Students, staff and local residents alike ventured to the front of the NW Campus greenhouses for beginner-friendly, affordable and student-grown plants.
The NW horticulture program on Oct. 3 hosted its annual fall plant sale where students sold the plants they’ve grown as part of the program over the past semester.
NW student worker Debi Bachelder stopped at the sale as the event began. She was wearing headphones with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cathedral cactus
in the other.
“When I do find them, they usually tend to be very small and they’re really expensive,” she said about her cactus. “As soon as I saw it, I was like, ‘I have to grab one before they’re gone.’ They’re really hard to find.”
Bachelder explained that she likes coming to the sale because it brings her comfort knowing she is supporting her campus and other students. Plus the plants are affordable.
Growing the plants in the campus greenhouses allows the program to sell the plants at an affordable price.
“We grow everything, either from seed or from cuttings,” said Cameron Grant, the NW horticulture lab manager. “We have a horticulture club that grows things from seeds, and then we also have a propagation class that will take cuttings and grow them out that way.”
The sale offered a range of plants from elephant ear and pothos to an array of succulents, giving customers a wide range to choose from. Over half of the plants can be described as beginner-friendly, Grant said.
Ashlei Lucas, a former horticulture student, who currently works as a plant care technician and travels to downtown Dallas caring for plants in hotels and businesses, said she recommends pothos plants for those starting their plant journey.
“They’re easy to take care of,” she explained. “They thrive on neglect a little bit.”
Many people stray away from plants because they find it hard to keep them alive. One of the event coordinators, Skyllar Bility, who is also a NW instructional assistant for the horticulture program, said that the biggest advice she could give to new plant owners is to not overwater them.
“Try not to overlove the plants by giving them too much water,” Bility said.
As well as pothos, succulents are recommended for beginner plant owners. Grant explained that succulents are hard to kill and that the only thing they don’t like is a lot of water.
“You can kind of ignore them, and they’ll be fine,” he said.
