Trusses and veggies for sale at Nanaimo Rhododendron Society show

Published 12:01 pm Monday, May 4, 2026

Residents and visitors alike will get to experience a wide variety of rhododendron trusses at the Nanaimo Rhododendron Society’s upcoming show and sale.

The society is holding its annual truss show and plant sale on May 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Beban Park centennial building, featuring a wide variety of rhododendron blooms, as well as foliage grown in central Vancouver Island.

Dorothee Kieser, Nanaimo Rhododendron Society president, told the News Bulletin that around 50 members comprise the society, and each will often bring in their most spectacular flowers.

“We have an arrangement of what we call trusses, which is the specific name for the rhododendron flowers, that range from anywhere from white to pink to yellow to purple to stunning reds, from tiny, tiny flowers, to enormous flowers,” Kieser explained, adding that it is worth a trip itself to see the beauty of the flowers.

In addition to the rhododendrons, there will also be perennials, alpine and woodland plants, bulbs, as well as seeds that will be featured.

In addition to the flowers for the show, Kieser said there will be vendors from all around the Island.

“The Vancouver Island Master Gardeners will have a table here with a large range of different plants and flowers for sale,” Kieser said. “If you have a problem in your garden, ‘Why isn’t my rhododendron blooming as well as it should?’ then you can ask the master gardeners, and they will give you an answer.”

There will also be a big sale taking place at the Beban learning gardens, which Kieser said will have a big sale where the vegetables from the garden will be sold.

“In one fell swoop, you can get your flowering beauties on one side of the parking lot in the centennial building, and across the parking lot at the Beban learning gardens … you can buy any type of vegetable, from tomato, to cucumber, to lettuce, you name it, for your edible needs.”