Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

UC Davis Arboretum starts online plant sales

Teaching Nursery offers contact-less pick-up -- but only to Friends

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED OCT 20, 2020

This is the typical scene during a past fall plant sale (2018 in this case) at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery. However, this fall's sale will be online, with a rollout of shopping days for members of Friends of the Arboretum. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

If ever there was a good time to join the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum, this is it.

After months of postponed plant sales, the Arboretum Teaching Nursery is about to launch its new online plant sale “store,” but it will be open only to Friends of the Arboretum and Davis Botanical Society members.

Home to thousands of water-wise favorites as well as drought-tolerant exclusives and California natives, the nursery announced its plant sale plans Monday.

“In appreciation for the support of members, the fall season is members-only shopping,” it posted online. “We are rolling out access to the online store first to current members — in waves based on membership tier — to make sure everyone has the best possible experience.”

But there will still be an opportunity for newcomers.

“On November 2, we will post the link to the online plant store on this page ( https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/plant-sales ) and everyone who is not currently a member will be invited to join and shop at that time,” the post said.

The pandemic had forced the nursery to cancel its popular in-person one-day plant sales, which regularly attracted thousands of buyers.

According to nursery manager Taylor Lewis, the online concept was tested last week with favorable results. This new method allows buyers to stay safe while also getting the plants they want – just in time for fall planting season.

“There's a huge inventory at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery, so we're confident every member who wants to shop this fall will find wonderful plants,” said the nursery’s post. “You'll be able to shop from the convenience of home, pay for your order online and then schedule a contact-less appointment to pick up your order curbside at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery .”

The sales not only benefit local landscapes, but support the arboretum and its work.

“In addition to making your own garden more sustainable, your plant sale purchases support the gardens, education programs and student environmental leaders of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden,” said the post. “In these times of fiscal uncertainty, support from people like you is critical.”

To join the Friends of the Arboretum and more details on the arboretum’s online plant sales: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/plant-sales

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

fall planting gardening Sacramento native plants coronavirus plant sales Friends of the Arboretum UC Davis Arboretum perennials UC Davis

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?

Local News

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!

Thanks to Our Sponsor!

Sites We Like

Garden checklist for week of Feb. 8

Dodge those raindrops and get things done! Your garden needs you.

* Start your spring (and summer) garden. Transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.

* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots. Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).

* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.

* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions. Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.

* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.

* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.

* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.

* This is the last chance to spray fruit trees before they bloom. Treat peach and nectarine trees with copper-based fungicide. Spray apricot trees at bud swell to prevent brown rot. Apply horticultural oil to control scale, mites and aphids on fruit trees soon after a rain. But remember: Oils need at least 24 hours to dry to be effective. Don’t spray during foggy weather or when rain is forecast.

* Feed spring-blooming shrubs and fall-planted perennials with slow-release fertilizer. Feed mature trees and shrubs after spring growth starts.

* Remove aphids from blooming bulbs with a strong spray of water or insecticidal soap.

* Fertilize strawberries and asparagus.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

Taste Spring! E-cookbook