Hort club holds annual bulb sale

Jacqui Becker

The ISU Horticulture Club is bringing a little life to many people with their annual spring bulb sale.Since October, the Horticulture Club has spent its time planting, watering and monitoring more than 500 pots of tulips, irises, hyacinths, crocus, daffodils and cyclamen potted plants for this year’s sale, said Aaron Steil, spring bulb committee co-chair. For more than 25 years, the club has been providing spring plants to the ISU community. “It’s become one of our more popular sales,” said Steil, sophomore in horticulture. “Mostly because the plants are relatively inexpensive, and they have really nice color, especially on days like these.” The sale began Monday and runs until Wednesday at the rotunda of Curtiss Hall and the west stairwell of the Memorial Union from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, while supplies last.The plants cost between $4 to $8 each, said Molly Hosch, spring bulb committee co-chair.”Our prices are pretty good, and we put quite a few bulbs in one pot,” said Hosch, sophomore in horticulture.Last year, the club sold all of its pots within the first two days and have increased favored items this year. The club is also offering many mixes with a couple of new varieties, she said.”The red and yellow tulip mixes are very popular,” Steil said. “The crocuses are also very popular because they come in nice colors and are very cheap.”With construction in Beardshear, the club has moved to the two locations at the Memorial Union and Curtiss. Megan McConnell, horticulture club president, said she hopes the sites will be able to serve two different clienteles. “In Curtiss, many of the secretaries were likely to come there, but at the Union, we’re hoping to reach many of the people that are there eating,” she said.The Horticulture Club has been around for 101 years, said McConnell, senior in horticulture. The entire club helps with maintaining and selling the bulbs. “It is a great way to really get out there and gain real life experience in growing these types of plants,” Steil said.Profits will be used to help fund the Mid-American Collegiate Horticulture Society annual conference next spring taking place on the ISU campus. Steil said he sees a lot of students coming through buying bulbs for the Valentine season. “Last year, we sold out a day early. Get there early to make sure you can get what you want,” Steil said. “Hopefully, we’ll have just as good of a turnout this year.”