“I had to essentially throw the book away on growing roses”

Fausto Falconi sincerely believed his many years as an agronomist (soil and plant scientist) would have prepared him well for the challenges of starting his own organic farming and rose production business in Cayambe, Ecuador just North of the capital city of Quito. He was so wrong.

“I had to essentially throw the book away on growing roses,” Fausto revealed.”I really had to start from scratch when it came to growing organically.” Fresh Cut emerged from that beginning as one of the best organic rose growers in the world, a difficult task in the extreme, yet here they are doing what many have said could not be done: growing roses 98% free of normal chemical controls. Their goal is to be using 100% natural controls in the very near future.

The Ecuadorian flower grower community has long recognized the importance of only using approved chemical controls in their growing operations, minimizing their use, and taking great care to protect their workers from exposure to these chemicals. Why then go to so much trouble to grow roses without chemicals, when no one will be eating them?

…a leader in Organic Rose Production.

“We wanted to not only be a leader in quality roses, we also wanted to become a leader in the production of organic roses,” explained Fausto. “Taking care of human beings and nature comes hand in hand with the development and wellness of our main resource: people, which guarantees an optimum product with the highest productivity level.”

That decision to grow the best organic roses resulted in Fresh Cut literally having to start from the ground up, because they realized the first step toward their goal was with the growing medium, the material in which their roses would be grown. In other words, they believed in order to grow the finest roses, they had to start with the finest possible soil – soil in balance, as it occurs naturally in nearby forests.

It took years of trial and error to find which combinations of growing materials worked best. And that work is on-going. “Take this soil in your hand,” Fausto suggested. “Can you feel the life it contains?” I scooped up a handful of the nearly black growing medium and, having spent serious time in the garden, could understand why his roses loved this stuff.

Between the rows of rose plants, vegetation is literally composting before my eyes, much like would take place in a natural setting. And, these roses! Beautiful, intense colors and straight stems with healthy foliage which will be cut, bunched and then bathed in natural solutions to prevent molds and other things from damaging the flowers.

Fausto made his point once again: “Taking care of nature and human beings guarantees highly productive plants that produce these gorgeous, healthy roses.”

And it all starts with living soil.

Episode 3: The Road Less Traveled

Written by

Terry Johnson

PS: If you enjoyed this article, help spread the word by clicking the “Like,” “Tweet,” “+1” buttons or sharing it using the share icons below. Want to read more articles like this? Then Subscribe and get our articles sent directly to your inbox or RSS reader.

Related posts:

1. Ecuador Rose Grower Nurtures Flowers With Love
2. Valleflor: The Road Less Traveled
3. Organic Flowers: The Greener Way

I travel quite a lot. During flights from one city to another, invariably, a fellow passenger strikes up a conversation, which leads him or her to ask what business I’m in. When I say I’m in the floral industry, many times they ask, “Are you a florist?”

White Roses With Huge Blooms | Image: FlowerChat.com

No, I tell them; I’m involved in helping to improve the methods by which flowers are handled from farms to their arrival in markets in North America. Then I explain that most flowers sold here come from countries in South America. My fellow passengers are almost always surprised. “I had no idea” is a common reply.

Ecuador Rose Insider View: Greenrose Flower Farm

My most recent trip had an envious destination: Ecuador rose farms. I joined a small group of people who specialize in handling, importing and selling fresh flowers who were traveling to this South American country, a representative democratic republic bordered by Colombia to the north, Peru to the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. After a four-hour flight from Miami, we landed in Quito, the capital, at an elevation of 9,350 feet — the highest capital city in the world. Quito is positioned in the northern central part of the country.

Red Roses Freshly Harvested | Image: FlowerChat.com

First thing in the morning, we headed north from Quito toward the Cayambe flower-growing region, which gets its name from the very prominent Cayambe volcano. Permanently capped with snow, the volcano — at 15,387 feet — is the highest point in the world crossed by the equator and the only point on the equator with snow cover. The 60-mile drive took us over mountain passes with scarce vegetation down into fertile valleys with tree-lined roads. Many of the trees were eucalyptus, said to have been brought from Australia by an Ecuadorian president about 150 years ago.

As we approached the Ecuador rose farms, we were informed that the surrounding villages are growing and prosperous because of the flower-growing industry. The flower industry represents a major export of Ecuador, totaling about $680 million annually, which is nearly one-quarter of all agricultural exports. The flower business is also a sizable employer, especially of women, who make up more than half of all flower-industry workers.

Fresh Roses Ready for Shipping to Florists | Image: FlowerChat.com

Ecuador Rose Grower Has Heart

As we pulled into Greenroses’s organic growing facilities, it was obvious that it was as impressive as any flower farm I had ever seen. The setting, with the Cayambe volcano in the background, was truly spectacular.

