Agriculture Business Week

These beauties are not difficult to grow. You can grow them right in your own home.

There’s something about gerberas that just makes you wanna smile when you see them. You can’t help it- they seem to be the happiest looking flowers in the world that a mere glance at these beautiful flowers
can get one’s spirits soaring. It is by no coincidence that Gerbera is among the top 5 of the most widely used flowers in the world.

Gerberas come in a burst of colors ranging from hues of yellows and oranges to reds and pinks, and some crosses in between. These beauties are not difficult to grow. In fact, you can grow them right in your own home. All they need is a little bit of sunshine and lots of love.

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Posted on May 8th, 2010 under Ornamental. Tags: Flowers, Gerberas, Ornam. Comments: 7

What would happen to this world if there are no flowers? Simply boring, perhaps meaningless, without color, and seems barren. Think of weddings without roses and chrysanthemum, Christmas without poinsettias, graduations without orchids, and burials without wreaths made of various flowers.

“Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into,” noted Henry Beecher. “Earth laughs in flowers,” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in Hamatreya. And Emma Goldman declared, “I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.”

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants. The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds. The process begins with pollination, followed by fertilization, leading to the formation and dispersal of the seeds. For the higher plants, seeds are the next generation and serve as the primary means by which individuals of a species are dispersed across the landscape.

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Posted on March 5th, 2010 under Ornamental. Tags: Flowers, Food, Ornamental. Comments: None

Not many people may realize it but the orchid business is also creating a lot of jobs, not only for farm workers but also for traders and other entrepreneurs.

Just take the case of Edwin Veneracion and his wife Gina of San Rafael, Bulacan. When they put up their Golden Blooms nursery in 1998, they started with just three helpers and 3,000 dendrobium seedlings.

Twelve years later, they now have 50 workers who are full-time employees.

Their stocks have increased to more than 600,000 dendrobiums of various sizes, and a lesser number of vandas, cattleyas, and oncidiums.

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Posted on February 25th, 2010 under Entrepreneurs, Ornamental. Tags: Entrepreneur, Flowers, Jobs, Orchids. Comments: 1

More and more Pinoys are discovering the business potentials of growing lilies.

The site should receive a good amount of sunlight since most lilies grow successfully in full sun. If it’s too shady, the stem of the lilies will stretch and will lean towards the sun. However, partial shade especially during midday is needed to preserve the color and to lengthen the span of the flowering season.

Growing lilies from seed
A good way of producing a large collection of lilies is through sowing seeds. To do this, a sterile soil is needed during the early stages of growth of the lily seedling. After placing it on pots and trays, sow the seeds an inch apart and cover them with about half an inch of soil. A good location WhcrV to put the said pots and traYs is in a cool green house on a window-sill. This should receive partial sunlight in a day. Germination rate of the seed increases at xvarincr temperature. One of the essential- things to remember is to constantly supply moisture and nutrients to the soil.

Lily seeds could be categorized into 2 types. This includes epigeal which cover lily seeds planted close to the ground. On the other hand, hypogeal includes lily seeds planted underground. Some of hypogeal seeds include the easiest to grow. They can germinate quickly and send up a leaf as early as 3 – 6 weeks after sowing (Asiatics and most trumpet types of lily fall under this category). Seeds under this category hide underground until they reached 3- 4 months of warm period. This will be followed by 2-3 months of cool temperature.

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Posted on August 5th, 2009 under Ornamental. Tags: Flowers, Garden, Gardening, Lilies. Comments: None

More and more Pinoys are discovering the business potentials of growing lilies.

The aroma of love is in the air not because it’s Valentines day but because the month of June has come. June is considered one of the most awaited months because it is this moment when the dream of a woman will come true – to be a June bride. For her, even the slightest detail should be perfect to make everything special and memorable. One of these details is choosing the right flower for her special day. Lily is one of the flowers always considered during church weddings especially lilies white and “stargazer.” These flowers have high market value because of their unique beauty and its usefulness from simplest to extravagant occasions.

Lilies in the Philippine market
Filipinos nowadays have discovered the beauty of lilies. They do not stick alone to classic flowers and let their selves explore into something new yet as beautiful as the traditional ones. More and more people can see the value and indulge in the beauty of lilies. According to Mr. Jay-ar Erabon, a long time florist in Tecson Flowers, lilies are one of their items that sells a lot especially during weddings, and All Souls day. In Tecson Flowers, lily is one of the flowers they are happy to have because it has so many advantages than other flowers they have in the flower shop. First, lilies have a shelf life of as long as lo days which would only take one week for ordinary flowers. Second is that these flowers could be used in many ways. The flowers are usually bought stem by stem to be put in tall vases or as centerpiece in the table. A stem of lily usually costs from Php150 to Php300. At the price of Php55 per stem, these lilies are usually imported from Baguio City or bought from Dangwa, which is considered a junction place for ornamental flowers in Metro Manila.

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Posted on June 19th, 2009 under Ornamental. Tags: Flowers, Lilies, Lily, Ornamentals. Comments: None

Edible landscaping, potted plants and foliage, dried flowers-these are some of the growing trends in the ornamentals world-and more!

Just like the culinary world, the ornamentals universe is undergoing an evolution of sorts. There is fusion-a blending of tastes, sty, es and designs. Innovation is in and strict followers of the purists’ rules of design are starting to dwindle. Hobbyists are on the rise, some of them even earning more than what those erudite ornamental experts do. There is also this innate yearning among practitioners to dig into what’s endemic and indigenous among our plant materials and promote them for popular consumption.

“Those are signs of the times,” enthuses Dr. I,eonido R. Naranja, an acclaimed ornamental expert and Associate Professor of UPLB’s Crop Science Cluster (Formerly the Horticulture Department). “The general rule is, as the living conditions of people go higher, the usage of ornamentals also increases. But from what we have observed, even with the global financial crisis, we’re still seeing an uptrend – in the number of ornamental enthusiasts. It’s quite hard to predict what’s next in this industry.”

We visited Dr. Naranja during the recently concluded garden show and technology fair at the UPLB Social Garden Hall . As part of the organizing team of the yearly flower arrangement and dish garden competition, the amiable professor provided us with wonderful insights on what he thinks are hot emerging trends in the ornamentals world.

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Posted on May 5th, 2009 under Ornamental, Plant. Tags: Flowers, Landscape, Ornamental, Plants. Comments: None

Two Bicolano couples who are senior citizens are enjoying gardening and making some income profit from it.

Dr. Santos Balderas and his wife, Dr. Paz Balderas, both retired professors of the Camarines Sur State Agricultural College in Pili, have a collection of the latest ornamentals, both foliage and flowering, as well as some decorative fruit trees. With the help of a lady agriculturist, Mia Caceres, the nursery and plant store located a few kilometers from where they live is kept spic and span. Propagation is continuous and so is the selling.

On the other hand, Marcelo Escaro and wife Patria of Naga City, owners of a big mango farm in Calabanga, are also busy tending their spacious garden in Naga where they grow a lot of orchids and other ornamentals. The vanda orchids for cut flowers are particularly floriferous, thanks to regular spraying with foliar fertilizer.

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Posted on January 31st, 2009 under Ornamental. Tags: Flowers, Gardening, Orchids, Ornamental. Comments: None

A seed company that has pioneered in the breeding and production of hybrid vegetable seeds in the Philippines has diversified in a big way into hybrid flowering plants. This is the East-West Seed Company which is the country’s leading producer of hybrid seeds of squash, ampalaya, onion, pepper, tomato, eggplant and other tropical vegetables.

Last December 4, the company launched its seven new lines of flowering ornamentals at its headquarters in San Rafael, Bulacan. Over 200 visitors, some coming from as far as Davao City, attended the launching. The entry into the flower seed business is the idea of Simon Groot, one of the founders of East-West whose family has been in the flower seed business in Holland for six generations. Groot’s Filipino partner is Benito M. Domingo who has long been in the seed business.

The new hybrid flowers consist of seven different kinds, each kind consisting of different colors. The seven are Celosia, Dianthus, Marigold, Pentas, Petunia, Vinca and Zinnia.

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Posted on January 30th, 2009 under Ornamental. Tags: Flowers, Ornamental, Seeds. Comments: 24

Waling-waling is one of the finest orchid species endemic to the Philippines, desired by orchid growers and breeders alike for its showy and attractive flowers and ability to impart its vigor and floral characteristics to its progeny,” wrote Dr. Helen Valmayor in her book, Orchidiana Philippiniana.

“The flowers are flat, to eight centimeters across; the sepals and petals are obviate, bluish pink, with buff-yellow stain, and dull-crimson reticulations on the lateral sepals; the lip is small and concave, purple-red at base, strongly recurved and brownish purple at apex; with three prominent keels.”

That is how the book, A Pictorial Cyclopedia of Philippine Ornamental Plants, described the exotic waling-waling, known in the science world before as Vanda sanderiana.

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Posted on January 16th, 2009 under Ornamental. Tags: Flowers, Orchids, Ornamental, Waling-Waling. Comments: 3

Davao has carved its own comfortable niche in the world of flowers and has earned the distinction as the orchid capital of the Philippines.

