OT: Campus is in serious need of some TLC

[Fishy]

We spent the weekend up at UConn and it was really surprising how badly the place needs some attention.

Every bit of landscaping seems to be either dying or falling over and I don't think there is a square inch of concrete that isn't cracked or broken. All the concrete - sidewalks and stairs - from the UConn 2000 construction is falling apart.

Someone needs to find the construction managers (Emmert) from back in the day and perp walk them back to campus to serve as work crews. And the current grounds crews need to spend more time outdoors - it's really a mess up there.

Semi-related note - we had dinner at Geno's restaurant on Saturday - I'm going to do an AMA on the women's board.

 

[mets1090]

IIRC, all of the landscaping was always dying in May when I was there (08-12) but was beautiful again come September. They pretty much do all of that work over the summer and then let it ride for 9 months and hope for the best. They probably touch it up early in Spring too but winter was pretty long and crappy this year so the window to work on it was probably too small for them to consider it a reasonable expense.

 

[temery]

IIRC, all of the landscaping was always dying in May when I was there (08-12) but was beautiful again come September. They pretty much do all of that work over the summer and then let it ride for 9 months and hope for the best. They probably touch it up early in Spring too but winter was pretty long and crappy this year so the window to work on it was probably too small for them to consider it a reasonable expense.

Everything around here is dying - no rain.

 

[MadisonSquare Gordon]

We spent the weekend up at UConn and it was really surprising how badly the place needs some attention.

Every bit of landscaping seems to be either dying or falling over and I don't think there is a square inch of concrete that isn't cracked or broken. All the concrete - sidewalks and stairs - from the UConn 2000 construction is falling apart.

Someone needs to find the construction managers (Emmert) from back in the day and perp walk them back to campus to serve as work crews. And the current grounds crews need to spend more time outdoors - it's really a mess up there.

Semi-related note - we had dinner at Geno's restaurant on Saturday - I'm going to do an AMA on the women's board.

I had the same exact thoughts when I was up there last month. I was really hoping it was due to the harsh winter and they were just struggling to get caught up.

 

[Adios]

This past winter wreaked havoc everywhere.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Here is a short list of what I lost last year:
1. 100 or so peaches and nectarines.
2. 20 or so other fruit trees (apricots, cherries, other).
3. Rhodos all top killed.
4. Red bud dead, one mostly dead.
5. Black Walnut severely stressed.
6. 3 Sycamores (small, but well-established and native).
7. Paw paw tree (root suckers, but lost several years of growth).
8. Red oak sapling (never lost an oak before).
9. Rose of Sharon - multiple.
10. Asparagus patch - couple plant just now pushing, everything else dead.
11. Multifloral rose (prickers) - you know it's bad when the damn pricker bushes are dying.

It was horrid for 2 winters in a row out here. I can imagine the thousands of ornamentals on a college campus probably had it very hard.

 

[pepband99]

IIRC, all of the landscaping was always dying in May when I was there (08-12) but was beautiful again come September. They pretty much do all of that work over the summer and then let it ride for 9 months and hope for the best. They probably touch it up early in Spring too but winter was pretty long and crappy this year so the window to work on it was probably too small for them to consider it a reasonable expense.

This. Go back in August, and you'll be in awe of the difference. I was there a week before opening last year, and the place looked like a postcard.

 

[mets1090]

This. Go back in August, and you'll be in awe of the difference. I was there a week before opening last year, and the place looked like a postcard.

Senior year I was able to move in a few days earlier than the rest of campus because I had one of the apartments. Unbelievable scenery.

 

[August_West]

We spent the weekend up at UConn and it was really surprising how badly the place needs some attention.

Every bit of landscaping seems to be either dying or falling over and I don't think there is a square inch of concrete that isn't cracked or broken. All the concrete - sidewalks and stairs - from the UConn 2000 construction is falling apart.

Someone needs to find the construction managers (Emmert) from back in the day and perp walk them back to campus to serve as work crews. And the current grounds crews need to spend more time outdoors - it's really a mess up there.

