Capital City African Violet Society hosts annual event
Hundreds of African violet plants are arrayed at the Shepard Garden and Arts Center during a previous show and sale by the Capital City African Violet Society. Debbie Arrington
Today’s African violets aren’t plain old purple. They come in a dazzling array of patterns, shapes and colors – making them a most collectible houseplant.
Build your African violet collection with just one stop at the annual Capital City African Violet Society sale at Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park.
On Saturday, April 6, find hundreds of rare and unusual varieties, many not available at local nurseries. They’re priced to sell quickly; get there early for best selection. The sale is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or until all the plants are sold. Admission and parking are free.
In addition to the sale, the society is hosting a beautiful display of members’ prized African violets in their peak of bloom. In addition to violets, see their close gesneriad cousin, cape primroses. Some of these eye-catching varieties also may be offered in the sale.
There are many reasons African violets have endured as a favorite houseplant. They live a long time with little care – and they bloom indoors!
African violets aren’t violets but they did originate in Africa, discovered in the tropical rain forest of Tanzania in 1892 by Baron Walter Von Saint Paul. The species’ botanical name, Saintpaulia ionantha, honors the German baron’s family; ionantha means “violet like.”
This little plant became an international phenomenon. A year after its discovery, it was patented to a German seed company. In 1894, Harris Seeds introduced the African violet to America.
But it was Woolworth & Co. that gets credit for making the African violet a national sensation. In 1927, a Los Angeles plant breeder introduced the hybrids ‘Sailor Boy’ and ‘Blue Boy,’ the first mass-marketed houseplants. Woolworth’s sold them in their stores across the country – the first time a chain store had sold plants on such a large scale. Millions were sold.
Nearly a century later, love of these fuzzy, flower-filled plants continues to grow.
For violet newbies, Saturday’s event is always a wonderful spot to get advice. Society members can show how to repot an overgrown plant and other care tips to prompt more blooms.
The club also offers supplies for growing African violets and other flowering houseplants.
Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento.
Details and directions: www.sgaac.org.
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Food in My Back Yard Series
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
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
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
Local News
Thanks to Our Sponsor!
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of May 18
Get outside early in the morning while temperatures are still cool – and get to work!
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. Transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.
* Plant dahlia tubers.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Are birds picking your fruit off trees before it’s ripe? Try hanging strips of aluminum foil on tree branches. The shiny, dangling strips help deter birds from making themselves at home.
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.
Powered by California Local
