Even Texans are looking to the UF Wetlands Club to buy cypress trees.
Increased advertising launched cross-country excitement over $5 3-foot cypress seedlings and $10 5-foot cypress plants. Reaching out to more campus departments increased the club’s sales from 200 seedlings last year to 150 seedlings in the first few weeks, said Mark Clark, the club’s faculty adviser and a UF professor of wetland ecology.
Haley Glaab, the fundraising chair, said she received more emails than she knew what to do with.
“I received an order for a tree for someone in Texas, and I don’t even know how to ship a cypress tree to them,” the UF environmental management sophomore said.
Money raised from the fundraiser goes back to the Wetlands Club for trips and activities. Clark said the cost of growing seedlings is low, so profit is high.
“We certainly have a good revenue stream for club activities because we purchased 500 seedlings for only 30 cents each,” he said. “Everything else is free.”
Glaab, 19, said cypress trees are a good investment because they can be planted anywhere with sun and provide great shade.
She is confident the club will sell all 500 prepared seedlings.
“Our success rate has been exceptionally high,” Glaab said. “It’s crazy that we can go so far, and this has never happened before.”
Though the cypress fundraiser is the club’s main source of revenue, Glaab said she also sells apparel and hopes to sell different types of plants in the future.
“We want to sell smaller plants that are more mobile, like pitcher plants,” she said. “We’re trying for smaller house plants that are more decorative and geared toward students.”
She said the seedlings are selling out quickly. Those who want to order a cypress can email ufwetlandclub@gmail.com.
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 4/7/2015 under the headline “Wetlands club cypress trees selling fast”]
Correction: The original story had the incorrect email address.
