SOREC Plant Clinic

To receive the best possible answer to your query, you should:

1. Provide information including the problem itself, when the problem started, and information about the associated environment.
2. Provide a large, live sample of the plant or a clean, complete insect sample. For identification, a physical sample is required. For plants, bring large examples (i.e. leaves and branches, flowers if the plant is blooming) of both healthy and affected tissue.
3. Bring multiple parts of the plant. For example, if you have affected apples, bringing a sample of a branch with leaves will help us to identify the problem.
4. Provide photographs to accompany physical samples of the plant to help describe the environment and how the whole plant looks. It is more difficult to accurately identify a plant or insect solely with photographs.
5. A Master Gardener volunteer will research your question. Master Gardener volunteers exclusively use non-biased, science-based information in their research to ensure that you receive a high quality answer. Volunteers will contact you with results.
6. OSU Master Gardener Plant Clinics accept clean plant (live, dead or preserved), arthropod (dead or preserved) and soil specimens for assessment. Safety of the volunteers is paramount. For this reason, the Master Gardener Plant Clinics will not accept swabs, tissues, hair or other specimens of human or animal origin; articles of clothing, bedding or towels; personal hygiene items such as toothbrushes, hairbrushes or any other items that may be contaminated with human or animal pathogens, parasites, or secretions. Clients with questions about human or animal health need to direct those inquiries to the appropriate public health or veterinary experts.