First of four sales features huge selection of water-wise plants
As with the sales last fall, expect plenty of plants and plenty of plant-buyers during the first spring sale at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery. Kathy Morrison
At the UC Davis Arboretum, “Friends” get first dibs on new plants.
On Saturday, March 11, the Arboretum Teaching Nursery hosts the first of its 2023 spring sales. But this kickoff event is open only to Friends of the Arboretum, its longtime support group of volunteers and donors.
Say the organizers, “At this members-only event, Friends members are invited to shop before we open the nursery to the public. In addition to the opportunity to shop our best selection and 10% off their purchases, friends members also receive a $10-value member appreciation gift.”
Not a Friend? No problem. New Friends can join at the gate or in advance online here.
Sale hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery, located on Garrod Drive near UCD’s small animal veterinary teaching hospital on the university campus.
Before the event, prospective shoppers can check out the plant list and photos on the arboretum’s website at https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/plant-sales.
This year’s inventory features hundreds of varieties of water-wise perennials, shrubs, bulbs, ground covers and trees – all proven to love growing in the Central Valley. That includes California natives as well as plants from other Mediterranean climates.
Featured are the ever-popular Arboretum All-Stars – tough, easy-care, low-water flowering plants with added benefits. Many of these plants attract birds, bees, butterflies and other pollinators while adding beauty to our suburban landscapes.
Besides browsing the arboretum’s inventory online, shoppers also can see many featured varieties growing in the nursery’s demonstration gardens.
Upcoming public sales are scheduled for April 8 (starting at 11 a.m.; Friends get first look at 9 a.m. that day) and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 29; the spring clearance sale is May 13.
Details and directions: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
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Garden Checklist for week of April 21
This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.
* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.
* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.
* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.
* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.
* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.
* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.
* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.
* 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, 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.
* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.
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