Bougainvilleas Becoming The New Trend?

THE HORTICULTURE INDUSTRY, especially ornamental plants for landscaping and other purposes, can provide excellent income opportunities for small time operators as well as the bigger operators. It is one business that offers inclusive growth.

- Zac B. Sarian

In the plant business, growers who take note of trends are often the most successful ones. But trends come and go. In the decades of the 50s and 60s, we remember gardeners were crazy about collecting bougainvilleas. The late Luisa Perez-Rubio of the Makati Garden Club was the acknowledged bougainvillea queen with her large collection in her paint company’s compound in Cainta, Rizal.

In the mid-60s when the Los Baños garden show was launched, the most coveted variety then was the Mary Palmer which sported branches, each with different colors. One branch may have pure white flowers, while another will have pure red flowers. A third could have a combination of red and white flowers.

There was also the trend in using Red Palm in home gardens because it was deemed to bring good luck. We remember the owner of a Toyota franchise offering to exchange one of his top cars with the big Red Palm in front of Dr. Dioscoro Umali’s home. The good dean did not accept the offer, however. The succeeding trends included the Aglaonema craze, bromeliads, ferns, palms and cycads, the Euphorbia craze, and recently, the sunflower craze.