Flower India’s packing facility in Kannammoola is in full bloom, early on a consignment day. Tubs of heliconias in crimson, red and yellow vie for space with orchids in a riot of colours, while other pots brim with huge pink torch gingers, ornamental pineapples and green foliage of different shapes and sizes. “Heliconias, torch gingers and the like are quite popular for huge flower arrangements put up in atriums of hotels, while the orchids are used for both large and small floral arrangements and the foliage is used as fillers,” explains Rahul Raveendran, proprietor, Flower India, as he supervises the packing of the flowers and leaves, in industry standard bunches [10 to a bunch] for the day’s shipment.
Across town, at Seaside Orchid Farm in the coastal village of Puthenthope, a sea of vermilion-hued Aranthera Anne Black orchids and ruby red Teacher Juling orchids are being harvested, along with several other equally colourful terrestrial orchids. “I send an average of 5,000 flowers on a weekly basis to flower shops and dealers in the metros. I’ve also recently re-started exporting orchids to Dubai,” says Vinu Karthikeyan of Seaside Farms.
Wake up and smell the flowers. Over the past few years, the city has become a hub for ornamental flowers, particularly well-known for its terrestrial orchids (those that grow on the ground) and heliconias, most of which often get pride of place in flower arrangements around the country.
“The area’s popularity as a floriculture centre has got a lot to do with its tropical climate, given its proximity to the sea on one side and mountains on the other. The humidity in the air is just right for terrestrial orchid cultivation, allowing us to grow long-stemmed flowers packed with inflorescence – a prized quality that makes them ideal for floral arrangements,” explains Vinu.
Most of the area on his farm is dedicated to the cultivation of Anne Black, while heliconias (some 25 varieties) and several other varieties of orchids (some of them rare), add colour to the rest of the farm. “We’re in the process of increasing the acreage of Teacher Julings and hope to be the numero uno grower of the variety in the state in five years,” adds the journalist-turned-floriculturalist. who was awarded the Udyana Shreshta Award of the Government of Kerala in 2013.
Madhu Shankar of Lalith Flora, who runs a five-acre flower farm in Navaikulam, suggests it may also have something to do with the slight saline content in the air in the area, the right elevation and the never-too-blustery nature of the see breeze. “They give the Travancore belt a slight advantage, which in turn gives an edge to the quality of flowers. Luckily for us, all these factors meld together perfectly right here,” says Madhu, who turned to floriculture out of “passion” and has now been in the business for 12 years.
Anil Kumar S. of Sowbhagya Orchids, another big player in the field, believes that the infrastructure in the city works to its advantage as a flower hub. “Even if you have 500 acres of flowers, if it’s not logistically possible to ship the flowers out as soon as they are cut, sorted, checked and graded, may not make sense to grow the flowers commercially. Thankfully, the city is well connected by air, rail and road to all the metros and even West Asia – the biggest market outside of the domestic one – is just a short and relatively cheap cargo flight away,” elaborates Anil. An agriculture graduate and orchid enthusiast-turned-cultivator, Anil too grows everybody’s favourite Anne Blacks, several varieties of Mokara orchids and a whole lot of other plants on his five-acre farm near Thuckalay. “Anne Black is a sun-loving orchid that does not require much of special attention, other than through watering, which maybe why it’s so popular with growers. Another reason is that it’s a planting material that’s the most easily available and it’s easy to multiply too,” explains Anil. The sorting and packaging of Anil’s cut flowers happens in a workspace attached to his home in Nalanchira, with consignments going out every couple of days.
The season for flowers is from October-November to February- March. “There’s a dip during Lent and then it will get a bit of a fillip when the wedding season picks up again until June or so when the monsoons set in,” says Anil.
And as with any form of farming these days, floriculture is no bed of roses. That doesn’t mean the industry will go pear shaped even before it picks up steam. Explains Madhu: “The Indian economy is growing and with it the spending capacity. There is a place for flowers in it too. In the West everything is said with flowers – weddings, funerals, relationships, greetings… The trend’s picking up here as well. It really is the right time to blossom in the field of floriculture.”
