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Sacramento hosts national begonia convention

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED AUG 29, 2019

These are examples from the begonia collection of Wendy Corby, chair of the upcoming show. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Hundreds of rare plants available to the public in Sept. 7 sale

It’s a begonia lover’s dream: Hundreds of plants and dozens of experts all in one place.

And next week, that place is Sacramento.

For the first time in four decades, Sacramento will host the American Begonia Society’s national convention, to be held next week at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Northeast. A gigantic plant sale and huge judged show will be open free to the public next Saturday, Sept. 7.

Due to the convention, the Joan Coulat Chapter’s annual Sacramento show and sale will not be held that weekend at the Shepard Garden and Arts Center. Instead, make plans to go to the Crowne Plaza and take your pick from the spectacular assortment of sale plants available as well as admire the award-winning specimens in the national show.

Sacramento hasn’t hosted the national convention since 1978. A lot has happened in the begonia world, including the discovery of new species and the hybridization of thousands more.

“We’ll have speakers from Australia, China, Indonesia,” said show chair Wendy Corby, a longtime Sacramento begonia grower. “People will find out what’s going on with begonias worldwide.”

Two more speakers from China were scheduled to appear at the convention, but were denied visas, she noted.

Begonias have fans everywhere because there are so many different kinds, Corby explained. With more than 1,800 species, it ranks among the largest and most diverse plant families on Earth.

California is a major begonia-growing state. “We have more branches of the (American) Begonia Society in California than any other state,” Corby said. “Texas is second. The reason they’re so popular here is we can grow them outdoors year round. Otherwise, you have to have a greenhouse or grow them indoors. Begonias just love it here.”

Begonias come in a wide range of species such as this angel wing variety
from Wendy Corby's collection.

Show organizers brought in top-class plants from major nurseries and hybridizers for the sale. That includes 300 plants from Kartuz Greenhouse in Vista and 800 from Warren’s Nursery in Los Osos. Dozens of hard-to-find miniature terrarium begonias will be available. Local growers also donated hundreds of their own propagated plants

For the public, show and sale hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7. Crowne Plaza Hotel Sacramento Northeast is located at 5321 Date Ave., Sacramento, just off Interstate 80 at Madison Avenue.

Co-hosted by the Sacramento and San Francisco chapters, the convention starts Monday with tours, seminars and speakers each day through Sept. 7. Among the featured speakers are Ross Bolwell, who presents “Begonia Breeding the Aussie Way,” and China’s Wen-Ke Dong, who will tell how “All Roads Lead to Begonia.” Both will be part of Wednesday evening’s programs. Convention registration is needed to attend seminars and tours.

Details: www.begonias.org or Sacramento@begonias.org

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Keywords:

hybrids gardening Sacramento workshops rare plants events plants begonias convention plant sale

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FALL

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests

June 3: Make your own compost

May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?

May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth

WINTER

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

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Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

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Garden checklist for week of Nov. 16

During breaks in the weather, tackle some garden tasks:

* Clear gutters and storm drains.

* Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* After the storm, seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Plant bulbs at two-week intervals to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting them. Do leave some (healthy) leaves in the planting beds for wildlife and beneficial insect habitat.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

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