HORT 342

Class Meeting Times

Student Learning Objectives

Students enrolled in HORT 342 will be expected to:

• Become familiar with the principles and practices of producing, storing, and transporting landscape plants, and how those principles and practices affect plant growth after installation in the landscape.
• Understand the physical and chemical properties of soil(s) and how they affect survival and growth of landscape plants.
• Recognize the importance of proper site selection, evaluation, design, and pre-plant preparation.
• Understand the various facets that comprise the business of landscape construction.
• Learn to interpret basic landscape construction documents and specifications.
• Comprehend environmental factors which affect landscape construction and long-term survivability and how these can be modified at the time of construction.
• Develop skill in the landscape construction techniques of hardscape installation, bed preparation, and plant selection, handling and installation.
• Understand the water needs of newly-installed and established landscape plants, and how physical soil characteristics affect water management decisions.
• Learn when/how mineral elements (fertilizers) should be applied.
• Understand the principles of plant problem diagnosis (abiotic and biotic).
• Understand the pruning needs of newly-installed, established, and mature landscape plants.

Course Procedure

The course will consist of lectures, in-class discussion and writing assignments, and small group projects. Lab will provide an opportunity for field trips and hands-on landscape installation and management activities.

Lab Specifics

The hands-on projects will center around installing or performing maintenance activities on small landscape projects. Since these projects will be outside, dress appropriately. Work boots or tough leather shoes are strongly recommended. Please don't show up in flip-flops or the like. Also consider investing in a pair of work gloves. When we are on the project site, students are required to wear shirts and long pants at all times. These installation projects will require you to do some physical work- Please come prepared to be an active participant in lab.

Plan to arrive to lab on time and stay for the entirety of the session. If we finish up early, then everyone will be able to leave early. Acknowledging that unexpected events can come up, each student has one excused absence from lab. After that, 50 points will be deducted from your total class points. And, 25 points for any 'early departures' from labs.

Professional Development

As professionals we are required to be on time, work in teams, and interact with others, both within the work environment and outside, in positive and constructive ways. Developing and practicing these skills of professionalism in HORT 342 will enhance your learning and performance in this class and in your career. Because of this importance to your current and future success, appropriate professional behaviors and work are expected for all lecture and laboratory sessions.

Student behavior and interactions affect your learning as well as other students' learning. Our expectations for you, as a student in HORT 342, include:

• Following classroom etiquette and civility requests
• Arriving on time - if you have a class on the other side of campus before our meeting times, please let us know
• Being respectful of students' learning needs
            Examples of this include, but are not limited to:
  • avoiding side conversations during class
  • not reading the newspaper or other non-class related materials during class
  • turning off your cell phone while in class and lab
• Following instructions carefully
• Planning ahead- complete and turn in all assignments on time
• Dropping your garbage in the trash cans on the way out the door... just like in the state parks: "If you can carry it in, you can carry it out"!

As a student in HORT 342 this is what you can expect from us as your instructors:

• Working cooperatively with you to create a positive and effective learning environment
• Arriving prior to class and starting on time
• Respecting you as individuals and scholars
• Providing you clear and detailed instructions on assignments
• Providing ample opportunity for questions and clarifications related to assignments and class content
• Distributing assignments so adequate time is allowed for their completion
• Returning assignments in a reasonable timeframe with constructive comments if applicable

Student Evaluation

Lecture Exams

Lecture exams will emphasize material covered during the lecture period, with a few additional questions derived from reading materials distributed in class and posted on the class WebCT site. All exams will be cumulative, but will emphasize the most recently covered material. Lecture exams may include diagrammatic labeling, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, lists of requested information, true/false, short answer, and essay questions.

Assignments

Detailed information will be given for each assignment when it is assigned, including evaluation rubrics where appropriate. Assignments turned in at the class meeting are due at the beginning of the class period on the assigned due date. A 10% penalty will be deducted from the assignment for each day it is late, including weekends and holidays. (i.e. If the assignment isn't turned in at the beginning (when class starts) of the class period on the due date, 10% will be deducted.) Some assignments will be due online, and those due dates will be listed on the case study website.

Landscape Assessment/Comprehensive Maintenance Plan

Students (working in teams) will conduct an in-depth assessment of a commercial landscape. The project will involve a critical evaluation of the landscape including site history, site evaluation, plant material inventory, identification of problems, suggestions for improving and maintaining the landscape, and a schedule for when installation and maintenance activities will be carried out. In other words, what would you do with this property and when would you do it. Teams will present oral reports (20 to 30 minutes in length with an additional 5 to 10 minutes for questions) in our scheduled laboratory period during the final two weeks of the semester (sign-up sheets will be posted). Written versions of the landscape assessment project are due on the day the oral report is presented.

Approximately five weeks into the semester, teams are required to arrange a brief (no more than 30 minutes) meeting with Dr. Iles for the purpose of presenting a presentation outline and to insure that you and your teammates are on the right track. It is your responsibility to arrange the date, time, and location for this meeting. A successful meeting with an approved outline will earn your team 10 points to be applied to the total for this particular exercise.

If past experience is any indication, then it is entirely possible that one or several students in HORT 342 will not take this assignment seriously, and instead, will allow their teammates to "carry them." In other words, they will earn the title of slacker. But slackers should take heed because teams reserve the right to remove ("fire") slackers from the team. Should a student suffer this fate, they will have the option of completing the landscape assessment assignment on their own, or applying for reinstatement with another team. Obviously, the best plan is to work cooperatively, sharing the load and benefiting from the learning experience.

Subjective Evaluation

A relatively small, but important part of the course grade will be determined by you, and the instructors' perception of your performance throughout the semester. If you attend class (and lab) on a regular basis, are attentive and engaged in class and lab, actively participate and contribute to group work, and in general contribute to a positive learning environment, you can expect to receive the maximum number of points (35). These points could mean the difference, for example, between a C+ and a B-.

Overall Course Grade:

Each student's grade will be based on a total of 600 points for the semester. The grading scale is provided below:

Miscellaneous

ADA policy
If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please make arrangements to meet with one of the instructors soon. Please request that a Disability Resources staff send a SAAR form verifying your disability and specifying the accommodation you will need. The Disability Resources (DR) office is located on the main floor of the Student Services Building, Room 1076 or call 515-294-6624.

Make-up Policy
Make-up exams will be granted only for excused absences (instructor's prior approval or when a university-sanctioned excuse is provided in writing).

Attendance
We believe material presented in HORT 342 is interesting, very important, and we expect to see each and every one of you at every class meeting, however, attendance will not be recorded. If you are not in class, you are still responsible for material presented during your absence. And yes, everything covered in lecture, lab, or given as a reading assignment is testable material.

Lecture and Laboratory Schedules

The sequence of topics and the approximate amount of course time spent on each topic is outlined in the two schedules below. Students are responsible for any announced changes in the sequence or schedule of topics and assignments.

Almost all of our lab sessions will be off campus. In order to get to our destination and back again in a timely manner, please arrive to lab a few minutes early so we can be on the road at 1:10. Let us know if you have any potential conflicts due to class schedules.

This is a tentative schedule- due to weather conditions and other issues we may have to adjust the schedule as the semester progresses. We will do our best to give you as much advanced notice as possible.

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