Two historic clubs host Sacramento events devoted to ancient tradition
This is just an example of the beautifully tended bonsai that will be on display this weekend at the Shepard Garden and Art Center. Photo courtesy American Bonsai Association, Sacramento
Do you love bonsai? You’re in the right place. Sacramento is home to two of the nation’s oldest bonsai clubs, each hosting a spring show and sale. That makes Sacramento the City of Little Trees.
Our seasonal salute to bonsai starts this weekend, April 8 and 9, with the 63rd annual spring show of the American Bonsai Association, Sacramento. A forest of little trees will fill the Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park.
Show hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, with demonstrations by Colorado bonsai expert Todd Schlafer at 1:30 p.m. both days. Admission and parking are free.
A large sales area will be packed with little trees and plants appropriate for this hobby plus supplies such as appropriate containers, potting mix and gardening tools scaled to work on miniatures. Among the vendors will be Janette Bautista, Geoff Campbell, David Chimpky, Danny Power, Phil Richardson and Rick Savell. A consignment table features member-grown trees for sale as well as unique items for bonsai lovers.
Just starting bonsai? As part of this event, ABAS members will conduct a beginners workshop at 10 a.m. Sunday, April 10. For more information or to reserve a space, email absbonsaiclub@gmail.com.
Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento. Details: http://abasbonsai.org.
More than six decades ago, ABAS formed as an English-speaking offshoot of the original Sacramento Bonsai Club, the oldest bonsai club in the United States. With its early meetings conducted in Japanese, the Sacramento Bonsai Club was founded in 1946 by formerly interned Japanese Americans as a celebration of their culture. Nearly eight decades later, that original club is still going strong and still celebrating.
On May 6, the Sacramento Bonsai Club will host its 77th annual spring show at the Buddhist Church of Sacramento, 2401 Riverside Blvd., Sacramento. Show hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
This one-day show also features a plant and pot sale plus a raffle and refreshments. Learn the finer skills of bonsai during a 1:30 p.m. demonstration.
Details: http://www.sacbonsaiclub.com.
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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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