DILIMAN, Quezon City—Cutflower remains to be a blooming industry in Benguet and several factors play into the local farmers’ secret to success.

A peek into this secret is what experts from Benguet State University (BSU) offered to around 200 city and rural folks who joined the Free Seminar on Cutflower Production and Flower Arrangement. Among them is Joy Cabales, 34, from Bulacan.

“Growing cutflowers seems hard since a lot of things need to be considered. Finding the perfect site, for one, can be a little challenging. Nevertheless, I plan to convince my father to revive our small cutflower production area,” said Cabales, an information technology professional.

Site selection was among the major points discussed by BSU College of Agriculture assistant professor and expert horticulturist, Leila Mary Bolinto Alipio Ayban. Other general guidelines she talked about were on the method of propagation, varieties, irrigation, and wind. “

In growing cutflowers, you need a steady and reliable supply of water,” she said.

Ayban touched on the two categories of cutflowers: the fresh ones, which include rose, carnations, orchid, and the non-fresh or the preserved flowers and foliage. She then talked about the guidelines in growing anthurium, chrysanthemum, roses, and alstroemeria, particularly the climate and soil requirement, propagation, planting procedures, fertilizer requirement, and the like.

“Anthuriums are best for planting in the urban setting. It also has long shelf life,” Ayban noted.

For the value-adding component, BSU instructor and floriculturist Alma Amado demonstrated the different types of flower arrangements using the cutflowers discussed and others like the Bird of Paradise and Bells of Ireland. These types include the basic (round), vertical, horizontal, triangular arrangements, among others.

“In any flower arrangement, you need to consider the combination of the colors. And don’t be in a rush when arranging flowers,” she told the participants during the demonstration.

By the end of the seminar, 65-year-old Nilo Villanueva from Quezon City thanked the resource persons for sharing their expertise, “All of us will benefit from the new knowledge we gained. With this, we can be not just consumers, but also distributors.”

This free seminar was organized by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) to offer the public new entrepreneurial ideas, especially with the high demand for cutflowers during Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and All Saints’ Day. It was held on October 12, 2018 at the ATI Rural Development and Education Center in this city.