Jiangsu Huaihai Farm Develops Wild Aquatic Flower Planting Resources
Once inconspicuous wild weeds growing in ditches and fields, after artificial introduction, domestication and propagation at the Ailian Aquatic Flower Garden of Jiangsu Huaihai Farm, they have now become sought-after flowers for beautifying the environment and purifying water quality. In early October, the garden sold more than 100,000 artificially domesticated wild aquatic flowers, "softstem bulrush" (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani), to the land of Qilu, for use in local waterscape arrangements and water quality purification of rivers and lakes. By this point, Ailian Garden had sold more than 1 million softstem bulrushes and other domesticated wild flowers across the country this year.
In recent years, demand for aquatic flowers such as softstem bulrush, variegated giant reed (Arundo donax var. versicolor) and sweet flag (Acorus calamus) has been rising steadily. Ailian Garden seized the opportunity and used the abundant wild flower germplasm resources in the several thousand mu of water surface at Huaihai Farm for artificial domestication and propagation. They set aside a dedicated domestication and propagation zone within the garden and introduced wild aquatic flower seedlings into the garden for planting. After several years of introduction and propagation, the garden has now formed three wild flower series - softstem bulrush, variegated giant reed and sweet flag - with a total scale of more than 2 million plants.
Yancheng, Jiangsu: Huaihai Farm's Ailian Aquatic Flower Garden Tops 1 Million Yuan in Sales
In the first half of this year, sales revenue at the Ailian Aquatic Flower Garden of Huaihai Farm in Yancheng City, Jiangsu, reached 1.3 million yuan, a record high, and several hundred thousand lotus and water lilies were exported to Australia, Japan, South Korea, France and the Netherlands.
Li Jihou, owner of "Ailian Garden", was the greening director of the state-owned Huaihai Farm in Jiangsu before retiring. In 1991 he began growing aquatic plants in his own courtyard, and in 1998 he started an aquatic plant business. Starting from 2 mu of land, it has now grown to 160 mu. The garden contains more than 300 kinds of aquatic flowers, including lotus, water lily, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), variegated softstem bulrush, yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) and variegated giant reed, producing more than 500,000 aquatic flower tubers and stems of all kinds each year, with products sold to more than 10 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions nationwide, including Shanghai, Heilongjiang and Shandong.
Li Jihou said that in recent years, as attention to waterscape design in living environments and scenic areas has increased, demand for aquatic plants in the greening of parks, residential communities and streets has grown steadily. In terms of sales channels, "Ailian Garden" has flourished on many fronts, investing considerably each year in exhibitions and newspaper advertising, and has now also set up its own website.
When Li Jihou first started in aquatic plants, there were only about 10 such nurseries nationwide, all relatively small in scale. Now there are more than 100 nurseries nationwide dealing in aquatic plants, and production area has grown from a few hundred mu a few years ago to more than 10,000 mu today, with fierce competition, and some aquatic flower varieties already in oversupply. At present, the market demand ratio for lotus and water lilies is beginning to decline, while other aquatic plants are becoming widely accepted by the market, so Ailian Garden made an adjustment - lotus and water lily production now accounts for only 40%, while other aquatic plants account for 60%.
Ailian Garden Aquatic Flower Sales Top 1 Million
In the first half of this year, sales revenue at the Ailian Aquatic Flower Garden of Huaihai Farm in Yancheng City, Jiangsu, reached 1.3 million yuan, a record high, and several hundred thousand lotus and water lilies were exported to Australia, Japan, South Korea, France and the Netherlands.Li Jihou, owner of "Ailian Garden", was the greening director of the state-owned Huaihai Farm in Jiangsu before retiring. In 1991 he began growing aquatic plants in his own courtyard, and in 1998 he started an aquatic plant business. Starting from 2 mu of land, it has now grown to 160 mu. The garden contains more than 300 kinds of aquatic flowers, including lotus, water lily, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), variegated softstem bulrush, yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) and variegated giant reed, producing more than 500,000 aquatic flower tubers and stems of all kinds each year, with products sold to more than 10 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions nationwide, including Shanghai, Heilongjiang and Shandong.
Li Jihou said that in recent years, as attention to waterscape design in living environments and scenic areas has increased, demand for aquatic plants in the greening of parks, residential communities and streets has grown steadily. In terms of sales channels, "Ailian Garden" has flourished on many fronts, investing considerably each year in exhibitions and newspaper advertising, and has now also set up its own website.
When Li Jihou first started in aquatic plants, there were only about 10 such nurseries nationwide, all relatively small in scale. Now there are more than 100 nurseries nationwide dealing in aquatic plants, and production area has grown from a few hundred mu a few years ago to more than 10,000 mu today, with fierce competition, and some aquatic flower varieties already in oversupply. At present, the market demand ratio for lotus and water lilies is beginning to decline, while other aquatic plants are becoming widely accepted by the market, so Ailian Garden made an adjustment - lotus and water lily production now accounts for only 40%, while other aquatic plants account for 60%.