Red Butte Garden's Annual Benefit Plant Sale
Members Only Sale (Memberships may be purchased at the gate!)
Friday, May 3rd, 1pm to 8pm
Public Sale
Saturday, May 4th, 9am to 3pm
It’s time once again to support the Garden at the annual benefit plant sale!
WHAT YOU WILL FIND: The Garden offers an impressive selection of herbs, specialty annuals, vegetables, heirlooms, sun and shade perennials, ornamental grasses, shrubs, conifers, roses, vines, trees, and the best selection of native plants and drought tolerant plants! You'll find plants for every situation, including gifts and high-altitude gardening. Most of the plants are grown by local nurseries and many of the annuals and vegetables are grown here in our own greenhouses! This annual plant sale and fundraiser is always a great way to welcome planting season!
We will also offer a variety of organic gardening products such as fertilizers, sprays, and coco-fiber that when mixed into your garden or container soil, aids with water retention.
EXPERTS ON HAND: Representatives from several local plant societies will be on hand to answer questions. With these experts, as well as our Garden staff, there will be plenty of qualified help to answer your plant and gardening questions as well as sources for information from that society/club that shares your particular passion in plants! Societies attending this year include: Slow Food Utah, Utah Community Forest Council, Wasatch Rock Garden Society, Utah Master Gardeners, Utah Rose Society & Utah Water Garden Club.
WHERE: The Plant Sale is held in Cottam’s Grove, located on the way to the Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre. From the four-way stop sign at Chipeta and Wakara Way, turn left (or North) and follow the signs.
WHAT TO BRING: If you have your own small wagon, bring it! We have a few shopping carts and plenty of cardboard plant trays.
PARKING: On Friday, the plant sale coincides with the University of Utah commencement activities. Even this far east of campus, parking may be impacted during the early hours of the sale. To ease the inconvenience, Garden staff will operate a passenger shuttle from the sale entrance to overflow lots (see map) from 1pm Friday as long as needed. We also protect a “loading only” area near the sale entrance/checkout for loading plants after you are able to collect your vehicle. Note too that there are few handicapped parking stalls in this particular University lot.
2013 PLANT LISTS*:
Annuals
Grasses
Ground Covers
Herbs
Natives and Waterwise
Perennials
Roses
Trees and Shrubs
Veggies
*Complete Vegetable List*
*These lists represent our best information regarding plant availability. Some variation in actual selections will occur. The plant sale is for Red Butte Garden members and our local public. For the best selection, attend the member’s sale but, note that Saturday has plenty of variety and quantity. Red Butte Garden is unable to hold or ship plant material.
Shopping tips:
Be sure to check out the helpful information on the plant ID cards:
- A yellow card, in the shape of Utah, indicates the plant is waterwise and can be native or non-native
- Native plants will be listed as such on the plant ID cards - be sure to check the water requirements as not all natives are waterwise (in the Native & Waterwise section)
- An Orange card indicates that the plant performs well at high altitudes
This year we will offer several varieties of edible kales! If everything squash is what you desire, we will have a wide variety from decorative pumpkins to straight necks, to patty pans. Need veggies for containers? We will have several hard to find cultivars just for pots.
For a list of Red Butte Garden recommendations for container vegetables, click HERE.
To help you save some money, several specialty annuals will be available in pony pack size. Nothing beats the color of annuals! Texture, color, and easy care will be provided by our unique and vast selection of succulent plants.
Click HERE to see which heirloom vegetables will be available at this year's plant sale.
In addition to all of your favorites, the herb offerings at this year’s plant sale include two types of Echinacea: purpurea and the federally listed, threatened tennesseensis species. For shade gardeners with an interest in medicinal plants, we will have a few American ginseng plants as well. Be sure to pick up some rosemary ‘Gorizia’; it performed very well for us last year and sports dark, lustrous green leaves and its fragrance has delicate notes of citrus.
With over 20 Penstemon species to choose from, an expanded selection of native trees, and stunning hardy succulents, not to mention the same great selection of perennials, grasses and shrubs; you won't find a better selection of waterwise and native plants!
We will have over 300 different species and cultivars of perennials, including sun loving, shade loving, groundcovers, and definitely something for every situation, including high elevation gardens! Check out the 'Specialty Perennial' section if you're looking for something truly unique - and be sure to allow yourself time to browse.
There will be a great selection of beautiful roses, including old fashioned garden roses, modern shrub roses, miniatures and climbers. Beautiful blooms of all colors, combined with winter hardiness and disease-resistance, make for lovely additions to the garden. All of our roses are own-root, not grafted!
We will have a great selection of trees, conifers, shrubs and vines. Click HERE for information on how to properly plant a tree, and register your new tree on www.milliontrees.slco.org.
