Event features succulents, natives and water-wise perennials; members get in early
Some of the plants sold at the UC Davis Arboretum Nursery carry signs designating them as "future favorites," or plants adaptable to the changing climate. These include Argentine rain lilies. Kathy Morrison
Find hundreds (make that thousands) of possibilities at the UC Davis Arboretum’s Teaching Nursery.
This Sunday, April 7, the arboretum’s 1-acre nursery will host its first public sale of the season. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the sale will be open to everyone. Admission is free.
Want an early start on plant shopping? From 9 to 10 a.m., members of Friends of the Arboretum get first crack Sunday. Not a member? Join at the gate, get at 10% discount and a $10 coupon for the sale.
April is a wonderful time to add water-wise perennials, shrubs, trees and native plants to our landscapes. The weather is warming and so is the soil, which is moist and soft due to recent rain.
Two more sales are scheduled after Sunday: A split sale April 27 and the season-ending spring clearance May 11.
Now available online, the updated inventory list covers 53 pages from four varieties of Abutilon (flowering maple) to three species of Zephyranthes (Argentine rain or zephyr lily). Find it here: https://ucdavis.app.box.com/s/cqttqucpsq1oresaluj2zyz1cpwkf5uf
Also useful is an accompanying photo gallery with hundreds of shots of featured plants. It helps visualize how the baby plants in their 4-inch or 1-gallon pots will look like when fully grown. (Sometimes, that’s much, much bigger.) Atop the gallery are several varieties of mangave, a succulent hybrid of agave and manfreda that’s a favorite for water-wise landscaping.
See the gallery here: https://airtable.com/appGYzBN8THFEAEsX/shrN3Jyghg4NNcK7L/tbl2CPT7gEomY1f0S
Take it from our experience: Research plants before you shop, and compile a list with the plant locations in the nursery. Bring a wagon or rolling cart if you have one. Often early in the sale, there’s a waiting list for the nursery wagons.
The Arboretum Teaching Nursery is located at 1046 Garrod Drive, Davis, on the UC Davis campus near the small-animal veterinary hospital. Parking is available in the adjoining lots. Student volunteers stationed on corners can direct visitors to parking areas.
Details and directions: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/.
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Thanks to Our Sponsor!
Local News
Sites We Like
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.
Powered by California Local
