Sacramento Valley Cymbidium Society hosts annual show and sale
See the best of the best local cymbidiums at the annual show and sale of the Sacramento Valley Cymbidium Society this Saturday. Courtesy Sacramento Valley Cymbidium Society
After camellias come cymbidiums – maybe Sacramento’s second favorite March bloomer. These hardy outdoor orchids are just coming into spectacular flower, and they last for weeks.
If you love cymbidiums, you’re in luck. Saturday, March 23, the Sacramento Valley Cymbidium Society is hosting its annual show and sale at Shepard Garden and Arts Center.
The show is a chance to see the best of the best local cymbidiums, displayed by club members. If you want to take some plants home, arrive early: The club will offer more than 75 plants – 50-plus standard-size cymbidiums and 25 miniatures, priced at $30 to $75.
But club members expect them to sell out quickly. That’s what happened when they brought 75 plants to the Shepard Spring Sale this past weekend.
“We had such an amazing response on Saturday (March 16) at the Shepard Sale,” the club posted on Facebook. They sold all but one miniature on this first day of the two-day event.
Fortunately, they’re restocked with new plants for the March 23 sale. These plants were grown by a family-run nursery in San Diego County that specializes in cymbidiums, Casa de las Orquideas.
Club members also will offer advice on how to repot cymbidium orchids and how to care for them. They don’t need much: A spot in the afternoon shade and sufficient irrigation.
Cymbidiums, also known as boat orchids, bloom in massive clusters on 3-foot-tall 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 for yourself on Saturday. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission and parking are free.
The Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento, in McKinley Park.
For more details: www.sgaac.org, https://www.facebook.com/sacramentocymbidiums or email SacCymSoc@yahoo.com.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
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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
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Garden Checklist for week of June 15
Make the most of this “average” weather; your garden is growing fast! (So are the weeds!)
* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.
* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. That can encourage blossom-end rot.
* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.
* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.
* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias. It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.
* Pull weeds before they go to seed.
* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.
* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.
* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.
* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.
* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather. It also helps smother weeds.
* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.
* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.
* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.
* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.
* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.
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