Ginkgo trees will be one of the new items to be offered at the Great Plant Sale to be held Thursday through Saturday, May 17-19 at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo.
Ginkgos are hardy plants that are used as street trees, said Kristin Pochopin, director of horticulture. Some people may be wary of ginkgo trees because the fruit is stinky and messy, but these trees are at low risk for fruiting.
“These are low on the worry scale,” she said.
The ginkgo varieties to be offered are ‘Snow Cloud’, ‘Jade Butterfly’ and ‘Weeping Wonder’, which as its name implies, grows with a weeping habit.
Thursday is the day when there’s the best selection of plants, but that day is for members and volunteers only. Plus, members get a 10 percent discount.
Don’t feel left out– You can become a member! Find out about all the benefits of becoming a member of the Botanical Gardens and sign up online. The Thursday hours are 4 to 7 p.m.
The sale is open to the public on Friday and Saturday. There is no admission charge; the sale is held in the administration building. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
If you bought plants through the pre-order, you’ll pick them up this week during the sale hours.
And even if you didn’t pre-order, you may be in luck. Some of the plants didn’t sell out and you may be able to buy one of the leftovers.
You can get a second chance at leftovers from the spring bulb sale, too. These bulbs were pulled from the Botanical Gardens’ spring exhibit and were forced to bloom this spring. There will also be some Asiatic lily plants from the spring exhibit. Since the lily plants already flowered this year, they won’t flower again until next year, but you can get a good size plant at a cheap price, Pochopin said.
There will also be tropical plants propagated from the Botanical Gardens’ collections. These are houseplants, and some will be offered in mixed containers.
Japanese maples are a popular offering, and this year you can find some planted with annuals.
The sale will include more vegetables and herbs, which have gardeners have liked in the last couple years.
The sale will also include:
- Locally grown lilacs
- Native and drought-tolerant rarities
- Luxurious hanging baskets
- Perennials
- Plants for sun and shade
Plants will be labelled with their growing conditions, and knowledgeable staff and volunteers will be available to help.
Children will receive free spider plants to take home.
Merritt Winery’s Slush Bus will be on site on Friday and Saturday.
