dormant on campus, the turf department assisted with structurally pruning Crepe Myrtles by removing branches that were growing into other branches, which is bad, and also by cleaning and edging tree rings throughout campus to improve the quality and aesthetics of mulched tree rings.  The turf department also helped mulch a large quantity of the landscape on campus, after horticulture crews cleaned.  With the assistance from the turf department, SSC accomplished great quantities of work for Texas A&M to boost aesthetics and prepare the landscape for success.

The challenge teams face in the spring is that plants and trees transition from winter dormancy to spring growth and on a campus with over 10,000 trees and over 50 acres of horticulture, our horticulture staff of 20 has to bring the effort each day to get the mission accomplished. While other departments such as, the Fine Horticulture and Special Projects department, managed by Barbara Hatchel and Carla Leonard, maintain perfection at the Leach Gardens, the George Bush Presidential Library, Aggie Park, the Bonfire Memorial, Military Walk, Zachry Engineering, J.K. Williams Administration, the Reed House, and the Moore Connally Building.

                Making maps, gathering data, and updating the campus tree inventory has been the mission for the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) department. SSC uses GIS to manage turf grass and turf grass pest management, horticulture data, a campus tree inventory, and a campus irrigation inventory.  TAMU is such a large campus that must have over 1,500 acres of turf grass, nearly 55 acres of horticulture, over 10,000 trees, and just over 300 irrigation systems managed each year.  Gathering data is not complete but still in progress, meaning the data numbers for turf grass, horticulture, and arboriculture will increase because GIS is unfinished gathering data and Texas A&M is a rapidly growing campus.  The GIS team also provides maps for the landscape at new buildings to provide measurements for SSC contract bids and creates maps to track Integrated Turf Pest Management for the SSC L&O department to assist with over 500 acres of level 1 fertilizer and pest management applications.

The most challenging months within grounds management can be from January to June because timing is everything within Arboriculture and Horticulture. As mentioned, there is much to accomplish with campus Arboriculture and Horticulture during the spring season, leading up to TAMU student graduation.  Meanwhile, the GIS department make maps and gather data to assist SSC with grounds management as a whole, additionally providing data for turf grass and irrigation management.  Overall, the arborists, horticulture crewmembers, and GIS staff members have worked incredibly hard and leaders have taken extreme ownership of their responsibilities.

Submitted by Neil Fletcher  Horticulture, Arboriculture, GIS Manager