Plant Information Service

Master gardeners and horticulture specialists provide the following services:

Recommendations on care of trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, vegetables, fruits, and houseplants
Diagnosis and treatment options for control of insects, diseases, and cultural disorders
General gardening information on soils, composting, pruning, mulching, and more
Plant and insect identification
Recommendations on plant selections for northern Illinois
Assistance with locating purchasing sources for particular plants

Please be sure to read our guidelines for specimen collection and submission if you will be bringing in a sample for diagnosis. If you will be sending images through the online forms above, please send files in one of the requested formats.

Remember! Our diagnosis is only as good as your sample. Please follow our guidelines for collecting and submitting samples in order for us to provide you with accurate answers to your questions.

Plant information Service routinely asks visitors to submit plant samples for accurate diagnoses and identifications. However, we will no longer allow samples of boxwood (Buxus), pachysandra (Pachysandra), and sweet box (Sarcococca) to be brought to the Garden, in order to prevent the spread of boxwood blight, a devastating fungal disease that affects these plants. Please feel free to contact us with questions about boxwood blight without bringing plant samples to the Garden. You can also click here for more information about boxwood blight.