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Two events offer hard-to-find roses

Sacramento Rose Society hosts auction; heritage rose expert holds yard sale

Among the roses for sale May 20 will be Barbara's Pasture Rose, named for the late Barbara Oliva, who found it.

Among the roses for sale May 20 will be Barbara's Pasture Rose, named for the late Barbara Oliva, who found it. Photo courtesy Anita Clevenger

Love roses? Here are two great opportunities to add unusual (and often fragrant) varieties to your collection.

On Thursday, May 11 (and just in time for Mother’s Day), the Sacramento Rose Society will host an auction of hard-to-find rose varieties, propagated from members’ collections. Many of these miniature, miniflora and polyantha roses came from cuttings from Baldo Villegas’ rose “farm” (with 3,000-plus varieties and counting). In 1-gallon pots, all plants are at least two to three years old and grown on their own roots.

Starting at 7:30 p.m., the auction will be held at the club’s regular meeting at Shepard Garden and Arts Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento, in McKinley Park. Doors open at 7 p.m. Admission and parking are free.

Bidding starts at $15 for most bushes; cash or check only. Among the featured varieties will be Bees Knees, Gourmet Popcorn, Hello Gorgeous!, Irresistible, Joy, Magic Show, Show Stopper, The Lovely Fairy and Baldo Villegas (not the master rosarian, but his namesake white-pink blend miniflora).

Ideal for container gardening and borders, miniature, miniflora and polyantha roses tend to stay small, often under 2 feet. They’re ideal for rose lovers with less space and many also have fragrance.

Proceeds from the auction will help support the rose society and its programs, such as the just-completed rose show. For more information: https://sacramentorosesociety.org/.

For people who love fragrant – and historic – roses, here’s a fantastic opportunity: a yard sale of all antique roses. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 20, heritage rose expert Anita Clevenger will host a sale of rare and historic roses at her home, 877 53rd St., Sacramento. Most roses will be priced at $15 with a few larger bushes priced at $25. Cash only please. More than 100 bushes in about 30 different varieties will be available.

Among the unusual roses that will be available are two favorites from the Heritage Rose Group: Barbara’s Pasture Rose and Elizabeth’s China Rose. In addition, find several varieties dating back to the 1800s.

Questions? Call Anita at 916-715-7294.

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Garden Checklist for week of April 27

Once the clouds clear, get to work. Spring growth is in high gear.

* 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. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants 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.

* 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.

* 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.

* 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.

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