Online, in-person fundraising events start March 1
Carts with plants are parked out of traffic while shoppers hunt for more treasures at a 2024 UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery plant sale. More than two months of plant sales are just ahead for the Sacramento region. Kathy Morrison
Spring is in the air, and officially on the calendar starting March 20. But the spring plant sales begin before that, thanks to the fundraising efforts of our region's garden clubs, nonprofit groups and academic horticulture departments.
Sacramento Digs Gardening will have more on each of these events as they roll out, but for gardeners who like to plan (and start their shopping lists), here's a summary of all the sales we know about now. Follow the links for details. And, as they say, save the dates.
Note: Most spring flower/plant shows and garden festivals also feature plant sales. For purposes of clarity, events that are only sales are listed today.
-- Saturday, March 1. Winters Friends of the Library, along with the Yolo County master gardeners, will hold a Bareroot Fruit Tree Sale from 9 a.m. until trees are sold out. Winters Library, 517 Railroad Ave., Winters. (And don't forget to read Tuesday's FIMBY post on choosing and planting fruit trees.)
-- Saturday, March 8. This day will see the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society fast out of the gate with its two-day online sale of native plants starting at 7 a.m., accepting orders until 6 p.m. March 9. Pickup days at the nursery in Rancho Cordova are March 16, 19 and 23. The chapter already has a plant list available on the site. Salvia apiana (white sage), anyone?
Also, on March 8, the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery celebrates 50 years of plant sales. Hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the nursery with a sale limited to Friends of the Arboretum. But it's easy to join at the gate, and there are three more spring sales scheduled.
At McKinley Park in East Sacramento, the Shepard Garden and Art Center on March 8 hosts the 20th Annual Gardener's Market, a fundraiser by the Sacramento Perennial Plant Club. This sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. features many vendors -- of plants as well as garden art, bird feeders, pottery, garden books, refreshments and more. Admission is free.
-- Friday, March 14. The El Dorado Chapter of CNPS also will hold an online native plant sale, starting at 9 a.m. March 14 and continuing until 6 p.m. March 16. Pickup day will be Saturday, March 22, between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. only at the county building parking lot, 2850 Fairlane Court, Placerville. For information and online catalog, click here.
-- Saturday, March 15. The Shepard Center again will be abuzz, this time with its two-day Spring Sale, the all-organization sale of the groups based at Shepard. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 15 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 16. In addition to plants, the sale includes crafts, flowers and jewelry, plus food and all kinds of miscellanea.
-- Saturday, April 5. The UC master gardeners of Yolo County hold the first of two plant sales from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Woodland Community College, 2300 E. Gibson Road in Woodland. Expect vegetables, native plants, bulbs, succulents and more.
-- Sunday, April 6. UC Davis Arboretum's second sale is a split sale: The first hour, at 9 a.m., is for Friends members only, then at 10 a.m. the gate is opened for members of the public. The sale concludes at 1 p.m.
-- Saturday, April 12. The UC master gardeners of El Dorado County hold the first of two spring sales, 8 a.m. to noon at their Sherwood Demonstration Garden, 6699 Campus Drive, Placerville. This sale will feature edibles including tomatoes, herbs and fruit.
The Elk Grove Garden Club will hold its Spring Plant Sale on April 12 as well. 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., 8609 Brodie Ct., Elk Grove. Some of the propagators for this sale are master gardeners, and they always have great plants, including some unusual ones.
Also on April 12 is the second of the Yolo master gardeners' spring sales. Same hours and location as the first: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Woodland Community College, 2300 E Gibson Road in Woodland.
-- Friday, April 18. The first of two days for the Sacramento Perennial Plant Club's Spring Sale, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1911 Bannon Creek Drive, Sacramento (South Natomas area). Continues April 19, same times. Always a terrific selection of member-propagated plants, including vegetables.
-- Saturday, April 26. The third spring sale of the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery is open to everyone, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
April 26 also is the date for the second half of the El Dorado master gardeners' Spring Plant Sale, 8 a.m. to noon. This one will feature ornamentals and native plants.
-- Saturday, May 3. The Roseville Better Gardens Club holds its Annual Plant Sale, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Maidu Community Center, 1550 Maidu Drive, Roseville.
-- Saturday, May 10. The bargains will be all over the place at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery's Clearance Sale, the last sale until fall quarter. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., open to all.
More to come: A spring sale of student-propagated plants is typically scheduled in April by the American River College Horticulture Department. The Burbank (High School) Urban Garden, which was threatened this winter with closure but now has been saved, also usually holds a spring plant sale. We'll publish those dates as soon as we can confirm them.
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Flowers in My Back Yard Series
July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show
July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)
July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy
July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies
June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden
June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners
June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)
June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself
June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude
May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?
May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs
May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power
May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens
May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend
April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 2
Get out early in the morning and monitor your garden’s moisture needs. Deep water and add temporary shade structures for plants that are feeling a little burned. In particular, protect developing peppers and eggplant.
* Put off fertilization until this heat passes; plants need to concentrate on hydration instead of growth.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don’t let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Pinch off dead flowers from perennials and annuals to lengthen their summer bloom.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips. Make sure to keep seeds and seedlings consistently moist.
* Plant potatoes.
Contact Us
Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com
Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden
Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it
Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air
Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets
Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty
Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?
Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you
Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water
Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers
July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
July 15: Does this plant need water?
July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
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
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