Palms pitched to ex-Californians

When one envisions the northern Nevada terrain, palm trees don't usually come to mind.

Ben Pierce, a young entrepreneur, is trying to change that.

A senior marketing major at the University of Nevada, Reno, Pierce last year opened Reno Palms, a business selling palm trees that are able to withstand the harsh northern Nevada climate.

The 23-year-old Pierce hit upon the idea through his marketing studies, finding that Californians moving to the area wanted a few familiar amenities.

Pierce researched and found the Windmill and Kumoan palms trees, grown in China and India, are adaptable to subzero temperatures and need little maintenance for much of the year.

Next, Pierce talked to some 100 nursery dealers and finally found a dealer in California that sold the trees.

He ordered about 350 trees using a loan, but had trouble transporting them until one company offered a 50 percent discount to delivery them.

Pierce runs the business out of his Spanish Springs home, keeping a stock of the plants in his backyard.

At first, he asked area nurseries if they would be interested in adding the trees.Two nurseries -- Garden Shop Nursery and Wright Outdoor Center -- agreed.

"They were willing to sell these new products and allowed me to set up my own displays," said Pierce.

Pierce started a web site -- www.RenoPalms.com -- that he developed in one of his marketing classes.

The site provides information such as tree maintenance tips, updated local weather reports, contact information and price listings, as well as a place to order the trees.

Pierce says he keeps in contact with his customers and offers services such as delivery, planting, fertilizing and winter preparation.

Pierce has also started branching out to other tree species to diversify his inventory.

He's already begun selling Joshua tree.

Most of Pierce's customers are homeowners; he sold six trees for a single home in South Meadows.

Pierce orders through dealers and tries to keep extras in stock.

Although he says his business continues to grow, Pierce, who is due to graduate from UNR next December, said it is difficult to juggle finishing his studies and managing the business.To do that, he has orders done for the fall and spring months and plans to finish planting by summer, so he can devote the remainder of the year to school.

Pierce employs only himself but says he may need to eventually hire some extra hands.

"Many more nurseries are looking into carrying the trees," he said.

"I see my trees becoming more mainstream, a more common commodity in the area."