Gardening Help Search

Temporary Closure

The Center for Home Gardening is currently closed to ensure visitor and staff well-being. Our Plant Doctors are still available through phone and e-mail to answer your gardening questions. Please note that response times may be delayed due to limited staffing:

Horticulture Answer Service
Hours: Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Phone #: 314-577-5143

Plant Information
E-mail: plantinformation@mobot.org

Soil Testing & Pot Recycling Suspended for 2021

Due to the Center for Home Gardening being closed, we are not able to conduct free soil pH tests at this time. As an alternative, soil samples can be submitted to the University of Missouri Extension's Soil and Plant Testing Laboratory. 

Plastic Pot Recycling in the St. Louis region will continue to remain suspended for 2021. Garden centers that have hosted pot recycling collection trailers will NOT be accepting garden plastics. Questions about pot recycling can be submitted to the Green Resources Info Service at greenresources@mobot.org. 

Plants of Merit 2021

Plants of Merit are plants selected for their outstanding quality and dependable performance in the Midwest in the categories of annuals, bulbs, edibles, houseplants, perennials, shrubs, trees and vines. Click the link below to view the new Plants of Merit selections for 2021.

Plants of Merit 2021


elephant's ear
Caladium 'Burning Heart'

stonecrop
Sedum LEMON CORAL
Seasonal Gardening Tips
  • Repot root-bound houseplants, moving them to containers 2 inches larger in diameter than their current pot. Leggy plants may be pruned now. 
     
  • Trees, shrubs and perennials may be planted as soon as they become available at local nurseries. 
     
  • Loosen winter mulches from perennials cautiously. Re-cover plants at night if frost returns. Gradually start to pull back mulch from rose bushes. 
     
  • Clean up beds by removing all weeds and dead foliage at this time. 
     
  • Summer and fall blooming perennials should be divided in spring. 
     
  • Ornamental grasses should be cut to the ground just as the new growth begins. 
     
  • Apply broadleaf herbicides now for control of cool-season perennial and annual weeds. These must not be applied to areas that will be seeded soon. 
     
  • Delay planting if the garden soil is too wet. When a ball of soil crumbles easily after being squeezed together in your hand, it is dry enough to be safely worked. 
     
  • Plant peas, lettuce, radishes, mustard greens, collards, turnips, Irish potatoes, spinach and onions (seeds and sets) outdoors. 
     
  • Start seeds of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants indoors.
     
  • Purple martins return to the St. Louis area.

Learn More

Enjoy the fragrant blooms of the Ozark Witch Hazel flowering in shrub borders or wooded areas on warm sunny days.
Repot any root-bound house plants now before vigorous growth occurs. Choose a new container that is only 1 or 2 inches larger in diameter than the old pot.
Repot any root-bound house plants now before vigorous growth occurs. Choose a new container that is only 1 or 2 inches larger in diameter than the old pot.
Bloom Time Calendar

See when plants bloom at the Garden: