Construction puts limits on Teaching Nursery access; first sale April 9
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The Arboretum Teaching Nursery plant sales always drew a good crowd before the pandemic. Above is a sale from April 2019. In-person sales return this month with the first on Saturday. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)
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If you want access to Arboretum All-Stars and other water-wise garden gems, it’s time to join the Friends of the Arboretum. This spring, that’s the only way you’ll be able to shop the UC Davis Arboretum’s fantastic selection of drought-tolerant flowering plants.
More changes – and construction – are happening at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery, the hub of the arboretum’s wildly popular plant sales. The current construction project – the creation of an indoor-outdoor multipurpose learning center – has restricted the nursery’s space and patron access.
So, instead of a series of public plant sales, the arboretum will host only two members-only events, scheduled for Saturday, April 9, and April 30. Both in-person sales will be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and restricted to members of Friends of the Arboretum.
The Arboretum Teaching Nursery is located on Garrod Drive across from the Vet Med complex.
Before the pandemic, the arboretum’s plant sales attracted more than 8,500 patrons annually.
“Thank you to both our Friends members and community customers who, over the last two years, supported our plant sales as they moved online due to the pandemic,” the arboretum staff posted on its website. “During this time, the Arboretum Teaching Nursery transitioned from a location designed for seasonal public plant sale events to a pick-and-pull warehouse, prepped for fulfilling hundreds upon hundreds of orders.
“We are incredibly grateful for your willingness to put your trust in us and dive in. Together we adapted to a new process, so we could continue providing the attractive, low-water, region-appropriate plants our community has come to expect and you could provide their forever homes!
“Today, the nursery is transitioning again! It’s under construction! A large portion of the Arboretum Teaching Nursery is currently allocated to building the Elizabeth Mary Wolf Environmental Learning Center, a new education space that will offer expanded opportunities for community engagement thanks to its indoor-outdoor multi-purpose room.”
The solution? Bring back in-person plant sales, but restrict them to two members-only events.
“With Covid restrictions easing and our nursery team adjusting to navigating the temporary construction zone, we are taking this season to focus on thanking our loyal Friends members, whose support has kept us going strong for more than half a century,” said the arboretum staff. “For these reasons, both spring sales will be member appreciation sales.”
Current members receive 10% off their plant sale purchases in addition to receiving a free plant as a member appreciation gift.
Not a Friend? No problem. Sign up (either in advance or at the gate) and receive a $10-off plant sale coupon as a thank-you gift.
Member benefits include plant sale discounts, discounts at partner nurseries and retailers, free entry to gardens and museums nationwide and more.
Sign up for membership and find a list of current plant inventory at https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/plant-sales .
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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Sept. 25
This week's warm break will revive summer crops such as peppers and tomatoes that may still be trying to produce fruit. Pumpkins and winter squash will add weight rapidly.
Be on the lookout for powdery mildew and other fungal diseases that may be enjoying this combination of warm air and moist soil.
* Late September is ideal for sowing a new lawn or re-seeding bare spots.
* Compost annuals and vegetable crops that have finished producing.
* Cultivate and add compost to the soil to replenish its nutrients for fall and winter vegetables and flowers.
* Plant for fall now. The warm soil will get cool-season veggies and flowers off to a fast start.
* Plant onions, lettuce, peas, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, bok choy, spinach and potatoes directly into the vegetable beds.
* Transplant lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.
* Sow seeds of California poppies, clarkia and African daisies.
* Transplant cool-weather annuals such as pansies, violas, fairy primroses, calendulas, stocks and snapdragons.
* Divide and replant bulbs, rhizomes and perennials.
* Dig up and divide daylilies as they complete their bloom cycle.
* Divide and transplant peonies that have become overcrowded. Replant with "eyes" about an inch below the soil surface.
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