Hot Line Helps Stem the Demise of Plants : Services: Volunteers at the Los Angeles State and County Arboretum answer questions from worried home gardeners.

Barbara Saelid called the hot line in a panic. This time, her loved one was in real trouble.

“I’m concerned we might lose it,” she said.

Fortunately, the diagnosis came quickly. “Sounds like powdery mildew,” volunteer Virginia Stein said after consulting her “Problem Solver” plant book. “Spray the leaves with a rose disease control and your crape myrtle should be just fine.”

Stein is one of 13 volunteers who help run the Los Angeles State and County Arboretum’s Plant Information Hot Line in Arcadia. Between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, the workers field questions about ailing tomato plants, wilting begonias and bug-infested hibiscus.

By calling (818) 821-3239, residents can ask questions about gardening, plant diseases and bugs. More complicated problems are referred to the staff horticulturist, David Lofgren.

The hot line, which has been operating for about 12 years, gets about 5,000 calls annually. People can also write in for plant identification or diagnosis to the arboretum at 301 N. Baldwin Ave. A stamped, self-addressed envelope or post card is necessary to receive a reply.

Although the hot line gets queries from professional landscapers, botanical gardens and other arboretums, home gardeners are the most frequent callers. Typically, they ask about fruit and vegetables that won’t set, when and how to prune roses and lawns that are turning brown.

“They all want perfect lawns,” said Stein, who fielded about 15 calls on a recent Friday morning in a small office filled with plant books and magazines. “They want to know how they can have a lawn that is green year round, with no weeds and never has to be mowed.”

Sometimes, however, the hot line gets a call from someone who has a real emergency.

Don Shapiro of West Hollywood called the arboretum when his cat, Kika, became ill. A veterinarian suggested the cat might have been poisoned by eating Chinese Pennisetum, a type of grass. But Lofgren determined that the plant was probably not the cause of Kika’s high fever and lack of appetite.

Lofgren suggested Shapiro call a veterinarian toxicologist at the county’s Public Health Services Department. “She ruled out poison and said the cat may have just eaten something that irritated his intestines or stomach,” Shapiro said. “The good news is he’s better now.”

The arboretum was “extremely helpful,” Shapiro said. “We were frustrated and didn’t really know where to turn.”

Jack Williamson, meanwhile, was having trouble with his prized orange tree, which he said has been putting out sweet fruit for 20 years.

“I think the tree is going to die if I don’t get some kind of treatment,” Williamson said.

Stein told him that after so many years of being next to a concrete driveway, the tree might have root rot. Still, she passed the call on to Lofgren, who asked that Williamson bring in a picture of the tree for further study.

“Most problems are easily solved,” Stein said.

That is, unless you ask advice about what type of tree to plant. “That’s my least favorite question,” Lofgren said, peering through thick, black horn-rimmed glasses. “There are just too many trees to pick from.”