Semi-related note - we had dinner at Geno's restaurant on Saturday - I'm going to do an AMA on the women's board.

Could it be chipmunks destroying the landscape?

They may need your expertise.

 

[CL82]

Everything around here is dying - no rain.

The brutal winter killed off a lot of my landscaping. I'm still getting replacements in place and that's without 12,000 kids walking all over them.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Could it be chipmunks destroying the landscape?

They may need your expertise.

Used to think those critters were kind of cute. Now that they have been my "neighbors" for some years, I wish Fishy on each and every one of them. Cocky basturds.

 

[UCweCONN]

Why is everyone focused on Fishy's comments about the landscaping which is explainable and easily correctable, instead of his comments about the decaying infrastructure? That's a much bigger deal especially given the current budget/funding situation. The state is building a new Hartford campus but allowing the flagship campus to degrade?

 

[HarryAGampel]

Why is everyone focused on Fishy's comments about the landscaping which is explainable and easily correctable, instead of his comments about the decaying infrastructure? That's a much bigger deal especially given the current budget/funding situation. The state is building a new Hartford campus but allowing the flagship campus to degrade?

Everytime I've been to campus of recent, the infrastructure has looked pretty good. New sidewalks, stairs, etc. I think campus beautification is one of Herbst's priorities.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Too many scrubs on campus? Or not enough waterfalls?

 

[UCweCONN]

Everytime I've been to campus of recent, the infrastructure has looked pretty good. New sidewalks, stairs, etc. I think campus beautification is one of Herbst's priorities.

"So you're saying Fishy's a liar, esse??"

 

[Robertelamin]

Here is a short list of what I lost last year:
1. 100 or so peaches and nectarines.
2. 20 or so other fruit trees (apricots, cherries, other).
3. Rhodos all top killed.
4. Red bud dead, one mostly dead.
5. Black Walnut severely stressed.
6. 3 Sycamores (small, but well-established and native).
7. Paw paw tree (root suckers, but lost several years of growth).
8. Red oak sapling (never lost an oak before).
9. Rose of Sharon - multiple.
10. Asparagus patch - couple plant just now pushing, everything else dead.
11. Multifloral rose ( ers) - you know it's bad when the damn er bushes are dying.

It was horrid for 2 winters in a row out here. I can imagine the thousands of ornamentals on a college campus probably had it very hard.

Jebus, do you live on an orchard or something?

 

[huskymedic]

UConnJun 05, 8:30am via Sprout Social
UConn in 360 – Wilbur Cross, Great Lawn, & a beautiful blue sky over Storrs. Get the full view
https://theta360.com/s/fFLutwVDLZVBF0AQTQwijjIP2

If you zoom in and look real close - I think I see a guy peeing near one of the clumps of trees...

 

[August_West]

UConnJun 05, 8:30am via Sprout Social
UConn in 360 – Wilbur Cross, Great Lawn, & a beautiful blue sky over Storrs. Get the full view
https://theta360.com/s/fFLutwVDLZVBF0AQTQwijjIP2

If you zoom in and look real close - I think I see a guy peeing near one of the clumps of trees...

That was me. Sorry for partying. Not sorry though.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Everytime I've been to campus of recent, the infrastructure has looked pretty good. New sidewalks, stairs, etc. I think campus beautification is one of Herbst's priorities.

After your $*#)$&# choice of ceiling tiles, you may not be a reliable reference point on infrastructure.

 

[StoweD210]

Threads like this make me wish that guy who seriously believed Herbst should be personally directing the landscaping crews hadn't gotten himself banned.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Used to think those critters were kind of cute. Now that they have been my "neighbors" for some years, I wish Fishy on each and every one of them. Cocky basturds.

A few years back a gentleman from New Hampshire advised me to put pieces of Double bubble in chipmunk holes. Apparently they are able to digest it and fill up with water until ....POP. Haven't had the heart to test this yet but I'm getting super close.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Jebus, do you live on an orchard or something?

