In an effort to increase the canopy on Washington University’s School of Medicine campus, a fall tree and shrub planting project is planned for early December. Various locations on campus have been identified as sites that will receive a combination of shade trees, ornamental trees, and large shrubs. Some of these locations will be included in upcoming landscape improvement projects, while others are intended to be part of a campus-wide, multi-year, tree canopy improvement plan.
Species selection has been made utilizing a plant palette that emphasizes native Missouri plant material, as well as North American native species and cultivars. Redbuds, Swamp White Oaks, Bald Cypress, and Serviceberries are a few of the species that have been selected for this initial round of planting.
Much has been done over the past year to address the pruning needs of trees on the campus, as well as to remove trees and shrubs that have been in declining health. The next step is to begin to augment the current tree population on campus, as well as to replace the trees lost to decline. As this is anticipated to happen over the course of a number of years, further planning is currently under way to identify locations for the next round of planting.