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Calling all camellias! Show needs you

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAR 4, 2020

Trophy table at the 2019 Sacramento Camellia Show features many beautiful blooms. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

96th annual Sacramento Camellia Show this weekend

“We need to tell everybody, ‘Bring all your camellias! Bring in your flowers!’” said Julie Vierra, co-chairman of the 96th annual Sacramento Camellia Show. “Somebody must have some camellias left.”

This weekend, Sacramento celebrates its official flower. But recent warm weather has pushed many blooms over the top.

Several local members of the Camellia Society of Sacramento saw their flowers open weeks ahead of the show, the nation’s largest devoted to camellias. Hundreds of blooms usually line the exhibition tables. Public entries are welcome – particularly this March.

“With this hot weather, bushes are popping them out so fast, it’s scary,” said Vierra, whose garden was in full bloom two weeks before the show. “Thank goodness, we’re cooling down at night – but not enough.”

Set for Saturday and Sunday, March 7 and 8, the camellia show will be held for the second time at the Elks Lodge, 6446 Riverside Blvd., Sacramento. Entries will be accepted from 7 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday; beginners should make sure to get there before 9 a.m.

Even if you’ve never entered a flower show before, this may be the time to try. Camellias should be home grown (no fair raiding local parks or businesses). Members of the Camellia Society will help first-time exhibitors with set up and placement. They’ll identify camellia varieties, too.

For show entries, cut the camellia with about 4 to 6 inches of stem. (It will be trimmed down for display). Keep a couple of leaves on the stem, too. Carry the camellias to the show with their stems in water.

After judging, the show will be open to the public from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission and parking are free,

Among the highlights will be a salute to Nuccio’s Nurseries , California’s legendary camellia hybridizer and grower. Dozens of bushes from Nuccio’s will be offered for sale.

This year’s commemorative show pin features a white camellia introduced by the famous hybridizer: Nuccio’s Gem.

Details: https://camelliasocietyofsacramento.org/

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Sacramento Camellia Show Camellia Society of Sacramento Julie Vierra Elks Lodge camellias Nuccio's Nurseries

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Garden Checklist for week of May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s 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.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* 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.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. 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.

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