Master Gardeners are your resident experts

Should you cut back the foliage on your tulips?

Yes, after the green leaves have yellowed.

How often should you fertilize your lawn?

Early May and early September with a controlled-release fertilizer.

These are some of the questions fielded by a dedicated group of volunteers who share their love of horticulture with the public each year.

Lake County's Master Gardeners administered by the University of Illinois Extension office in Grayslake are considered the local experts on everything bugs to begonias.

"I get phone calls about everything under the sun." said Nancy Hammer, 56, a Master Gardener for the past five years.

At the University of Illinois Extension Office, master gardeners will sometimes hear from as many as 20 to 30 clients per day during the summer months.

"About 25 percent of those people will be walk-ins and the other 75 percent will be people calling our Master Gardener hotline," Hammer said.

This summer, many of the phone calls involve the emerald ash borer beetles and insects in vegetable gardens or flowers.

"Recently, we are getting a number of phone calls from people noticing damage to their backyard shrubs and trees," Hammer said. "Specifically, for example, if someone asked why the needles on their white pine are brown this summer, it's probably because of winter damage."

Years ago, the master gardeners used to share their knowledge during clinics at farmers' markets across Lake County. For the last several years, they've moved those sessions to visits to local libraries.

Future visits are planned to the Zion-Benton Library on July 16.

The volunteers bring along reference books and answer questions. Community members are encouraged to bring in plastic bags or containers of weeds, insects or plants they may have questions about and need consultations.

"The number of people who have attended the plant clinics in the past few years has varied," said Sharon Yiesla, coordinator of the Master Gardeners in Lake County. "Sometimes we would get as little as 13 people and sometimes as many as 31."

Volunteers also plan to visit several area nursing homes this year. They help residents create flower arrangements and collages.

Hammer, who has worked at many area nursing homes in the past, said she finds "it brings a little brightness to their lives."

Plans are being made for master gardeners to visit the Wauconda HealthCare and Rehabilitation Centre, Hill Crest Nursing Home in Round Lake, Hawthorn Lakes in Vernon Hills, and Winchester House in Libertyville.

To qualify to be a master gardener, volunteers must complete one training class per week for 12 weeks. From 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Yiesla said the trainees learn everything from the basics of planting fruits and vegetables, to soil types and diagnosing plant diseases.

The next training dates for Lake County are planned for January 2010.

After graduating the program, the first-year master gardener must complete 60 hours of mandatory volunteer work. Every year after that, the requirement is 30 hours.

"After finishing the master gardening program, volunteers will be equipped with the skills and knowledge required to help people in the community diagnose their gardening issues," Yiesla said.