Want to know what’s chewing your rhododendrons, why your lettuce is wilting, the identify of a plant or insect, or suggestions on what to plant in that empty space in your garden? The Diagnostic Plant Clinic is here to help!
The WSU’s Whatcom County Master Gardener Diagnostic Plant Clinic is a free service for Whatcom County residents located in the WSU Extension office at 600 Dupont St, Suite A, in Bellingham. The busy summer schedule is Monday to Friday, 9am-noon and 1pm-4pm. During the winter months, the clinic is open by email. For thorough information and links, for example how best to submit a sample for analysis or take a soil sample at home, visit WSU’s Diagnostic Plant Clinic page.
Equipped with an extensive library and diagnostic tools, and run by dedicated, trained volunteers, the plant clinic serves home gardeners with environmentally sound, research-based advice, education, and solutions to common plant problems.
Plant clinic is a cornerstone of local extension. It is also how the concept of master gardeners originally began. The first program in the nation was founded in 1973 in the greater Tacoma area by Washington State University Cooperative Extension. WSU Whatcom County’s Master Gardener Program followed soon thereafter. Today, master gardener programs around the US and in Canada train people in the science and art of gardening. Through the clinic, master gardener volunteers share horticulture knowledge with gardeners in their community.
If you have questions, feel free to call the office, (360) 778-5808 or email the clinic desk at: .
Taking a Closer Look
New Microscope Perks up Plant Clinic
The WSU Master Gardener Diagnostic Plant Clinic in downtown Bellingham received a new stereoscopic microscope in 2023, thanks to donations from the Whatcom Country Master Gardener Foundation and the public. “People who bring their plant problems to us expect a high level of service and accuracy,” says Master Gardener, Mill Shires. “The new microscope helps us see what’s truly going on.”
Stereoscopic, or “dissecting” microscopes, have two eyepiece oculars allowing more comfortable stereo vision. Stereoscopes are excellent for observing plant and insect samples, living or dead, in three dimensions. Light is reflected directly from the surface of the object (rather than being transmitted through the object, via thin slices mounted on glass slides).
Dissecting microscopes give detailed views of the physiological havoc made by the smallest organisms (bacteria and viruses) and insight into tissue damage caused by abiotic factors such as sun, wind, freezing, drought, pesticides, etc. With a stereo scope, master gardeners can detect fungal structures as well as even small insects, their nymphs, eggs, and frass. Magnification and focus can be adjusted using either the eyepieces or the display monitor. Every view of the plant tissue gives clues for trouble-shooting and diagnosis.
The Clinic’s new scope has an integrated camera for taking photos and video to share seamlessly within the plant clinic. A large-screen display allows collaboration of several WSU master gardeners at a time. “The new microscope is much less intimidating to use than our old one. The display screen reduces eye strain and neck fatigue, and because the eyepieces are optional, there’s no need to adjust them for each new person,” says Mill.