Lily cultivation brings Cheng Shirong a flower of prosperity
Lilies are elegant and delicately fragrant, unassuming yet enchanting. It is precisely for this reason that people in the East like to give lily flowers as gifts to their loved ones. Unexpectedly, Cheng Shirong, a young farmer in Jiulong Town, Yingde City, has also taken up growing large fields of Oriental lilies. Today, his 70 mu of Oriental lilies have been almost completely ordered out, and his estimated annual net income could reach 4 million yuan.
Transforming his career to start a business, growing lilies in rice paddies
At the end of November, the author came to Tangdu Village, Shijiao Village Committee, Jiulong Town. Rows of black shade sheds came into view over the flower fields, and inside the sheds lush Oriental lilies were neatly arranged, their branches covered with pale green buds, while more than 10 workers were using plastic string to tie the flower stems one by one. "Oriental lily buds are relatively large, so they must be tied up with string. This way they will grow upward and will not droop because the buds are too heavy, which would affect the beauty of the flower shape," Cheng Shirong explained when he saw the author's confusion.
Cheng Shirong, 40 years old this year, is a local of Jiulong. Previously he spent 10 years in Shaoguan growing loofah and muskmelon, and after years of hard work he had earned some money. In the past two years he returned to his hometown, and it pained him greatly to see mu after mu of good farmland and mountain land wasted because of the ravages of citrus huanglongbing. So he decided to return to Jiulong Town to start a business for the second time.
A friend recommended growing lilies to him. After a series of preliminary investigations, Cheng Shirong determined that Jiulong Town was suitable for growing Oriental lilies. "The flower is like the person. Lilies are very delicate and have high requirements for climate, temperature and water quality. If the ecological environment is not good, the lily flower shape will be poor and they may even develop disease." Pointing to the vibrant lily field, Cheng Shirong said that 16°C-25°C is most suitable for lily growth, and Jiulong Town has a suitable temperature difference between day and night. Other places usually grow two seasons a year, but in Jiulong three seasons a year are possible.
As a result, Cheng Shirong partnered with the above-mentioned friend to start growing Oriental lilies in Jiulong Town. In July this year, more than 500,000 lily bulbs imported from the Netherlands, Japan and other places were successfully planted in the soil, and his "Gaoshan Shengshi Lily Base" officially began operating.
Cheng Shirong told the author that he rented 70 mu of land from Tangdu Village at 380 yuan/mu and also built 3 cold storage rooms totaling 160 sq m, with a total investment of more than 5.4 million yuan. "The sugar orange trees on this land were all infected with citrus huanglongbing, and many farmers simply stopped caring for them, so we also spent a lot of effort cutting down trees to clear and level the land."
A bright future, with strong lily sales
The lush lily fields make visitors linger, and for the flower growers, what makes them happiest is still the "as beautiful as brocade" prospects of these flowers.
Cheng Shirong told the author that he and his friend split the work, with one responsible for growing and the other for sales, cooperating with perfect understanding. "One of us handles the inside work and the other handles the outside work. I focus on growing high-quality flowers. He has a shop in Fangcun, Guangzhou, often brings some merchants to the flower field to look, and also sells through the internet." Cheng Shirong said that growing lilies has high returns and broad market prospects. Bulbs cost 2-5 yuan each to buy in, and they sell for about 10 yuan. Demand is even greater during the Spring Festival, when they can sell for 25-30 yuan per plant as a New Year flower.
"Under normal circumstances, Oriental lilies can be picked and sold 70 days after planting. After the buds mature, they must be sold within more than 20 days, but after one season is sold out, the bulbs must be dug out of the soil and put into cold storage to dormancy for 145-150 days, and after they sprout they are taken out and replanted." Cheng Shirong said that because the lily stems and buds he grows are beautiful in shape, sales are very optimistic. At present, among the more than 500,000 lilies, those that can be sold have long been fully booked, all sold to the Pearl River Delta, with some also exported to Southeast Asia and other places. The remaining more than 300,000 will be sold around the Spring Festival. According to preliminary estimates, annual net income can reach 4 million yuan.
Although the investment is large and the risk is high, such considerable returns make Cheng Shirong very excited, and the current good market prospects make him full of confidence. In order to expand the scale of development and strengthen management, he hired more than 20 workers from the local area, and next he also plans to expand planting by about 200 mu in surrounding villages.