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The mission of the SFASU Arboretum is to promote the conservation, selection, and use of the native plants of Texas and to encourage diversity in the urban landscape philosophy of the region. A decade since its inception, the 10-acre arboretum features many uncommon, unusual, and difficult-to-find species and cultivars, many deserving greater use in the region. The living collection has been acquired through botanical gardens, arboretums, private collections, the nursery industry, and expeditions. The list of promising plants that have surfaced includes many that are not easily available in the trade. The issues involved in woody and herbaceous plant evaluation include computer mapping and record keeping constraints, the long-time frame for evaluation with many woody plants, and difficulties in propagation. The arboretums's plant acquisition policy and record keeping and computer mapping system is currently tracking more than 2500 taxa in the living collection. An overview of the first decade of plant performance and a strategic plan for acquisition, propagation, evaluation, distribution, and promotion are presented.
Nationwide, horticulture enrollments have fallen from the peak in the late 1970's. For instance, Stephen F. Austin State University enjoyed a maximum horticulture enrollment of 99 undergraduates in 1977. By fall 1990, that enrollment had fallen to 30. The absence of CADD (computer-assisted drafting or design) on SFASU's campus suggested an opportunity for horticulture to fill a void. This paper will discuss the decision-making process and costs involved in setting up a ten-station AutoCad lab with good plotting capability. A successful marketing effort has resulted in easy-to-fill sections with wide appeal across campus. CADD courses make sense in horticulture if the resource is not available in other departments, technical support is available, and the tool has value to related projects in the horticulture program.
Blueberry growers are encouraged to monitor soil, leaf tissue, and irrigation water on a regular basis. Recommendations are based on soil, leaf, and water guidelines established from previous studies. A 1986-1988 blueberry field study in east Texas and Louisiana revealed the following significant associations with low vigor fields: 1) high soil pH, Ca, Mg and low Zn, 2) high leaf Na and B, and 3) high irrigation water conductivity and bicarbonates. The findings will be compared to other benchmark studies. pH, conductivity, and nutrient monitoring procedures of a large east Texas rabbiteye blueberry field are described. Careful record-keeping allows blueberry growers to fine-tune fertigation performance by altering nitrogen source and rate depending on changes in soil pH and conductivity.
The SFA Arboretum is evidence that small horticulture programs can capitalize on what's right outside the back door of the building. Initiated in 1985 as a lab project in a landscape plant materials course on the south side of the Agriculture building, the collection has grown to over 3000 taxa displayed in a ten-acre public garden setting. The Arboretum's mission is to 1) promote the conservation and use of native plants, 2) evaluate “new” landscape plant materials, and 3) serve as a living laboratory for students in Horticulture, Agriculture, Biology and Forestry. Funding improvements in the last two years and the creation of a Board of Advisors and a Volunteer Corps organization has addressed problems in routine landscape maintenance and getting “new” garden developments off the ground. A “Plants with Promise” program acquires, tests, propagates, distributes and promotes superior “new” woody plants. Outstanding performers include Bignonia capreolata 'atrosangainea', Campsis grandiflora, Cinnamomum chekingensis, Euschapis japonica, Scuttelaria suffretescens 'pink', Sinojackia rehderiana, Taxodium mucronatum, Viburnum propinquum, various Styrax species and varieties, several Michelia species, Illicium henryi, three Mexico oaks, and many others. AutoCAD maps and a plant inventory database tracks plant location and acquisition data. A just-completed GIS-based analysis of the university forest paves the way for a campus-as-arboretum effort. The premise of this paper is that high-visibility, easy-access display/evaluation gardens offer Horticulture Departments the opportunity for enhanced student recruitment, community involvement, external funding, environmental education, and the potential for significant contributions to the nursery industry.
Hibiscus dasycalyx is known from less than 10 locations along the Neches River. A many-stemmed, woody-based, narrow-leafed perennial to 4 ft, the species displays showy white-petaled, 3-inch blooms in summer and fall. The species is federally endangered due to loss of habitat and interspecific hybridization with the Soldier Rose Mallow, Hibiscus militaris, a species that encroaches into the range of the Neches River Rose Mallow. A 1994 seed propagation study included nine collection dates (late July to late October) and stratification at 0, 2, 4, and 6 weeks prior to planting. Germination percentages were low; only the 7/22 and 9/10 collection dates exhibited a germination rate above 25% and stratification did not improve germination percentages. In late Fall 1994, container-grown plants exhibited an almost universal tendency to enter dormancy in a greenhouse maintained above 70F and provided with long-days via supplemental lighting. In two cutting propagation trials, cuttings collected 8/23 rooted at 65%; a 11/22 cutting collection failed to root. Seedling variation in leaf shape and growth rate is high. The results of 1995 cutting propagation trials will be presented. A reintroduction strategy for the species under the umbrella of the Stephen F. Austin State Univ. Arboretum includes establishing a sustainable planting of the species in the Arboretum and reintroduction into Mill Creek Gardens, a Nacogdoches county conservation easement.
