Sacramento Iris Society hosts 74th annual show at Shepard Center
The bearded iris dubbed "Tennessee Gentleman" shows off its delicate coloring. See many variations of iris colors at this weekend's event in the Shepard Center. Debbie Arrington
“Flags” will be flying high this weekend at the Shepard Garden and Arts Center as the Sacramento Iris Society hosts its 74th annual show and sale.
With the theme “Spring Fling,” this huge show featuring bearded irises – also known as “flags” – will be open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 19, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 20. Admission and parking are free.
This will be a judged show with many different varieties and kinds of irises vying for awards. It’s a great opportunity to learn about the many different color combinations and how to better identify varieties.
And there are a lot of varieties! Bearded irises now include more than 60,000 named cultivars and come in every color from pure white to black with countless shades in between.
The most common colors are blues and purples, closest to the iris family’s native hues. Thousands of varieties feature unusual color combinations on standards (the upright petals), falls (the down-pointing petals) and beards (the fuzzy flower parts that give these irises their nickname).
Take some irises home, too! The club will offer potted irises for sale with plants ready to transplant now.
Bearded iris, the most common perennial iris, is a water-wise wonder that thrives in Sacramento. After showy spring blooms, bearded irises need little summer irrigation – just once a week or twice a month. The plant dies back in August before sprouting new growth in late fall or winter.
Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento, in McKinley Park.
Details and directions: www.sgaac.org or https://sacramentoirissocietydotcom.wordpress.com/.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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
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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
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Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden Checklist for week of April 20
Before possible showers at the end of the week, take advantage of all this nice sunshine – and get to work!
* Set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.
* 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.
* Plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.
* 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.
* 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.
* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Give shrubs and trees a dose of a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.
* Start thinning fruit that's formed on apple and stone fruit trees -- you'll get larger fruit at harvest (and avoid limb breakage) if some is thinned now. The UC recommendation is to thin fruit when it is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Peaches and nectarines should be thinned to about 6 inches apart; smaller fruit such as plums and pluots can be about 4 inches apart. Apricots can be left at 3 inches apart. Apples and pears should be thinned to one fruit per cluster of flowers, 6 to 8 inches apart.
* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants go to seed.
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