Penn State Master Gardeners of Cambria County

06/01/2026

Master Gardeners rock! We need some help filling up our rock box, so get painting and help us spread joy throughout the community.

05/29/2026

Penn State Master Gardeners of Cambria County invite you to our Hypertufa and Mosses workshop! Have you ever wanted to make a hypertufa container, but didn't want to buy a 94 lb. bag of Portland cement just for yourself to make one? Join us on Saturday, June 27, 2026, from 10 AM to 12 Noon for a hands-on workshop. All supplies are provided, and you'll leave with your own completed hypertufa container and a complimentary plant to get started. The location is at Poorman's Potting Shed, 2267 Munster Road, Lilly, Pennsylvania 15938, which is 1/4 mile from the Munster Exit off of Rt. 22. Watch for Master Gardener event signs. Any questions, please call the Extension office, 814-472-7986. To register call 1-877-345-0691 or online at: https://extension.psu.edu/hypertufa-and-mosses

05/14/2026

Tomatoes, lots of tomatoes! Some of the varieties we'll be having on Saturday at our Plant sale are 'Fourth of July', 'Celebrity', 'Pineapple', 'Sun Cherry', 'Large Red Cherry', and 'Cherokee Purple', and that's not all! Penn State Master Gardeners of Cambria County are looking forward to their annual plant sale scheduled for Saturday, May 16, 9 AM to 12 Noon. LOCATION: American Legion County Fairground, 883 North Julian Street, Ebensburg, PA 15931. We'll be set up in the Agriculture Building. Follow the Master Gardener signs from the Fairground entrance. Shop early! Popular selections sell quickly! Varieties of perennials, annuals, vegetables, herbs and some native plant selections will be available. We'll have boxes to fill and take, but it's ok to bring your own! Any questions, Extension office phone is 814-472-7986.

05/04/2026

Gardening Season is here! Penn State Extension Master Gardeners can answer your home gardening questions. Garden Hotline hours are 10 AM to 2 PM every Thursday from now until the end of September at the Extension Office, 401 Candlelight Drive, Suite 220, Ebensburg PA 15931. Questions can also be sent to [email protected] or call 814-472-7986. Soil test kits also available at the Extension office for $10.

04/20/2026

Plant Sale! Penn State Master Gardeners of Cambria County are looking forward to their annual plant sale scheduled for Saturday, May 16, 9 AM to 12 Noon. LOCATION: American Legion County Fairground, 883 North Julian Street, Ebensburg, PA 15931. We'll be set up in the Agriculture Building. Follow the Master Gardener signs from the Fairground entrance. Shop early! Popular selections sell quickly! Varieties of perennials, annuals, vegetables, herbs and some native plant selections will be available. We'll have boxes to fill and take, but it's ok to bring your own! Any questions, Extension office phone is 814-472-7986.
Link to list of this years' statewide county Master Gardener plant sales: https://extension.psu.edu/2026-master-gardener-plant-sale-directory

03/09/2026

Penn State Master Gardeners of Cambria County as well as over 20 other vendors will be at the Nature Works event at the Bottle Works Ethnic Art Center, 411 3rd Avenue, Johnstown, PA 15906, on Saturday, March 14, from 10 AM to 2 PM. Stop by our display table and learn about the life cycle of dragonflies, view insects under a magnifier and choose a pack of seeds to start your gardening this year. The event is for all ages!

02/20/2026

In Person Seminar: GARDENING BASICS: SPRING EDITION, Saturday, March 21, 2026, at the Ebensburg Borough Building, 300 West High Street, Ebensburg, PA 15931, from 8:45 AM to 12:00 Noon. Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Cambria County will host a dynamic program featuring speakers on timely, practical gardening topics. Sessions will explore how to select noninvasive plants at garden centers, share plastic-free methods for starting seeds as a follow-up to a previous presentation on plastics in the garden, and highlight the role of beneficial insects.

Participants will also learn how to choose plants for creating natural dyes, inks, and stains. Hands-on activities, refreshments, and door prizes will round out this engaging and informative event for gardeners of all experience levels. Any questions, please call the Cambria County Extension office: 814-472-7986. Register before Monday, March 16, and receive a discount on the fee:

Explore sustainable gardening with expert-led sessions on noninvasive plant choices, plastic-free seed starting, beneficial insects, and plants for natural dyes, inks, and stains.