Davao is known for its fine beaches, exotic fruits and endangered wildlife species. At the mere mention of the city, the vision of exquisite and varied orchids would immediately come into people’s minds from across the country and around the world.

In fact, Davao has carved its own comfortable niche in the world of flowers and has earned the distinction as the orchid capital of the Philippines. Orchids in the Philippines come in an amazing array of shapes, sizes and colors. Most grow only in old-growth forest, often on branches of huge trees dozens of meters above the forest floor.

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Posted on January 15th, 2009 under Ornamental. Tags: Davao, Flowers, Orchids, Ornamental. Comments: 9

Numerous books and articles about anthuriums have been published but none of those available locally dealt with the classification of species.

Since anthurium became popular as ornamental plants, species being cultivated have been grouped to either foliage-type anthurium or cutflower-type anthurium only. Foliage-type anthuriums have handsome, velvety or shiny leaves with inconspicuous floral structures (inflorescenses) while cutflower-type anthuriums bear beautiful flower or inflorescences and ordinary leaves. With such general classification, it becomes difficult to identify which group do Pearl anthurium and Mickey Mouse anthurium belong.

Recently, there was a sudden surge in demand for planting materials of different species of anthurium. Buyers from other countries, were looking for specimen plants for sale or for propagation. Apparently, these plants will be used for developing new or improved varieties by hybridization.

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Posted on December 29th, 2008 under Ornamental. Tags: Anthurium, Flowers, Ornamental. Comments: 2

First and foremost, I have not yet known any new hoya variety released in the Philippines as a result of artificial pollination done either by ornamental breeders in any research institution or by amateur breeeders. I also haven’t succeeded in developing new hoya hybrids thru artificial breeding.

Unlike in other countries, particularly U.S.A., new hoya hybrids are produced and released every year due to active hoya breeding programs mostly done by amateur breeders. As of January 1, 2006, 13 hybrids were listed with the International Hoya Association (Fraterna Volume 19, Number 1). Michael Miyashiro is one of the famous hoya breeders who developed Hoya Kaimuki by artificially crossing H. archboldiana and H. macgillivrayi. This is just one of the many hoya hybrids he developed.

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Posted on December 5th, 2008 under Ornamental. Tags: Flowers, Hoyas, Ornamental. Comments: None

The classic Christmas plant, poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima, is native to Mexico and the Aztecs called the plant “Cuetlayochitl.” Today in Mexico the Poinsettia is called Flor de nochebuena(Christmas Eve Flower).

The poinsettia is named after Joel R. Poinsett, the first U.S. ambassador to our southern neighbor. Poinsett brought back cutting to South Carolina about 1828.

In Mexico, poinsettia is a perennial flowering shrub rated to about 10-15 feet tall. The color you see are not flowers, but colored bracts(modified leaves) just like color of bougainvillea vines.

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Posted on December 4th, 2008 under Ornamental, Special Report. Tags: Christmas, Flowers, Poinesttia, Xmas. Comments: None

The manager of King Louis Farm, the biggest grower and seller of poinsettias in the country, shares with us the rules of their production and marketing trade.

The Christmas season is here once again and what better way to give places -and even our own houses the Christmas feel than with the use of poinsettias. People think that poinsettias are only for Christmas. But according to Francis Gener, manager of King Louis Farm, that’s the biggest misconception of consumers. Poinsettias are not only for that particular season and it doesn’t only come in red. It also comes in colors like white and pink. Poinsettias nowadays however, are not only limited to solid colors and particular growth patterns. In fact, King Louis Farm, the country’s biggest grower and supplier of poinsettias, is about to introduce a whole new hybrid of poinsettias in the market. They are the Winter Rose Family, Jester Red and Jester Jingle Bells and Strawberries `N Cream.

The Winter Rose family comes in the colors dark red, deep pink, pink, marble and white. It has unique incurved bracts, green incurved leaves, easily adaptable to most product forms and exceptional shelf-life. The jester red and jester jingle bells proves true to its “The Name Speaks for the Habit” tagline. It has an upright habit; bracts open and expand as they mature. It also has dark green leaves, outstanding post production characteristics and is a novel presentation on its own. If you want something compact yet unique, then the strawberries `n cream variant is for you. It has a distinct cream and dark pink color combination, unique serrated leaves and bracts, excellent post reduction characteristics and best of all, no growth regulators required. Truly there is “nothing else like it!”

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Posted on December 4th, 2008 under Ornamental, Special Report. Tags: Christmas, Flowers, Poinsettia, Xmas. Comments: None