Market for Bogotá’s flowers set to bloom

If you buy flowers in the US on St Valentine’s Day next February 14, there is a high probability they came from the surroundings of Bogotá. In the green savannah-like valley, flower greenhouses are a common sight.

On a recent visit one rainy afternoon to Flores el Aljibe, a business that sells bouquets of carnations and roses to retailers in the US, including Walmart, Publix and Costco, workers were busy cutting stems.

“The 90-day growing period until the bud blooms in time for St Valentine’s Day is starting,” says Felipe Celi, the farm’s general manager. “We need to get the flowers ready by then because that week in February amounts for 40 per cent of annual sales — a good Valentine’s defines a good year.”

Mother's Day is also an important sales focus.

Once the flowers have bloomed, Mr Celi’s 350 employees will pick, wash and pack them, before they are refrigerated for export by air, mostly to Florida and California.

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