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Delta society hosts gesneriad, African violet show and sale

Find hundreds of indoor plants in rare varieties at Shepard Center event

This beautiful specimen is an example of the African violets that will be on display this weekend.

This beautiful specimen is an example of the African violets that will be on display this weekend. Photo courtesy Delta Gesneriad and African Violet Society

They rank among Sacramento’s favorite indoor flowering plants, beloved by collectors for generations.

And this weekend, they’re in the local gardening spotlight.

On Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 16 and 17), the Delta Gesneriad and African Violet Society will host its annual show and sale at Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park. It’s a wonderful opportunity to see these blooming plants at their peak of beauty – and take some home, too.

African violets are the best-known gesneriads, which includes more than 1,500 species. Also popular are gloxinias, cape primroses, kohlerias, episcias and achimenes. All these tropical plants make themselves at home indoors and produce striking flowers in a rainbow of hues.

Besides their attractive flowers, gesneriads also are known for their interesting foliage. Specimen plants can live for decades. This show will have several examples of how gorgeous these plants can be.

In addition at this event, the club offers hundreds of young plants for sale including dozens of rare varieties unavailable from local nurseries. It’s a fantastic opportunity to add to your own indoor jungle. Come early for best selection.

Get advice, too. Several club members will be on hand to offer advice on repotting older plants and violet care.

Show and sale hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Admission and parking are free. Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento.

Details and directions: www.sgaac.org.

 

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Garden Checklist for week of May 11

Make the most of the lower temperatures early in the week. We’ll be back in the 80s by Thursday.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch-to-1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

* Remember to weed! Pull those nasties before they set seed.

* Water early in the day and keep seedlings evenly moist.

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