'Members Only' event marks 50th anniversary
The line to check out can get very long at the UC Davis Arboretum plant sale, but volunteers -- including one with a helpful sign -- make it go quickly. Kathy Morrison
For half a century, this event has been making a difference in the way we garden. It’s time to celebrate – with another big sale!
On Saturday, March 8, the Arboretum Teaching Nursery at UC Davis hosts its first plant sale of the spring and officially kicks off its 50th anniversary celebration of public plant sales.
Set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., this “Members Only” sale is restricted to Friends of the Arboretum – the folks who started these sales and still provide the bulk of support.
Not a member? No problem! Join at the gate and get a 10% discount as well as a $10 coupon to use on plant purchases.
Since 1975, UCD’s Arboretum has been hosting annual spring plant sales, starting with a simple one-day event organized by the Friends of the Arboretum.
“It brought people out to the Arboretum, which gave better visibility in the community, and it encouraged the use of environmentally appropriate plants in local horticulture,” explained Ellen Zagory, the Arboretum’s director of horticulture emerita.
Originally dubbed the “Plant Faire,” the sale evolved along with the Arboretum. The very first event (held in 1974) featured all irises; the Arboretum was phasing out its iris garden and patrons brought shovels to dig up their own.
The once-a-year Plant Faire morphed into spring and fall sales that support the Arboretum’s gardens and programs. This spring includes four scheduled sales: March 8, April 6 and 26 and the clearance sale May 10.
Since 1975, these sales have emphasized easy-to-grow, sustainable plants that are perfect for our region. Most of the plants now offered for sale are propagated from the Arboretum’s own vast collections.
“Shop the one-acre Arboretum Teaching Nursery to find an incredible selection of attractive, low-water plants perfect for our region,” says the staff. “By choosing to shop with us, not only will you bring home beautiful plants that help support a sustainable environment, your purchases play a vital role in supporting the growth and care of our gardens, student environmental leadership opportunities, and free public programs. Discover the joys of gardening with plants that help heal our environment while nurturing our community!”
The Arboretum Teaching Nursery is located on Garrod Drive near the Small Animal Veterinary Hospital on the UC Davis campus. Parking is free on the weekends: follow the signs and student volunteers' flag.
Make sure to study the inventory list before shopping – there are thousands of plants from which to choose. Here's a sale veteran's tip: Bring your own cart or wagon to haul plants and you won't have to wait for one of the nursery's wagons.
Find all the links including the plant inventory here: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/plant-sales.
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Make the most of the lower temperatures early in the week. We’ll be back in the 80s by Thursday.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. 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. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)
* Plant dahlia tubers.
* 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.
* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. 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.
* Remember to weed! Pull those nasties before they set seed.
* Water early in the day and keep seedlings evenly moist.
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