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Sacramento hosts national begonia convention


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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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower

July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)

July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy

July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies

June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

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

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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 2

Get out early in the morning and monitor your garden’s moisture needs. Deep water and add temporary shade structures for plants that are feeling a little burned. In particular, protect developing peppers and eggplant.

* Put off fertilization until this heat passes; plants need to concentrate on hydration instead of growth.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don’t let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Pinch off dead flowers from perennials and annuals to lengthen their summer bloom.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips. Make sure to keep seeds and seedlings consistently moist.

* Plant potatoes.

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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening

WINTER

Is edible gardening possible indoors?

Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

Potatoes from the garden

Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden

Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it

Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

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