How to Join the Friday Office Hours for Horticulture Sessions

Updated

The Friday Office Hours for Horticulture are live online conversations with the University of Tennessee Extension horticulture team, held at 10 a.m. EST / 9 a.m. CST. To join, you sign up for the Office Hours Zoom through the Master Gardener Program site, and you submit any questions you want addressed through a separate form. The site notes that you should sign up again even if you received these reminders in the past, because the program is updating its communication lists for 2026.

What the sessions are

These are not pre-recorded webinars. The program describes them as "LIVE visits and conversations with our wide Extension horticulture team," so you can expect an interactive format where Extension specialists talk through lawn and garden topics and respond to audience questions.

2026 session dates

All sessions start at the same time: 10 a.m. EST / 9 a.m. CST.

Date
June 12
July 10
August 14
September 11

How to join

  1. Sign up for the Office Hours Zoom. Use the sign-up link on the Master Gardener Program site. Do this even if you have signed up or received reminders before — the site explicitly asks past participants to register again for 2026.
  2. Submit your questions separately. There is a distinct form for Office Hours questions, so signing up for the Zoom does not automatically put your question in front of the team. If you have a specific lawn or garden issue you want covered, submit it through that form.
  3. Attend at the listed time. Join the Zoom at 10 a.m. EST / 9 a.m. CST on one of the four dates above.

Common snags

  • Assuming an old signup still counts. The site's reminder to re-register suggests prior lists are being rebuilt, so a previous registration may not carry over.
  • Sending a question only through the Zoom registration. The question form is separate; use it if you want your topic addressed.
  • Confusing the time zone. Sessions run at 10 a.m. Eastern and 9 a.m. Central — the same moment, listed for two zones.

Related resources on the same site

If you are new to the program, the site also links to 2026 TEMG key dates, the TEMG Program Handbook, and a set of new horticulture publications (including landscape titles such as Living Screens and Ornamental Grasses, a 2025 Lawn Maintenance Calendar, and home fruit guides on grapes and on peaches, plums, and cherries). These are useful background if you want to bring a more specific question to a session.