Person planting oak tree in the ground.

Ask a Master Gardener

Free access to research-based horticulture advice
WSU Extension > Mason County > Master Gardener Home > Educational Outreach > Ask a Master Gardener
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We’re trained to help you!

Wood chips in the demo garden

For more than a half century, home gardeners have been bringing us their questions and issues. We have University trained volunteers who can help you tackle those intractable problems! Our diagnostic team specializes in pinpointing issues with plants and pests, offering free research-based advice on effective management strategies for both the pests and the overall health of gardens and landscapes.

Quick Links

Ask a Master Gardener

Unsure which insect is eating your plants? Want to know how can you improve your soil? Mason County WSU Master Gardeners are ready and willing to research and answer your questions.

Our ‘Ask a Master Gardener’ service is available April through October at the WSU Extension Mason County office. You can stop by at any time during open hours (10AM-4PM, M-TH) to ask your question and our Master Gardeners will be in throughout the week to research and answer it for you. Our Master Gardeners will also be present at farmers markets, libraries, and other community events throughout the summer. Check out our schedule of events on the right find out when and where our Master Gardeners will be!

Can’t make it into the office? Submit a question using the form below, email masonmastergardener@gmail.com, or call and leave a message at 360-427-9670 ext. 687.

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Gardening advice via email

If you have a gardening issue and cannot get to one of our in-person plant clinics, you can submit your question via the form below. Please provide as much information as you can to help us answer your question as quickly as possible.

Question submission form

Frequently Asked Questions:

Unsure which insect is eating your plants? Want to know how can you improve your soil? Mason County Master Gardeners are ready and willing to research and answer your questions.

Our ‘Ask a Master Gardener’ service is available April 7th through October 27th at the WSU Extension Mason County office. You can stop by at any time during open hours (10AM-4PM, M-TH) to ask your question and our Master Gardeners will be in throughout the week to research and answer it for you. Our Master Gardeners will also be present at farmers markets, libraries, and other community events throughout the summer. A schedule of these events will be posted here soon!

Can’t make it into the office? Email masonmastergardener@gmail.com, use the question form to the right, or call and leave a message at 360-427-9670 ext. 687.

Please note that all Master Gardeners are volunteers and respond to questions as they have time. We will always assist you as soon as we can!

You may bring physical samples into the Extension office or submit photos.

Select plant material that is showing symptoms of concern and submit various stages of the problem, especially the early stages.

Do not submit dead, dry, decayed or rotted samples. They do not provide sufficient material for diagnosis.

Include information on when the problem was first noticed, if it is spreading (and how fast), and how many plants are affected.

Also include information on the type and age of the plant, growing conditions (sun exposure, soil type, drainage, irrigation) and pesticide/fertilizer use.

You may bring physical samples into the Extension office or submit photos.

Select plant material that is showing symptoms of concern and submit various stages of the problem.

Include detailed information about when the problem was first noticed, is it spreading and if so, how fast, and how much area is affected.

Also include information (when possible) about the type and age of the grass, growing conditions (sun exposure, soil type, drainage, irrigation), and pesticide/fertilizer use.

Aphids on a plant.

Hortsense

Hortsense contains home gardener fact sheets for managing plant problems.

Hortsense
Dandelions with butterfly on one of them.

Other gardening resources

Find publications and links to a vast library of gardening resources.

Gardening resources

Weeds & Pests in Your Area

Bittercress, also known as Shotweed.

Bittercress (a.k.a.: Shotweed)

Bittercress is a fall/winter-germinating annual species growing to less than five inches tall. You may recognize them by the mature seed pods that split apart explosively when touched, earning them the name “shotweed.”
Shooting 'Shotweed'!
Yellow beetle with black spots.

Western Spotted Cucumber Beetle

Despite being called a “cucumber beetle” this little beetle is a common pest of many ornamentals and vegetables, including potatoes, beans, corn, and many cucurbits. They are about 1/4″ long and yellow with black spots.
Western Spotted Cucumber Beetle
Dandelion going to seed.

Dandelions

The common dandelion is a persistent taprooted plant reproducing by seeds and by short shoots from the crown. It also grows back from roots broken during hand removal. 
Dandelions
Field of horsetail.

Horsetail

Horsetails are found primarily in moist to wet areas. Scouringrush is common along roadsides and ditch banks. Field horsetail is found primarily in moist to wet areas, but can survive in drier areas once established. Field horsetail is a common weed of gardens, pastures, and home landscapes.
Horsetail
Catsear plant rosette.

Catsear

Commonly mistaken for dandelion, these “false dandelion” also grow in a rosette, but, compared to the taproot and smooth leaves of a dandelion, these have fibrous roots and rough, hairy leaves. They commonly have branching stems with flowers, whereas dandelion will have one stem per flower.
Catsear
Green larvae on cabbage leaf.

Imported Cabbageworm

This is the larval stage of the cabbage butterfly, commonly seen as a small butterfly with white wings. Eggs are laid in the spring on host plants, such as broccoli and cabbage, and the caterpillars will feed on the leaves, chewing irregular holes.
Imported Cabbageworm