We were greeted by the owner, Jose Javier Pallares, who explained that his farm was the best possible place to grow flowers in the world. “At 10,000 feet, there is the right kind of light, moderate temperatures and, most importantly, a great water supply from the mountains and the volcano,” he explained. He mentioned that he had a great view of the Cayambe Volcano from his office window. I made a mental note, remembering that I had a similarly great view of Mt. St. Helens from my office window in Portland, Ore., in 1980. It was quite a shock when it erupted and sent ash everywhere. Of course, the Cayambe Volcano’s last eruption was in 1786.

As with all of the Ecuador rose and flower farms today, worker’s well-being, their safety, the environment and the surrounding community are very important to Greenrose. Javier is noticeably proud of his workers (many of whom have been with the farm since its beginning 16 years ago) and of the gorgeous roses they produce. And why shouldn’t he be? Every rose is a natural jewel with full blossoms, straight stems and lush, dark-green foliage wrapped in beautiful, protective packaging for markets in North America and countries as far away as Russia.

Fresh Cut Roses Being Processed on Farm | Image: FlowerChat.com

And each carefully grown rose comes with a sincere message: From Cayambe with love to you.

Episode two: Roses from Living Soil.

Written by

Terry Johnson

PS: If you enjoyed this article, help spread the word by clicking the “Like,” “Tweet,” “+1” buttons or sharing it using the share icons below. Want to read more articles like this? Then Subscribe and get our articles sent directly to your inbox or RSS reader.

Related posts:

1. Roses from Living Soil
2. Flower Grower to Consumer in 24 hours: FloraHolland
3. Valleflor: The Road Less Traveled

Over to you Lyn…

My name is Lyn Hicks and I grow and design organic cut flowers in Pennsylvania, the eastern region of the USA. I specialize in Green Weddings and Events and am active in the Green Movement in my area. I am very excited to share my wisdom on organic flowers and hope to educate you on ways to enjoy nature’s wonderful gifts and how organic flowers and green choices can enhance your wellbeing!

We are currently in a transition period in our industry. Many large farms across the world are

Delightful Tulips

growing organically and organic flowers are readily available to us through many channels, including the internet. This higher quality product that was grown with the utmost care is the culmination of ethical floral design which provides us with a safer, healthier product for ourselves, our customers and the people who grow them. This is about wellness and making the most of our land. Grown with the intention to enhance its beauty throughout the entire process, is the essence of organic flowers. So wherever possible consider organic in your world and business.

Harmony Hill Gardens – Brief Background

Harmony Hill Gardens began organically growing field flowers to offer arrangements for events and

Organic Brides Bouquet

weddings as well as weekly flowers to businesses and homes. Bouquets with unusual accents and offerings, and whimsical designs inspired by nature are my specialty. I do not profess to be a designer of great flowers as many florists are. My expertise lies in using what’s available to me, I harvest what I grow and from there the flowers come together naturally for the celebrations they adorn. Many people, including florists grow their own selection of plants and flowers, so I will share some unique ideas and techniques with you in upcoming articles!

Organic Spring Flowers

Many beautiful flowers awaken in the Northeast from the snow cover.  Daffodils, tulips, Siberian irises, grape hyacinth, hellebores, snow drops and many others come to life soon after the snow. Spring flowers are effective in bunches by themselves, so the colors and intricate designs are

Wedding Cake with Wheat Grass Base

often showcased this way.  Using many different sized containers together on a table is the perfect design for the varying sizes and colors of these delightful flowers. Many are small, but don’t let this keep you from using them for this type of presentation. People love seeing them in displays because they are not the standard flowers in the industry. You can even grow wheatgrass in a container which is the perfect base for spring arrangements. The first colors of spring are purple and yellow, reminding us of the floral holidays around spring such as Easter and Mothers day, etc.

Spice up your displays using common flowers that are growing around you in your area and not always available through a wholesaler or florist. This will add variety, freshness and uniqueness to your designs that will set you apart from the other florists! Stay tuned for my next article on Green Weddings and Events so you may capitalize on this growing market.

If you enjoyed this article, please spread the word by clicking the “Like” button or sharing it using the share icons below. Want to read more articles like this? Then Subscribe to our Updates, and get our articles directly to your inbox or RSS reader.

Written by

Lyn Hicks
Harmony Hill Gardens

Related posts:

1. Ecuador Rose Grower Nurtures Flowers With Love
2. Roses from Living Soil
3. How to Make Sugar-Frosted Flowers