General guidelines for the fertilization of azaleas in Southern landscapes often suggest applications be made after bloom. Early fertilizations are thought to encourage earlier blooms which are more likely to be damaged by spring freezes. Three years of data will be presented. Treatments include four fertilization rates, and various times of application from early (December-January) to late (March-April). Four to six varieties were evaluated (depending on the year of the study) in the SFA Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden and in plantings on the Stephen F. Austin State Univ. campus. A randomized complete block design was utilized with three plants per replication. Influence of timing and rate of fertilizer application on bloom date and persistence. Influence of fertilizer treatments on leaf nutrient concentrations will be presented.
Mill Creek Farms, a 52-acre rabbiteye blueberry field 6 miles west of Nacogdoches, Texas, represents a unique case history in terms of plant response to a nutrition and irrigation strategy. Since establishment in 1988, the field has received daily drip irrigation during the growing season (April through September) with nutrients delivered at each watering. Soil conductivity, pH, and nutrient values have been useful in determining fertilizer sources (ammonium sulfate, urea, and 25N–9P–17K + micronutrients) and rates (5 to 10 lb of fertilizer per week depending on source). A 1986–88 survey of East Texas rabbiteye blueberry fields is used as the basis for comparison of soil, leaf tissue, and irrigation water nutrient values. A study in Summer 1995 determined soil pH, conductivity, and nutrient values at 0–6, 12–18, and 18–24 inches below the drip line at distances 0, 12, 24, and 48 inches away from the drip line. Results indicate a narrow 2- to 3-foot band of irrigation influence on soil nutrient values. In general, soil nutrient values have been lower in the root zone than recommended by “sufficiency” guidelines, yet there has been no decline in plant vigor or productivity.
The SFA Mast Arboretum began as a landscape plant materials class project on the south side of the Agriculture building in 1985. In 2000, over 20 theme gardens now occupy 18 acres. The garden is computer mapped and an accessioning system is in place. Theme garden developments include daylilies, herbs, a rock garden, a xeriscape, plants for shade, wetland, and bog conditions, a line of vines, an Asian Valley, conifers and hollies, and numerous gardens that trial and display herbaceous perennials. Recent developments include a children's garden and, the biggest project to date, an 8-acre SFA Ruby Mize Azalea garden, with a grand opening in Apr. 2000. Theme gardens are utilized to display collections. Significant assemblages include Rhododendron (400 cultivars and selections), Acer (168 cultivars), Camellia (210 cultivars), Loropetalum (18 taxa), Cephalotaxus (43 taxa), Magnolia (47 taxa), Abelia (37 taxa), Ilex (73 taxa), and others. Plant performance and observational information is recorded. Second author Grant has numerous plant introductions in the past 5 years, many that are well represented in the nursery industry and recognized by TAMU's Coordinated Educational and Marketing Assistance Program (CEMAP) as “Texas Superstar” promotions (trademarked). SFA Mast Arboretum plants are promoted via distributions, trade articles, and the Arboretum's website: www.sfasu.edu/ag/arboretum.
Amorphophallus titanum, corpse flower or titan arum, was discovered in 1878 in Sumatra, Indonesia by the Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari. The plant first bloomed in cultivation at Kew in 1889 and the first flowering event in the U.S. was a sensation in 1937 at the New York Botanical Garden. With fewer than thirty recorded flowering events in the U.S., the foul-smelling flower always excites the public and attracts great media attention. On 12 July 2004, a specimen at the SFA Mast Arboretum flowered successfully and Jack became the first-ever corpse flower to bloom in Texas. The SFA Mast Arboretum accessioned Jack as a small corm in June 2000. The plant has spent winters in a climate-controlled greenhouse and summers in a humid shade house and has annually produced a strong leaf stalk and umbrella like leaf blade before collapsing in December or January. In March 2004, the corm weighed 26 lb before placement in a larger pot. The inflorescence emerged in early June 2004, reached 61 inches 11 July, opened 12 July, and collapsed after 77 hours. Fresh pollen from a University of Connecticut plant was flown in but a pollination effort eight hours after opening failed. Jack's corm weighed 21 lb when moved into the greenhouse in November 2004, and remains dormant. Detailed information and a complete pictorial history are available at http://arboretum.sfasu.edu/events/amt/index.htm.
To determine if any of the available techniques for estimating stability in different environments are useful in blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade and V. corymbosum L.), 14 clones were evaluated in nine environments for ripening date and yield. Type 1 and 2 stability statistics, plots for each genotype mean versus its coefficient of variation (cv) across environments (genotype grouping), environmental index regression, and cluster analyses were compared. The highest yielding rabbiteye and southern highbush clones across locations were not deemed stable by Type 1 and Type 2 stability statistics, genotype grouping, or environmental regression technique. No evidence of curvilinear response was found. The nonparametric cluster analysis with known cultivars included appears to be most useful compared to other methods of estimating stability used in this study.