Symptoms are generally better treated when there is a diagnosis. This is true whether there is a rash on your hand or brown spots on the leaves of a crab tree. While a dermatologist is the best person to contact regarding a rash, the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum is able to assist you with questions regarding crab trees. The Plant Clinic offers answers firmly based in science about flowers, shrubs and trees.
The Morton Arboretum was founded in 1922 by Mr. Joy Morton. It has fulfilled his vision of being an outdoor museum of trees. Set on 1,700 acres in Lisle, Illinois, the Arboretum is visited by over 1 million people each year. It offers a children’s garden, miles of walking trails, and has many accessibility features. The Plant Clinic, located at the Arboretum, is a trusted resource of reliable answers to a variety of gardening questions.
The Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum staff and volunteers are available to assist homeowners and gardeners. They regularly help homeowners identify what is planted in their yard, answer questions about insects and help identify diseases. They are available through email, phone call or by walking into the clinic (with paid admission).
For this column, Sharon Yiesla, Plant Knowledge Specialist with The Morton Arboretum, has agreed to answer a few questions regarding this incredibly valuable service.
What is the best way for homeowners to contact the Plant Care Clinic?
The Plant Clinic serves a wide range of audiences, including individual homeowners, homeowners’ associations, green industry professionals and school teachers. Even apartment dwellers call on us to help them with their houseplants. There are different ways to contact the Plant Clinic. People can email us at plantclinic@mortonarb.org year-round. They can also call us (630-719-2424) or walk in to see us in person (with paid admission). The walk-in and call services are paused during the winter.
What information should they have available when they contact the clinic?
That is often dependent on what they need to know. If their plant has a problem, it can be helpful for them to know what plant they have and be able to tell us what symptoms they see on the plant. It is also good to know if the problem is new or ongoing. Photos of the problem, sent via email (or on their mobile device, if in person), can be helpful.
If someone wants their plant identified, we ask them to email us photos showing various parts of the plant, especially flowers and seedpods (if present). Photos should be taken at high resolution. High resolution allows us to enlarge the photos and see a lot of details.
The conditions in which plants are living are vitally important to their success. What types of conditions should homeowners be aware of before they contact the clinic?
Sunlight is always important. Some plants need to be in full sun all day and some like a shadier location. Soil is also important. Homeowners don’t have to know what kind of soil they have, but it is important for us to know if the soil is overly wet, drains well or is too dry most of the time.
What types of resources are available online through the Plant Clinic?
The Plant Clinic curates over 800 pages on the Arboretum’s website, mortonarb.org. Many of them are plant profile pages that provide information on specific plants. These web pages cover not only trees, but shrubs, vines, groundcovers, grasses and perennials. We also have web pages on specific diseases and insects. There are also pages on general care of plants, as well as problems like winter injury and leaf scorch.
I noticed that you have a ‘Solve a Problem’ link on your website. What type of information is available through this link?
“Solve a Problem” deals with insects, diseases and some problems that are not caused by either.
There are several plant conditions that usually don’t require or benefit from further treatment. Can you tell us a bit about those?
There are some conditions that cause worry, but are not real problems. We get many reports on galls on a wide range of plants. A tiny insect or mite irritates the tissue of the plant and causes odd growth. These odd and often interesting growths don’t hurt the plant. They are weird, but do not need treatment. In autumn, evergreens tend to shed their oldest needles. The needles turn yellow and fall off. It worries people, but is perfectly natural.
There are also some diseases that simply can’t be treated. Verticillium wilt, for example, is a disease that gets into the water transport system of the tree and disrupts water flow. There is no treatment for that. Canker disease can get under the bark of the tree and also disrupt water flow. If the canker is in a branch, it can be cut out. If it is in the main trunk, it cannot be treated. A tree may live with canker for many years, but it will be declining during those years.
As Anne Burrell said “Part of being successful is about asking questions and listening to the answers.” I wish you all much success with gardening this season and hope that the Morton Arboretum Plant Clinic is one source of answers for you.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc.,a landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or emailing her at Kathleen@thegrowingscene.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
