LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET — Thanks to greenhouses, this province that was recently devastated by Tropical Storm “Pepeng” (international codename: Parma) has lots of flowers to spare for All Saints’ Day.

The farmers did not mind the expense—P200,000 to P300,000, depending on the area to be covered, according to Andy Colte, president of the Valley Cutflower Growers Association—when they built the greenhouses.

The structures saved their crop from the onslaught of Pepeng and ensured that roses, calla lilies and other flowers would be available in time for big purchases by retailers and wholesalers.

This week, it was the flower section of the public market in this capital town that caused heavy traffic. Farmers and traders did brisk business despite earlier fears that there would be a short supply due to Pepeng’s impact.

Sales have risen since Monday as flower deliveries kept coming, providing relief to traders who feared breaching their supply contracts when the typhoon damaged flower gardens.

Extra protection for blooms

Pepeng’s strong rains destroyed P9.67 million worth of flowers and P4.01 million worth of plastic nets and greenhouses, according to La Trinidad’s agriculture office.
But despite the damage, the flowers came.

Colte said the greenhouses and plastic nets indeed collapsed. But these gave the flowers extra protection from the wind and rain that accompanied Pepeng.

“There are many flowers now. We can buy a lot to remember our loved ones by on Nov. 1,” Colte said.

On Thursday, three days before Filipinos traditionally remember their dead, calla lilies sold for P20 a bundle; asters P25-P30 a bundle; roses P200 to P250 a bundle; Malaysian mums P120 a dozen; anthuriums P80 a dozen; chrysanthemums P80 a dozen; and gladioli P25 a dozen.

Maximina Gadgad, president of the La Trinidad Cutflower Trading Post Association, said the group’s more than 30 members were afraid they would earn nothing this season after Pepeng.

“The peak demand for roses is usually from Oct. 25 to Nov 1. This is the time we would earn a lot. But we were worried that the typhoon took away all our chances,” she said.

Gadgad said the flowers had to be harvested from Oct. 21 to 25 to allow for time for trimming and packing.

‘Our saviors’

Not everyone is happy, however.

Farmer Vilma Torio said her greenhouse in Barangay Shilan was leveled by Pepeng.

She said she was almost reduced to tears when she discovered that she had no flowers to harvest.

Said another farmer: “Kasla karayan metten ti garden mi ti sabong (Our flower gardens are now like rivers).”

Municipal agriculture officer Felicitas Ticbaen earlier shared the bleak forecast of a shortage of flowers.

She said most of the plants were in their flowering stage when the rains hit.

But as it turned out, many flower farms were saved by the greenhouses.

Said Colte: “With the changes in weather, the greenhouses served as our saviors. They may have been destroyed but they protected our flowers from being blown away.”

Adapting technology

In earlier times, flowers were planted like vegetables, open to the elements.

But the flower farmers had to adapt and use the available technology, Colte said.

He said the farmers did not want to use greenhouses at first, but eventually learned that these structures served to protect flowers not only from wind and rain but also from pests.

In the end, the farmers had no option but to build their own greenhouses. The move cut a lot of their farm costs, Colte said.

La Trinidad remains the flower capital of the Philippines. In 2008, the town’s 3,432 farmers produced 19.98 million dozen cutflowers.