Longtime collector offers his favorite rare plants at show

Hundreds of unusual bromeliads will be for sale this weekend at Shepard Center

By Debbie Arrington

Chet Blackburn has devoted much of his life to his plants. Over the past half century, he's collected thousands of rarities at his Auburn home including an immense collection of bromeliads.

This weekend, he's helping the Sacramento Bromeliad and Carnivorous Plant Society offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. About 800 bromeliads from his vast collection will be offered for sale at the society's 48th annual show, set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 28 and 29, at Shepard Garden and Arts Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento.

"These are incredible plants," said Eric Trygg, the show's organizer. "There are many bromeliads you have never seen before."

Due to health reasons, Blackburn is liquidating much of his collection and the show presented a good chance to share his favorite plants with other gardeners and bromeliad lovers. Collectors are coming from throughout Northern California, Trygg said. Plants from other local growers also will be offered for sale.

At past shows, Blackburn created gigantic dioramas featuring his colorful bromeliads in neon shades of red, pink, green, yellow, purple and more.
Bromeliads are easy to grow and to love, Blackburn told me four years ago in an interview for The Sacramento Bee.

“Why grow bromeliads? Perhaps the main reason people are drawn to them is color,” Blackburn said. “No other plant family displays such a wide variety of colors and uses them in such a wide variety of ways. Interior landscapers love them both for their bright, long-lasting color and their low-maintenance requirements.”

Bromeliads can thrive where other plants die.  “They withstand low light conditions reasonably well, they remain in color for astonishingly long periods of time, and they require little maintenance," Blackburn said. "They have adapted to a variety of habitats in nature, and they are adaptable plants in cultivation.”

That includes in people's homes.

“They’re among the best houseplants,” he said. “Give them excellent drainage and good light; you can hardly go wrong.”