Flower shops in Armenia have entered the hot season: March 8th to April 7th the country celebrates women. Roses, tulips, freesias are produced locally, in their greenhouses. Roses are grown in the greenhouses all year round as they are in highest demand in the local market.
The greenhouse associates begin their working day early: roses need to be cut while there is still dew on the leaves and the buds have not opened. “We cut the flowers at the angle of 40-45 degrees with very sharp instruments in order not to harm the plant”, shares the associate of the greenhouse, Ms. Rusanna Petrosyan.
The greenhouse of 20 ha grows over 40 varieties of roses. Jumilia, White Naomi, and Red Nalomi are among the most favored ones. The growers carefully watch the conditions in the greenhouses: the temperature should not exceed +28C and the humidity should be within 80%.
“We import the seedlings from the Netherlands. They grow in hydroponics in stone wool substrate, which keeps the required moisture”, shares the grower, Ms. Diana Sayakyan.
It is more expensive to import roses to the country than to grow locally. Therefore, the flower growing business is going well. Even though the demand has rocketed in the hot month, the amount of work in the greenhouses has not increased, only the shipping speed has gone high. The growers produce enough flowers to meet the internal market demand. Only 20% of the produce is delivered to the local shops, the rest will be exported to Russia, Belarus and Georgia. The flowers are inspected carefully before the shipping, then they are sorted in accordance with the length and color and placed in lines so that the gentle petals remain intact.
Roses, tulips, freesias and ranunculi are the most popular flowers in the month of women. Florists are working overtime in this period, as the bouquets need to be assembled nonstop.
The month of women will last until April 7th, when the Armenian Church celebrates Annunciation. It is a tradition to congratulate mothers, wives and sisters within this period.