Sacramento rose auction features little favorites

Who doesn’t need more roses? Especially when those roses will fit into small spaces in your garden – or thrive while growing in containers.

With an eye for little favorites, the Sacramento Rose Society hosts its annual auction at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park. The auction is open to the public. Admission and parking are free.

The club has come up with a stellar selection of must-have rose varieties – mostly miniatures, mini-floras and polyanthas. These varieties tend to stay small (often under 2 feet) and can be grown in pots. (Suddenly, you can envision a lot more space for roses!)

Maybe you saw some of these varieties at Sacramento’s recent rose show? Or admired their flowers in bouquets? The list of varieties includes the minifloras Leading Lady, Butter Cream, Gold Country and Nancy Jean as well as the popular miniatures Bees Knees, Gourmet Popcorn, Old Glory and Kings Mountain.

Debbie Arrington, co-creator of Sacramento Digs Gardening, will serve as auctioneer. For an auction catalog, email debarrington17@gmail.com.

The 44 bushes to be offered were grown by the club’s green-thumbed propagators, mostly from cuttings supplied by renown rose expert Baldo Villegas and pulled from his vast 3,000-plant collection. Several of these varieties cannot be found in nurseries. At the homes of club members, these bushes have been babied for many months if not years. The results: Healthy plants that will produce beautiful roses for years to come.

This auction is the Sacramento Rose Society’s major fundraiser. So, buying a bush not only adds to your garden but helps this club survive and thrive, too. Cash or checks only please.

Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento, in McKinley Park.

More details: https://sacramentorosesociety.org/.