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

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 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

• When crabapples are in bloom, hardy annuals may be transplanted outdoors. 
   
• Examine shrubs for winter injury and prune out all dead and weakened wood.
   
• Break off the rims from peat pots when transplanting seedlings, otherwise they can act as a wick and draw moisture away from the roots.
   
• Prune spring flowering ornamentals after they finish blooming. 
   
• Enjoy the many wildflowers blooming in woodlands throughout Missouri.
   
• Topdress low spots in lawns and finish overseeding thin or bare patches.
   
• Start cucumber, cantaloupe, summer squash and watermelon seeds indoors in peat pots.
   
• Thin out crowded seedlings from early plantings of cool season crops such as beets, carrots, lettuce, onions and radish. 
   
• Protect bees and other pollinating insects. Do not spray insecticides on fruit trees that are blooming. 
   
• Orange, jelly-like galls on cedar trees spread rust diseases to apples, crabapples and hawthorns. 
   
• Inspect and treat boxwoods for leafminers as new leaves emerge. 

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