!
No! I just really adore trees. Growing them, planting them, climbing them, identifying them. I planted several hundred fruit trees over the years. Bunch of evergreens for a screen. I have been transplanting a field with trees from the back 40 for a few years - rather than let wild trees take over, in which case it would be all red maple, cotton wood, aspen, and tulip poplar for the first 40 or so years. Beeches really don't like to get moved. Red oaks grow like weeds around here - great tree.
Recommendation for a pyramidal evergreen that is not the usual blue spruce/norway spruce planting: Canaan Fir. It's quickly become my favorite evergreen. Beautiful at bud break, medium to fast growth rate, very cold hardy, holds its needles for many years, increasing density, doesn't get too huge, and, unlike most spruces, firs, and pines, seems to do quite well in heavy soil and wet (not standing water) soil.

 

[UCONNJACK]

We spent the weekend up at UConn and it was really surprising how badly the place needs some attention.

Every bit of landscaping seems to be either dying or falling over and I don't think there is a square inch of concrete that isn't cracked or broken. All the concrete - sidewalks and stairs - from the UConn 2000 construction is falling apart.

Someone needs to find the construction managers (Emmert) from back in the day and perp walk them back to campus to serve as work crews. And the current grounds crews need to spend more time outdoors - it's really a mess up there.

Semi-related note - we had dinner at Geno's restaurant on Saturday - I'm going to do an AMA on the women's board.

Daily Campus article regarding harsh winter affecting walkways, roads and landscaping.

http://dailycampus.com/university-begins-repairs-after-winter-damage/

 

[Bezzz]

!
No! I just really adore trees. Growing them, planting them, climbing them, identifying them. I planted several hundred fruit trees over the years. Bunch of evergreens for a screen. I have been transplanting a field with trees from the back 40 for a few years - rather than let wild trees take over, in which case it would be all red maple, cotton wood, aspen, and tulip poplar for the first 40 or so years. Beeches really don't like to get moved. Red oaks grow like weeds around here - great tree.
Recommendation for a pyramidal evergreen that is not the usual blue spruce/norway spruce planting: Canaan Fir. It's quickly become my favorite evergreen. Beautiful at bud break, medium to fast growth rate, very cold hardy, holds its needles for many years, increasing density, doesn't get too huge, and, unlike most spruces, firs, and pines, seems to do quite well in heavy soil and wet (not standing water) soil.

Just wondering. What happened to the wooly adelgid that was supposed to kill off all the hemlocks in Connecticut? My former house in Simsbury which was surrounded by hemlocks sorta got infested with the bugs, but decades later the trees are still there.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Just wondering. What happened to the wooly adelgid that was supposed to kill off all the hemlocks in Connecticut? My former house in Simsbury which was surrounded by hemlocks sorta got infested with the bugs, but decades later the trees are still there.

I remember way back in 94 I was working in construction with a guy who timbered CT woods part time. He was lamenting the decline of the hemlocks in CT. WA does not overwinter well. A cold winter a handful of years back knocked them on their little exoskeletal asses. 2 winters ago, same thing. This winter, I expect the same results this summer. Vast swaths of hemlocks that were nearing death recovered after those brutal winters. In the end, it looks bleak, however, unless something changes, or winters continue to be brutal. Hemlocks don't mind the cold as much as the WA.
Hemlocks are amazing trees. Absolutely amazing. I cut a few down when we first moved here, but then I read a few things about them and now they are on my no-cut list.
They grow extremely well in shade, and, in fact, I've found that they only transplant really well when they are transplanted into shade. They are extremely long lived, particularly for evergreens. The combination of these two traits means that you can come across a hemlock in the understory of a forest that is 2 inches in diameter at breast height and 200 years old. That is not a typo. A 1" tree (maybe 15 feet tall) can be 100 years old. One particular tree that was 10" in diameter was over 350 years old. To keep it in perspective, a red maple tree rarely lives past 120 years old, and it is falling down and decrepit at that point. Hemlock lumber is awesome. Most wooded barns in the east are bat and boarded with green hemlock. The tree is beautiful in form, elegant in movement, and is very important for wildlife. Biggest one on my property is about 14 feet in circumference (about 4' in diameter).