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Bonsai auction and sale offers prized trees, pots and more

American Bonsai Association, Sacramento, hosts annual fundraiser with member-grown trees

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 16, 2026

This little but ancient pyracantha will be among the prized bonsai up for bid in the Sacramento Bonsai Auction. Courtesy of American Bonsai Association, Sacramento

These little trees in pots can go for big money. Here’s your chance to own your own collectible bonsai while helping this hobby continue to flourish in the City of Trees.

On Saturday, Sept. 19, the American Bonsai Association, Sacramento, hosts a live auction of bonsai at Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park. Admission to the auction is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

“ABAS members may sell their bonsai, pots, tools etc. in our live auction or in the consignment sale area,” say the hosts. “Get into a bidding war over quality trees, discover a bargain in the consignment area. This is a great opportunity to move things forward or obtain new material.”

Doors open at 1 p.m. with a preview of the trees to be sold. The bidding starts at 1:30 p.m.

Expect to find top-class trees, some of them decades old and carefully tended. Others are just getting started. The auction benefits the club, which has been active since 1958.

This sale also helps individual members. Several trees will be offered on consignment by club members from their own collections.

Although these trees are little, they can add up; these avid collectors thin their forests – to make room for more bonsai. The winners are the bidders who take home great trees at good prices.

“Don’t miss a great opportunity to purchase good quality bonsai material,” says the club.

Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento.

Details: https://www.abasbonsai.org/.

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

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Garden checklist for week of Oct. 4

* October is the best month to plant perennials in our area. Add a little well-aged compost and bone meal to the planting hole, but hold off on other fertilizers until spring. Keep the transplants well-watered (but not wet) for the first month as they become settled.

* Now is the time to plant seeds for many flowers directly into the garden, including cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, portulaca, sweet pea and stock.

* Plant seeds for radishes, bok choy, mustard, spinach and peas. Plant garlic and onions.

* Set out cool-weather bedding plants, including calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.

* Reseed and feed the lawn. Work on bare spots.

* Dig up corms and tubers of gladioli, dahlias and tuberous begonias after the foliage dies. Clean and store in a cool, dry place.

* Treat azaleas, gardenias and camellias with chelated iron if leaves are yellowing between the veins.

* Clean up the summer vegetable garden and compost disease-free foliage.

* Harvest pumpkins and winter squash.

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