See and smell spring beauties – and take some home, too
Revel in roses Saturday at the 76th Sacramento Rose Show. View the "rose royalty" -- the blooms that earned top honors in the show. Also, beautiful cut roses like the ones here will be for sale, $1 per stem, $10 for a dozen including a vase. Debbie Arrington
It’s time to celebrate spring – and smell the roses. (One contest depends on a lot of noses.)
On Saturday, April 27, the Sacramento Rose Society will host its 76th annual Sacramento Rose Show at Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park. The show’s theme: “A Spring Walk in the Rose Garden.” Show hours are 1 to 4:30 p.m. Admission and parking are free.
Our roller-coaster spring weather has been challenging for rose growers (roses don’t like weather whiplash). But recent warm days should assure plenty of entries. See hundreds of blooms at their peak of beauty. You may even discover a new favorite rose variety.
Back this year is a flower fan favorite: The contest for “Most Fragrant Rose.” The public picks the winner among entries known to be particularly fragrant.
Society members will be on hand to answer questions about roses and rose horticulture. Got a mystery rose you’d like to know more about? Bring a sample or a photo.
Take some gorgeous flowers home, too; cut roses will be available for a suggested donation ($1 per stem, $10 for a dozen including a vase, while supply lasts).
Want to enter a rose in the show? Free entries are open to the public. The “Novice” category (for exhibitors who have never won a trophy in an accredited rose show) has slots for best hybrid tea or grandiflora (typically big single blooms) as well as seven other categories. Cut the rose with a long stem (preferably 12 inches or more) and plenty of foliage. Vases are provided. But arrive early. Entry deadline is 10 a.m.
In addition to exhibition roses, rose arrangements will be competing for top honors in the artistic division. Designs will be rosy interpretations of that “Spring Walk” theme, thanks to the Sacramento Floral Design Guild.
Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento, in McKinley Park.
Details: www.sacramentorosesociety.org.
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Garden Checklist for week of May 5
Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:
* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.
* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.
* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.
* Plant onion sets.
* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.
* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.
* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
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