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Stock up now on native plants


'Howard McMinn' manzanita is an adaptable native shrub that tolerates clay soil. It will be among the plants for sale Sunday. (Photo courtesy Sac Valley Chapter, CNPS)

Sac Valley CNPS hosts annual fall sale and art market

It’s time to go native! Find a huge selection of tough and beautiful California native plants at Saturday’s annual Fall Native Plant Sale and Art Market at Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park.

For one day only, the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society will host this event, set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21.

The nursery stock offered for sale was grown locally by Cornflower Farms in Elk Grove, Elderberry Farms in Rancho Cordova and Hedgerow Farms in Winters.

Expect to find a lot of unusual varieties, ready to plant now. Elderberry Farms, which is run entirely by CNPS volunteers, plans to bring more than 110 native plant varieties including 10 different bulb species. Both showy and narrowleaf milkweed, a favorite of monarch butterflies, will be offered.

Elderberry Farms nursery director Chris Lewis, who also is coordinating the sale, listed a few of the varieties that will be available:

Manzanita: Whiteleaf, Dr. Hurd, John Dourley, Pacific Mist, Emerald Carpet, Howard McMinn and Carmel Sur.
California lilac (Ceanothus): Anchor Bay, Owlswood Blue, Yankee Point, Valley Violet, Skylark and Ceanothus cuneatus (buckbrush)
Buckwheat: Red, California and St. Catherine’s Lace.

September and October offer ideal planting weather for these California natives. Mild autumn weather gives them a chance to put down strong roots and get a head start on becoming “established,” a key factor in surviving future droughts.

A lot more than plants will be available at this event. Among the other featured vendors will be Wild Jules seed balls, ceramic artist Julie Clements of Clay Pigeon Ceramics and the artists of Coyote Brush Studios.


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Garden Checklist for week of May 5

Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:

* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.

* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.

* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* 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.

* 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.

* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

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