Snowdrops flowering

Welcome to the UConn Home & Garden Education Center
We're here to help you grow!

The UConn Home & Garden Education Center (HGEC) is a horticultural informational resource for the citizens of Connecticut and beyond. As an office within the Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture and a partner of UConn Extension, we have access to some of the best horticultural resources in the state to help you and your gardens succeed. The staff at the Center reach nearly 400,000 citizens in outreach efforts each year.

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Knowledge To Grow On

Diagnostic Services

Plant Diagnostic Laboratory

The UConn Plant Diagnostic Laboratory diagnoses plant problems including diseases, insect pests and abiotic causes.

 

Plant Diagnostic Lab

Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory

The Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory processes about 14,000 soil samples annually. Samples are routinely tested for a variety of major and minor plant nutrients, lead and pH.

Soil Nutrient Analysis Lab

News & Updates

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UConn Home & Garden Education Center

1 days ago

Early signs of spring get us itching to get out into the garden. Read our tips for what you can do in the early part of the season to prepare for planting. https://homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu/2024/03/14/dos_and_donts_2024/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJPlUpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXCsZEtqrlZotUVHD1Z6mn6-9uGot0X1AwueHvKCUQ-o5xxa6U8JKkTZLg_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw Lightbox link for post with description Early signs of spring get us itching to get out...

Early signs of spring get us itching to get out into the garden. Read our tips for what you can do in the early part of the season to prepare for planting.

...https://homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu/2024/03/14/dos_and_donts_2024/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJPlUpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXCsZEtqrlZotUVHD1Z6mn6-9uGot0X1AwueHvKCUQ-o5xxa6U8JKkTZLg_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

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UConn Home & Garden Education Center

1 days ago

Have you noticed leaf curl on your rhododendrons? These plants are known to curl their leaves as a defense against water loss during drought and cold weather. In addition, frozen soil will prevent water uptake leading to further water stress and more leaf curling. The good news is that this is something that usually remedies itself in the spring! If you are seeing this, continue monitoring the plant through the spring, watching for signs of growth and improvement. Check the link in our bio for more information! 📸 by Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center #rhododendron #rhododendrons #leafcurl #winterdamage #plantdamage #defensemechanisms #plantphysiology #drought #waterloss #uconnladybug Lightbox link for post with description Have you noticed leaf curl on your ...

Have you noticed leaf curl on your rhododendrons?

These plants are known to curl their leaves as a defense against water loss during drought and cold weather. In addition, frozen soil will prevent water uptake leading to further water stress and more leaf curling.

The good news ...is that this is something that usually remedies itself in the spring!

If you are seeing this, continue monitoring the plant through the spring, watching for signs of growth and improvement.

Check the link in our bio for more information!

📸 by Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

#rhododendron #rhododendrons #leafcurl #winterdamage #plantdamage #defensemechanisms #plantphysiology #drought #waterloss #uconnladybug

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UConn Home & Garden Education Center

5 days ago

🌷 Happy First Day of Spring! 🌷

These warmer days have been calling us into the garden, but it's still a bit too early to be planting many of our spring favorites. Still, local garden centers and our team at the UConn Home & Garden Education Center are ready to help you ...prepare for the growing season ahead!

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Spring fever spreads as people get outside to enjoy nice weather

Spring-like weather might have you ready to jump into the garden, but experts say its too early for most planting. New England weather can turn on a...

www.nbcconnecticut.com
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Partners

UConn Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

The UConn IPM program educates growers and the general public about the judicious and safe use of organic and synthetic pesticides and alternative pest control methods. The program incorporates all possible crop management and pest management strategies through knowledgeable decision-making, utilizing the most efficient landscape and on-farm resources, and integrating cultural and biological controls.

Learn More.

Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG)

The mission of the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group is to gather and convey information on the presence, distribution, ecological impacts, and management of invasive species; to promote uses of native or non-invasive ornamental alternatives throughout Connecticut; and to work cooperatively with researchers, conservation organizations, government agencies, green industries, and the general public to identify and manage invasive species pro-actively and effectively.

Learn more.

Ticks & Tick Testing

The two species of ticks most likely to be encountered in Connecticut are the wood or American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and the smaller black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus) often called the deer tick as white-tailed deer are a favored host. Both carry diseases but it is the black-legged one that can transmit Lyme disease, human babesiosis and human granulocytic anaplasmosis.

Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory - Tick Testing Options

Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station-Information on Submitting Ticks

UConn Farm Viability Service

The Farm Viability Service helps farmers connect with College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources (CAHNR) services and support. UConn Extension is within CAHNR, as are the Departments of Agricultural & Resource Economics, Animal Science, Plant Science & Landscape Architecture, and Natural Resources & the Environment, in addition to numerous other resources. We also help farmers make connections throughout the university. 

The Farm Viability Service helps to identify and understand farmers’ research needs, and convey these needs to relevant faculty at UConn. We also work to recognize opportunities for collaboration between farmers and UConn, and within UConn on behalf of farmers. 

Visit the Farm Viability Service Website