Residential Horticulture
Walk-In Assistance
9:30AM - Noon Monday,
8:00AM - Noon Tuesday - Friday, and
1:00PM - 5:00PM Monday - Friday
Extension Education Center
6021 S. Conway Rd.

Residential Horticulture
Walk-In Assistance
9:00AM - Noon Tuesdays only,
Mid-Florida Research & Education Center
2725 Binion Rd., near Lake Apopka, north of Magnolia Park

Bring your plant samples, soil samples, insects or sod samples into the Extension Office with questions. A Master Gardener Volunteer will be on hand to answer your questions.

Insect samples should be placed in a jar or other suitable container. Collect more than one specimen if possible. Bring the insect in a plastic or glass container, they can be dead or alive. Insects may be killed and preserved in alchohol. Very small insects may be collected with a gummed tape.

Plant material samples should include flowers, live leaves, and roots if possible. Bring a sample which includes as many features as possible of the plant you want to I.D. or problem you wish to be diagnosed. Use a plastic bag to maintain the moisture of the tissues. Do not add a wet paper towel or water to the plastic bag. Bring it to our clinic office the day you collect it, otherwise keep it refrigerated until you can bring it to our office.

Sod samples should be about 1 foot square with mostly green turf and some brown turf to determine what pest may be eating your yard. Use a plastic or paper bag, shoe box, or any suitable container to bring the sample to our office. The fresher the material is, the easier it is to diagnose the problem.

Soil samples should be removed from several locations in your planting bed or area of concern at a depth of 6"; mix all samples from that area in a bucket and bring a pint of soil for a free pH analysis. Tests are conducted Monday - Friday 9:00AM - 5:00 PM. We will phone your results if you cannot wait. A complete soil fertility test to determine amounts of nutrients in the soil can be performed only by the Extension Soil Testing Laboratory, Wallace Bldg., UF, Gainesville, 32611. Cost of this test is $7.00.