Sacramento rose auction features small-space 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 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12, 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 – including several hard-to-find 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 annual rose show? Or admired their flowers in bouquets? The list of varieties includes the minifloras Whirlaway, Jolene Adams and Yantai as well as the popular miniatures Bees Knees, Gourmet Popcorn, Pink Flamenco and Tiddly Winks.

Looking for full-size roses? Find those, too, including new introductions Dream Come True (a yellow-blend grandiflora) and Cherries and Champagne (a pink and yellow hybrid tea). Also up for bid are two edible roses – yes, roses bred for their taste as well as scent: Flavorette Honey Apricot and Flavorette Pear’d.

A select few Old Garden Roses and (very fragrant) heritage varieties will be available such as Reine des Violettes and the always intriguing Green Rose.

All roses are already potted and growing well in 1-gallon or 5-gallon containers. For an auction catalog, email Debbie Arrington at debarrington17@gmail.com.

The 39 bushes to be offered were grown by the club’s green-thumbed propagators, mostly from cuttings supplied by renowned 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/.