02/05/2026

Plant Spotlight: Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata):
Looking for a native shrub that offers year-round interest while providing outstanding benefits for wildlife? Winterberry holly is an excellent choice for both home landscapes and naturalized areas. This deciduous shrub is native to our region, with a natural range stretching from the mountains of Alabama north into Canada and west to Minnesota. Unlike evergreen hollies, winterberries drop their leaves in the fall, revealing a spectacular display of bright red berries that stand out beautifully against winter snow.

Winterberry holly is a slow-growing, multi-stemmed shrub with an upright to rounded form. It typically reaches 10 to 15 feet in height, although some cultivars remain much smaller. Though its leaves are serrated, they lack the sharp spines commonly found on other hollies. Its small greenish-white flowers bloom from May through June. Because winterberry is dioecious, male and female flowers occur on separate plants. At least one male plant is required nearby for female plants to produce the iconic berries.

This shrub truly shines in late fall and early winter, when perfectly round, glossy, red berries line the bare branches and persist long after leaf drop. During bloom, winterberry attracts ladybugs and a wide variety of native pollinators, including bumble bees, mining bees, sweat bees, small carpenter bees, and plasterer bees. It is also a host plant for the caterpillars of 34 species of butterflies and moths, including Henry’s Elfin butterfly and Harris’s three-spot moth. In winter, the berries provide an important food source for small mammals and more than 48 species of birds, such as robins, bluebirds, waxwings, and mockingbirds. While invaluable for wildlife, the berries are toxic to humans.

Winterberry holly is both beautiful and practical in the landscape. It is an excellent choice for rain gardens due to its tolerance of wet soils. It also works well in shrub borders, as hedges and foundation plantings, and in native plant gardens. Its winter impact is especially striking when planted in mass groupings.

Once established, winterberry holly is low maintenance as long as its basic needs are met. Early autumn is the ideal time for planting to allow for strong root establishment. The plant performs best in full sun to part shade, with full sun encouraging heavier berry production. It prefers medium to wet soils and can tolerate average soils with supplemental watering during dry periods. Acidic soil is essential, as winterberry will not thrive in alkaline conditions.

Winterberry pairs beautifully with other moisture-loving native plants such as red osier dogwood and sweetbay magnolia. With its vibrant winter berries, adaptability, and exceptional ecological value, winterberry holly is a must-have native shrub for gardeners who want beauty with purpose. Author: Jessica DeMartino
Photo: Winterberry in Winter by Jessica DeMartino

01/09/2026

October & November: Are They Really Bloomless and Brown?
As most plants settle into dormancy and the oaks and birches hold onto their brown, papery leaves, it might seem like the woods have gone completely quiet. But look a little closer, there is still one shrub putting on a show!
Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana, Hamamelidaceae) is the last woodland bloomer of the year, offering bright yellow, ribbon-like petals that cling to bare branches through cold rain, frost, and even snow. These scraggly, spider-like “streamers” are a cheerful pop of color as our days get shorter here in Pennsylvania and across the Northeast. There are only four species in the Hamamelis genus; two are native to eastern North America, and two to eastern Asia. Our native H. virginiana is the only one that blooms in fall; the others wait until winter or very early spring. Witch hazel shrubs can reach 10–20 feet tall, thriving in wet soils and doing well in either shade or sun. The one in my yard is still blooming beautifully well into December!
A great plant for wildlife:
• Songbirds and ground birds love the seeds.
• Those seeds are famously “ballistic”—they can be ejected up to 20 feet!
Where does the name “witch hazel” come from?
Not from witches at all! Although the cone-shaped galls caused by the witch hazel cone gall aphid resemble tiny witch hats, the name actually comes from the Old English word wice, meaning “pliant” or “flexible.” Early settlers used the springy branches for dowsing rods, and “wice hazel” eventually morphed into “witch hazel.”
The “hazel” part comes from the resemblance of the leaves to those of true hazels—though they’re only distant relatives. A fun way to tell them apart: witch hazel leaves are asymmetrical at the base.
And for those who love unique bloomers, witch hazel has a lovely cousin in the Hamamelidaceae family: the white, bottlebrush-flowered witch alder (Fothergilla spp.). Article and Photo by Jessica DeMartino, Penn State Extension Master Gardener. For further reading about Witch Hazel and other native plants, go to: extension.psu.edu

11/20/2025

Background Bee bread is composed of a mixture of pollen and nectar used as the main source of proteins and lipids for the development of bee larvae. Despite its important role in honey bee food preservation, relatively little is known about the composition of bee bread microbiota and the potential i...