JON HELGASON/Arizona Daily Wildcat This 70-year-old boojum tree standing in the Joseph Wood Krutch cactus garden will likely be joined by younger boojums when the garden is expanded as part of the Alumni Heritage Plaza. The Krutch Working Group suggested recently that more boojums - as well as other Sonoran Desert flora - be planted in the garden to celebrate the garden's Sonoran heritage.

Recommendation would remove asphalt, add new boojum trees

The cactus garden will likely be expanded to include new Sonoran Desert plants and more of the rare boojum trees that sparked debate earlier this year over the garden's future.

Under a recommendation passed by the Krutch Working Group, the Joseph Wood Krutch cactus garden would expand in size by 50 percent.

Additions would also be made to the east side of the garden in an area that is now pavement. Under new plans for the Alumni Heritage Plaza, all the asphalt would be removed from that area and be replaced by plants, including new, younger boojum trees.

"Some people may be tentative to removing some plants but this is not going to diminish the significance and will be retained on campus probably close to Old Main," said Associated Students of the University of Arizona President-elect Doug Hartz, the student representative on the working group. "The chances of the plants surviving will be pretty good."

David Duffy, director of Campus and Facilities Planning, stated in a press release that the proposed change is "a light intervention to enhance the current garden" that would not alter the natural environment of the garden.

Earlier this semester, cactus garden supporters rallied to ask UA President Peter Likins and the Alumni Association to maintain that environment after plans to transfer the garden to make room for the Alumni Plaza sparked concern that the three 70-year-old boojums might not survive the move.

The Alumni Association agreed to include the cactus garden as part of the plaza plans and formed the working group in conjunction with the Campus Arboretum Committee to come up with a plan for integrating the garden into the plaza.

According to the working group proposal, the cactus garden would take on a Sonoran Desert theme and non-Sonoran specimens and plants added over the last two decades would be removed.

Incorporating the Krutch cactus garden with the Alumni Plaza was a motivation behind extending the garden.

The 50 percent expansion to the east will transition from larger species such as boojum trees from the garden's center to smaller Sonoran shrubs and ground cover plants.

"When I went in, I didn't want anything taken out, but what I realized was that it would make it more aesthetic to the educational value and the historical significance," Hartz said. "Adding in plants will give it the general theme."

The overall consensus of the working group was positive with the recommended changes to the garden.

"I think the results are excellent, a win-win situation for everyone," said Kay Brown, Alumni Association board member and Krutch Garden Working Group member. "The enhanced size will help enhance the importance of the rare species protected on the mall, and I think it will be a significant addition to the plaza."

The Krutch Garden Working Group will release a final report within the next few weeks that will include a peer review so that Hargreaves Associates can begin incorporating the expanded cactus garden into the Alumni Plaza plans.