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Give Dad a mosquito eater for Father's Day

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUN 13, 2019

Pitcher plants produce fascinating flowers. See many unusual species at the show this weekend. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Sacramento Bromeliad and Carnivorous Plant Show and Sale this weekend

Would Dad like a bug eater?

One of Sacramento’s most popular and family-friendly garden events has moved from its traditional dates in late July to this weekend – just in time for Father’s Day.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the Sacramento Bromeliad and Carnivorous Plant Society will present its 49th annual show and sale at Shepard Garden and Arts Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento. Find hundreds of unusual and rare exotic plants on display and for sale. Admission and parking are free.

“(Our show) was always the last weekend in July – and hotter than hell,” said Eric Trygg, past president. “That’s wildfire season and, the last couple of years, there was so much smoke in the air, people were told to stay inside. That’s also the last weekend of the State Fair, so we had that conflict, too.”

Not that June is much cooler than July – as we’ve seen this past week with triple-digit heat. But society members hope to get a break in the weather (weekend temperatures are forecast in the low 90s) as well as a bump from Father’s Day.

“We have spectacular plants for our sale,” Trygg said. “They make great gifts.”

Carnivorous plants are especially popular with kids, he added.

Pitcher plants can be grown outdoors in Sacramento.

“There’s a mystique about these plants,” Trygg said. “They’re beautiful; they’re weird. People think of Venus flytraps, but there are actually more than 650 varieties of carnivorous plants including some native to California.”

And yes, pitcher plants and cobra lilies will eat mosquitoes (and any other insects that come their way).

“They’ll eat anything they can catch,” Trygg said. “They’re pigs. You never have to feed them; they feed themselves.”

Besides a huge selection of bug eaters, the society’s sale also features an amazing assortment of bromeliads. These tropical plants are known for their striking foliage in rainbow hues.

“People come in for the carnivorous plants, but they get hooked on the bromeliads,” Trygg said. “They keep coming back for more.”

Details: www.sgaac.org or https://bit.ly/2Iemj2i

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gardening Sacramento family events bromeliads Shepard Garden & Arts Center events garden clubs plant sale carnivorous plants plant show

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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