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The Turf Program and the Landscape, Nursery, and Urban Forestry Program of UMass Extension provide informational resources, programs, and research data directly to Green Industry businesses and professionals, who in turn provide the information to the public via their customers. It is our goal to educate the professional, who in turn can better serve their clients and answer home gardening and landscape questions. The following information sources are available to home gardeners and landscapers:
Fact Sheets | Soil Testing | Plant Problem Diagnostics | Tick Testing | Newsletters | Master Gardener Hotlines | Botanic Gardens | Poisonings | Conservation & Wildlife | Add. Resources
Home Garden Fact Sheets from UMass Extension
- Flower Fact Sheets
- Tree Fruit Fact Sheets
- Small Fruit Fact Sheets
- Tree & Shrub Fact Sheets
- Turf Fact Sheets
- Vegetable Fact Sheets
Our professional fact sheets are written primarily for the industry practitioner, but many of the concepts and techniques presented are useful to the home gardener and landscaper as well: Refer to Landscape & Nursery Fact Sheets from UMass Extension
Soil Testing
The University of Massachusetts Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory is located on the campus of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Testing services are available to all. The function of the Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory is to provide test results and recommendations that lead to the wise and economical use of soils and soil amendments. For additional information not outlined on this page, call the UMass Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Lab at (413) 545-2311.
Plant Problem Diagnostics
Accurate diagnosis for a turf or landscape problem can often eliminate or reduce the need for pesticide use. The UMass Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab is available to serve commercial landscape contractors, turf managers, arborists, nurseries and other green industry professionals. It provides woody plant and turf disease analysis, woody plant and turf insect identification, turfgrass identification, weed identification, and offers a report of pest management strategies that are research based, economically sound and environmentally appropriate for the situation.
Tick Testing
UMass Extension, in cooperation with researchers at the UMass Laboratory for Medical Zoology, will assess specimens to determine whether they are black legged ticks (deer ticks), and if so, will determine whether or not they carry the bacterium that causes Lyme Disease. The test can detect the Lyme disease pathogen from a single tick. Analysis for up to ten different tick-borne diseases is also available.
Newsletters
Hort Notes: For landscapers, grounds managers and other green industry professionals. Hort Notes is published monthly year round (12 issues). Alerts green industry professionals to emerging landscape insect and disease problems while providing timely Integrated Pest Management strategies. Emphasizes timely plant health care practices and problem-solving information. A calendar of events is included. Call or email for a sample. Cost is $20 per year. Visit link above or contact Ellen Weeks at (413) 545-0895; eweeks@umext.umass.edu
Garden Clippings: This newsletter for home gardeners is published monthly March through October with tips of the month and other information on growing fruit, vegetables, lawns, and ornamental trees, shrubs and perennials. A one-year subscription of eight issues is $10 per year. Also available for distribution by garden centers and landscapers to thieir customers by purchasing at a bulk rate (minimum order 25 copies/issue). Call or email for a sample. Cost is $10 per year. Visit link above or contact Ellen Weeks at (413) 545-0895; eweeks@umext.umass.edu
Master Gardener Garden Hotlines
(413) 298-5355
Mondays, 9:00 AM to noon, May 1 through October 1. Questions taken via voice mail and e-mail year round.
E-mail: wmmga10@yahoo.com
See also on the web: http://wmassmastergardeners.org
Wellesley, MA, (617) 933-4929
Phone consultations from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Help line is available on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday April through October; Wednesday and Friday in March and November; Wednesdays only December through February.
E-mail: hortline@masshort.org
See also on the web: http://www.massmastergardeners.org
(401) 874-4836 (outside Rhode Island)
(800) 448-1011 (inside Rhode Island)
March through October, Mon. - Thur. 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
E-mail: gardener@etal.uri.edu
- Barnstable County Master Gardener Program (For MA Barnstable County Residents Only)
(508) 375-6700
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
May - Sept: Mon. - Fri.
April & Oct: Mon./Wed./Fri.
Feb, March & Nov: Tue./Thur.
Dec. & Jan: Closed
Botanic Gardens
- Arnold Arboretum Plant Information Line (Trees and Shrubs Only)
Jamaica Plain, MA, (617) 384-5235
year-round, Mon. 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Boylston, MA, (508) 869-6111 x 10
year-round, Wed. 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
walk-ins are accepted during hotline hours, garden admission will be charged.
Poisonings
Boston, MA
1-800-222-1222 (Emergencies)
1-800-682-9211 ( Toxicologist Consultation)
Conservation and Wildlife
"Wildlife" section of the web site includes information about nuisance wildlife and a listing of licensed control agents.
e-mail: mass.wildlife@state.ma.us
- Massachusetts Audubon Natural History Help Line
Lincoln, MA, (781) 259-9506 x 7416
year-round, Mon. - Fri. 9am - 5pm
Additional Resources
National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) (800) 858-7378
Sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency; offers impartial information about pesticides (products, poisoning, safety, health and environmental effects, etc.)
Poisonous Plants
Neither the Arnold Arboretum External Link nor the Poison Control Center External Link are willing to make telephone recommendations regarding poisonous plants any longer for liability reasons. The following references are suggested by the Arnold Arboretum
- Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms of North America - Turner & Szczawinski
- Baby Safe Houseplants and Cut Flowers - Alber & Alber
See also: Cornell University Poisonous Plants Database
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Information available from this agency ranges from preventing soil erosion, to keeping water clean and plentiful, to safe handling and disposal of household products.
Consult your Local Garden Center
Many reputable firms have a trained horticulturist on staff who has received training or has been updated on topics such as new planting principles, pesticides, pest management, or locally adopted plants.
Please Note: The information presented here is for educational purposes, no endorsement is intended. Contact information is subject to change without notice. University of Massachusetts Extension does not guarantee or warrant the standard of any referenced source of information or imply approval of a reference to the exclusion of other resources.