Sacramento celebrates favorite flower at 102nd annual Camellia Show

Sacramento isn’t nicknamed “Camellia City” for nothing. These familiar winter-flowering shrubs dot gardens throughout the area, as they have since the 1800s.

Our camellia love runs deep and long, as evidenced by this weekend’s 102nd annual Sacramento Camellia Show

On March 7 and 8, the Camellia Society of Sacramento hosts this tribute to all things camellia at the Scottish Rite Center, 6151 H St., Sacramento. Show hours are 2:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.

Expect a crowd. The camellia show, which moved to the Scottish Rite Center in 2024, draws more than 1,000 patrons over its two-day run with almost as many flowers on display.

In addition to the show, the society will offer dozens of camellia plants for sale, mostly in unusual and hard-to-find varieties. Many of the plants for sale were rescued from Nuccio’s Nurseries, the famed camellia breeders. That Altadena nursery was all but destroyed during the January 2025 wildfires that swept through Los Angeles County, and is expected to officially close this month.

Proceeds from the plant sale help support the show. Donations are also welcome.

As a special commemorative, the society will sell buttons and refrigerator magnets saluting 102 years of camellias. A popular attraction is camellia waxing – preserved blooms encased in wax.

In addition, the show hosts a local crafters marketplace featuring Sacramento artisans and garden art. Get your Mother’s Day shopping done extra early.

This year’s event will include guest speakers. Among them will be Sacramento Digs Gardening’s Debbie Arrington, who will present “2026 Garden Trends” at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Highlighting the show, hundreds of blooms will be on display with a trophy table packed with the very best. In addition, a photo contest will present camellias at their peak of beauty. The Sacramento chapter of Ikebana International will display flower arrangements.

The public is invited to enter blooms from their own gardens. Entry deadline is 10 a.m. Saturday with doors open at 7:30. Don’t know the name of a variety? Camellia Society experts will solve your mystery.

“We will have an area specific to ‘unidentified blooms,’ ” says society president Julie Vierra. “Look for it and if you are unsure, enter your bloom there and during the judging time, our certified judges will come by and name the camellia for you. We will give you an aluminum name tag so you can put it on your plant.”

First held in 1924, the Sacramento Camellia Show predates the local Camellia Society (which formed in 1943) by almost two decades. (The early show took a year off in 1933 due to a hard freeze in December 1932 that destroyed camellia buds.)

Before the Camellia Society took over, the first shows were run by the Tuesday Club (a local women’s literary and social club that at one time had 1,200 members) and then the Sacramento Garden Club, which formed in part to organize the camellia show.

Camellias were so popular because, at that time, almost everyone seemed to have at least one bush in their garden. Many heritage camellia plants, dating back several decades, still grow in local parks and public places.

Sacramento’s camellia history dates back to the Gold Rush when a local nurseryman imported thousands of camellia plants from Japan in 1852. James Warren thought he was getting Camellia sinensis – the common tea plant. (He thought tea would be in demand by Chinese workers and miners.) Instead, Warren received flowering camellias (most likely Camellia japonica). He sold them to Sacramento customers to decorate their gardens.

Thriving in Sacramento’s climate, these imported camellias quickly became popular; they bloom in late winter when few other plants do. Their shiny foliage looks good year-round.

By the 1920s, Sacramento leaders marketed their town as the Camellia City with its own Camellia Festival. Modeled after Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses, the festival featured a royal court, parade, formal dance and even a football game.

Focusing on the flower, the Camellia Society still showcases Sacramento’s favorite bloom – long after the Camellia Bowl played its final down. Thanks to their efforts, camellias are still being enjoyed – and celebrated – in Sacramento today.