Plenty of compact varieties available to highest bidders
The miniflora rose Leading Lady is one of the roses to be auctioned Thursday. Debbie Arrington
Who doesn’t need more roses? Especially when those roses will fit into small spaces in your garden – or thrive while growing in containers.
With an eye for little favorites, the Sacramento Rose Society hosts its annual auction at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park. The auction is open to the public. Admission and parking are free.
The club has come up with a stellar selection of must-have rose varieties – mostly miniatures, mini-floras and polyanthas. These varieties tend to stay small (often under 2 feet) and can be grown in pots. (Suddenly, you can envision a lot more space for roses!)
Maybe you saw some of these varieties at Sacramento’s recent rose show? Or admired their flowers in bouquets? The list of varieties includes the minifloras Leading Lady, Butter Cream, Gold Country and Nancy Jean as well as the popular miniatures Bees Knees, Gourmet Popcorn, Old Glory and Kings Mountain.
Debbie Arrington, co-creator of Sacramento Digs Gardening, will serve as auctioneer. For an auction catalog, email debarrington17@gmail.com.
The 44 bushes to be offered were grown by the club’s green-thumbed propagators, mostly from cuttings supplied by renown rose expert Baldo Villegas and pulled from his vast 3,000-plant collection. Several of these varieties cannot be found in nurseries. At the homes of club members, these bushes have been babied for many months if not years. The results: Healthy plants that will produce beautiful roses for years to come.
This auction is the Sacramento Rose Society’s major fundraiser. So, buying a bush not only adds to your garden but helps this club survive and thrive, too. Cash or checks only please.
Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento, in McKinley Park.
More details: https://sacramentorosesociety.org/.
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Garden Checklist for week of Oct. 6
Get ready to get to work! Cooler weather is headed our way mid-week.
* Clean up the summer vegetable garden and compost disease-free foliage.
* Harvest pumpkins and winter squash.
* October is the best month to plant trees, shrubs and perennials.
* Before planting, add a little well-aged compost and bone meal to the soil, but hold off on other fertilizers until spring. Keep the transplants well-watered (but not wet) for the first month as they become settled.
* Dig up corms and tubers of gladioli, dahlias and tuberous begonias after the foliage dies. Clean and store in a cool, dry place.
* Treat azaleas, gardenias and camellias with chelated iron if leaves are yellowing between the veins.
* Now is the time to plant seeds for many flowers directly into the garden, including cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, portulaca, sweet pea and stock.
* Plant seeds for radishes, bok choy, mustard, spinach and peas.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Set out cool-weather bedding plants, including calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.
* Reseed and feed the lawn. Work on bare spots.