Garden Hotline

Each year Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Blair County operate a FREE Gardening Hotline to answer the community’s questions about growing and gardening.

Third instar of the Spotted Lanternfly. Photo Credit: Kathy Mueller

The garden hotline season is April through October. We will be in the office at 266 Aviation Way, Martinsburg on Tuesdays, 10-2 and will also answer emailed questions at blairmg@psu.edu and return voice messages promptly.

If you have a gardening question contact our experts on the Garden Hotline for individualized solutions to your gardening problems that are practical and safe. Individuals answering questions on the Gardening hotline are a group of trained volunteers anxious to share horticultural research based information to assist and educate the public about gardening practices. The Garden Hotline volunteers can offer general gardening advice, help with a specific plant problem, suggest ideas on how to deal with a pest, and address a variety of other topics.

Contacting the Hotline

Our office hours are every Tuesday April-October from 10-2. However, Penn State Extension is more than just a physical location. If you are unable to come to the office during that time, please send questions to blairmg@psu.edu or call us at 814-940-5996 or 814-940-5989. Your email should include your specific question and concerns, along with some background information about the plant or problem, and detail the plant care practices you have been following. Depending on the question, good, clear photos may also be helpful when assisting with an answer. Including a common item, such as a pen or pencil, in the photo is a good way to demonstrate size of reference. When contacting Garden Hotline please provide your email address, address (street, city, state, zip code) and daytime phone number so we can get in touch with you if we need additional information. This allows our Garden Hotline volunteers an opportunity to provide you with a more timely response while saving paper/postage.

Please remember to visit our Blair County Master Gardeners webpage or our Facebook page for even more gardening resources.

Please be advised…..We never share your personal information with anyone.

About our Trained Volunteers

The Garden hotline volunteers attend classes taught by Penn State Instructors and obtain a certification. They log continuing education and volunteer hours. We often consult books and Penn State Extension publications to answer your Garden Hotline questions.