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Learning opportunities
Local In Person Programs
Please check back for upcoming classes.
Virtual Options
Ask Your Gardening Question: LIVE
Mondays, 1:30–2:30pm (one Monday each month in 2025)
FREE, registration required
View the 2025 schedule and register at go.wisc.edu/AYGQLIVE.
Join this LIVE online opportunity to connect with plant health experts from the UW-Madison Division of Extension. These live sessions, held monthly on Mondays from 1:30-2:30 p.m., is your chance to ask any questions you may have about trees and shrubs, homegrown fruits and vegetables, indoor plants, ornamental plants, lawns, and more.
Whether it’s about plant diseases, pesky insects, or the selection and general care of plants in and around your home, our panel of seasoned experts will provide you with insightful answers. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to cultivate your knowledge and keep your plants thriving.
Contact: Amy Freidig, amy.freidg@wisc.edu
Link: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/free-online-programs/#live
Alternative Options
Articles
Seed Starting - Wisconsin Horticulture
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/seed-starting/
Say Bye Bye to Boxwood Blight
Fungus Gnats on Houseplants
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/fungus-gnats-on-houseplants/
Cardinal Flower by Susan Mahr
“With its spires of brilliant red flowers, cardinal flower is an unmistakable perennial for moist spots.This showy species in the bellflower family has a wide distribution, throughout the eastern US and from southeastern Canada to northern Colombia in South America. “
Safely Using Produce from Flooded Gardens by Barbara Ingham and Steve Ingham
“After flooding occurs, gardeners often raise questions about the safety of consuming produce from gardens that were under water for a day or two. How concerned gardeners have to be about using garden produce after a flood depends, to a large degree, on how “clean” the flood water was or whether it was likely to have been contaminated with sewage, river or creek water, farm run-off, or industrial pollutants. “
Podcast
Badger Talks: Plants in Space
Following in the tradition of the Wisconsin Idea – that education should influence people’s lives beyond the classroom – Badger Talks brings the latest discoveries from UW–Madison directly to the residents of Wisconsin. In this episode, host Buzz Kemper talks with Botany Professor Dr. Simon Gilroy about his experiment sending plants to the space station for observation. Dr. Simon Gilroy is a professor in the Botany Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research is on how plants sense and respond to their environment. He works extensively with NASA on understanding how plants grow on the International Space Station and plans for using plants in life support on planetary bases.
https://player.captivate.fm/episode/9b20cc37-cc2f-4927-aaf7-d108e231aec1
For other upcoming events and learning opportunities within the state, see https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/events/
We have awesome learning gardens
Want to learn about wildflowers and native plants? Check out the Wildflower Gardens we maintain at the top of Rib Mountain State Park, Wausau, near the registration station (State Park permit required).
The NCWMGA Master Gardener volunteers, led by Honorie Cote, developed and planted the Wildflower Gardens at the Rib Mountain State Park with native Wisconsin plants to attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and birds. Visitors can enjoy the plants and pollinators as they peruse the gardens at the Park.
Label markers provide plant identification and growing information during the summer. Master Gardener Volunteers of the NCWMGA continue to maintain the gardens and diversify them with more native plants. The Gardens will evolve with environmental changes and ongoing Park development.
~ History ~
2013 - The Rib Mountain State Park Wildflower Gardens began with the partnership of Rib Mountain State Park and North Central Wisconsin Master Gardeners Association.
2014 - Two gardens were planted.
2015 - Additional gardens were added around the entrance to the park.
2017 - More gardens were planted around the Friends of Rib Mountain State Park Gathering building.
The Wildflower Gardens continue to attract pollinators and beautify the Park with native Wisconsin plants.
Interested in hostas and shade plants? We have a demonstration garden with over 125 different types of hostas (labeled) at Monk Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. First Avenue, Wausau
The Master Gardeners created a lovely demonstration hosta and shade garden at Monk Botanical Gardens that includes over 125 different types of hostas, 25 different perennials and a variety of unique shade trees and bushes.
The Hosta Garden was first conceived by the North Central Wisconsin Master Gardeners in 2017 and was formalized with the signing of an agreement with the Monk Botanical Gardens on August 28, 2017. The goal of the project was to develop and maintain a Hosta Garden approximately 10,000 square feet displaying plants of genus Hosta within Monk Botanical Gardens and to secure American Hosta Society (AHS) recognition with National Display Garden status.
By the end of 2021, NCWMGA and other volunteers had cleared the land of invasive plants, added soil and boulders to create three large berms, created gravel paths, and planted new trees, shrubs and perennials. Care was taken to ensure that the needed hostas to meet American Hosta Society’s requirements were planted, including all the Hosta of the Year varieties.
The Master Gardener Shade and Hosta Garden Grand Opening was held in August 2021 and the Garden was opened to the public.
Classes on Gardening
Have a gardening question?
Ask here
Research resources
Hands on learning
Submit your gardening question at https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/ask-a-gardening-question.
Submit your disease and pest questions to the UW Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic at
Hands on learning
Research resources
Hands on learning
We volunteer at these gardens:
- Rib Mountain Wildflower Gardens (near the State Park ranger station)
- Christ Lutheran Church
- Habitat Garden at 212 River Drive
- Rothschild Village Hall
- Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
- Kitchen Garden at Monk Botanical Gardens
- and more!
Research resources
Research resources
Research resources
For science-based information available for immediate download:
https://learningstore.extension.wisc.edu
Another excellent resource: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu
Additional Wisconsin-specific information is available at the website of the state Wisconsin Master Gardeners Association: https://www.wimga.org