Orchid event spotlights semi-tropical favorite that thrives outdoors
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Cymbidiums at their peak of bloom will be on display Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Sacramento Valley Cymbidium Society)
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Among the many flowers that bloom in March in Sacramento are spectacular orchids – outdoors.
Cymbidiums, also known as boat orchids, bloom in massive clusters on three-foot-long spikes. With a little protection against frost, these orchids thrive in Sacramento’s mild climate. It’s exposure to temperatures below 55 degrees in winter that prompts all those flowers.
See scores of locally grown cymbidiums in full bloom on Saturday during a spectacular Sacramento show – and take some home, too.
The
Sacramento Valley Cymbidium Society
hosts its spring show and sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park. Parking and admission are free.
Society members will be on hand to offer growing tips for these semi-tropical wonders. Cymbidiums appreciate Sacramento’s summer warmth – as long as they have a place in the afternoon shade and sufficient water.
“We look forward to welcoming you to see our plants, learn how to repot any pot-bound plants you may have or inherited, and buy repotting product,” the club posted on Facebook. “We will also be raffling off a plant as a door prize – free ticket!”
Judging by my own plants, our mild winter produced wonderful cymbidium growing conditions. In my garden, one large yellow cymbidium has 17 big blooms, divided between two tall spikes.
These flowers are long lasting, too; the blooms will stay on the plant for several weeks.
Learn more Saturday at this orchid show and sale. Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento.
Questions? Please email Lee Turner at turnermuecke@sbcgloval.net.
Details and directions:
www.sgaac.org
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— Debbie Arrington
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Some of the 17 big blooms on Debbie's cymbidium. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)
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Garden Checklist for week of Sept. 8
Temperatures are headed down to normal. The rest of the month kicks off fall planting season:
* Harvest tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and eggplant.
* 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.
* Fertilize deciduous fruit trees.
* Plant onions, lettuce, peas, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, bok choy, spinach and potatoes directly into the vegetable beds.
* Transplant cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower as well as lettuce seedlings.
* 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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