Don José Luis Rodríguez Collazo lives surrounded by thousands of flowers that he has been cultivating for nearly 33 years when he became a flower grower, due to his love for ornamental plants.
Without knowing it, he began to search for Easter in Aibonite to resell them in San Juanuntil he dared to produce them in a small ranch that he built in his house, located in the El Cerro sector of the Asomante neighborhood.
That is how Jardín El Cerro arose, a space of two acres of land in which it grows about thirty varieties of flowers, among them, trinitarias, pascuillas, crowns of Christ, orchids, poppies, miramelindas, beach flowers, begonias, among others. .
In a colorful setting, Rodríguez Collazo, 62, welcomes visitors with a huge smile, “because here I am happy and, for me, this is therapy.”
“I started with Easter, which was my first love; They are one of the most difficult plants to grow because they are delicate. We continue to evolve, we started with a small ranch, then we continue to grow in the industry by making other structures,” said the man born in Santurce.
He highlighted that his market is concentrated in two times of the year: the Flower Festival and Christmas, in summer and December, respectively.
1/9 | El Cerro Garden: a colorful space that houses thousands of flowers. Jardín El Cerro is a space of two acres of land in which about thirty varieties of flowers are grown. – Isabel Ferre Sadurni
“There may be approximately 25,000 plants here. Productions are worked on for two seasons, but they work all year round. “There are some that are indoors and others that are outdoors,” stated about the business founded in 1991.
Regarding Easter, he highlighted that, “we received the cuttings from Florida in the United States at the beginning of the year and we developed them here; We keep taking out little pieces and we keep multiplying. They are placed in oases and continue developing until August or September, which is the time to plant all the production.”
“Then they are given the necessary pinches and from there we let them develop until the end of October, because when the days get short, Easter begins to take on natural color. From there, they are marketed between November and December. “It takes 10 months of production,” he explained.
At the end of the Easter production, the flower grower works with “the flower plants for the Flower Festival, in baskets and different varieties of plants. They also come from Florida in the form of cuttings, they already come with roots.”
“We transplant them into 5 and 6-inch pots, and those that grow larger, like hydrangeas, are planted in 8-inch pots so they have a little more space,” he said, highlighting that the operation generates three jobs. direct.
According to Don José, Aibonito is the ideal place for this type of cultivation due to its “cool climate.”
“Everyone (flower growers) does not produce the same thing. The poppy always attracts attention and people look for them because there are different varieties of flowers and there are those who collect them. This for me is therapy,” she concluded.
For details: 787-205-5837.
Flower Festival
Don José is one of 25 flower growers who maintain their operation in the so-called ‘Garden of Puerto Rico’ where the Flower Festival has been celebrated for more than half a century.
According to Cynthia López Cardenales, president of the Board of Directors of Festival de las Flores, Inc., the traditional event began with the creation of a gardening club by the Agricultural Extension Service.
“They created a gardening club and the first flower festival, which was held in the Botanical Garden of Río Piedras in 1957. From there, they saw that there was a very strong gap in being able to celebrate events in our town and not have to take them. far away, nor take the plants out of here,” he recalled.
The first Festival on Aibonite soil was held at the Ulrich House in 1969, “with the full help and support of the Agricultural Extension Service.”
Although at first this event was held for three or four days, its popularity caused it to be “increased to 10 days of celebration, as it continues today.”
“Annually, between 30 to 34 flower growers participate. We have 54 spaces for sale, but some are single, others are double and all of them create their exhibition gardens, which are awarded by the Agricultural Extension Service, which still collaborates in terms of awards for exhibition gardens and educational talks. , he mentioned.
Likewise, he highlighted that, “in the past, an average of flower growers were obtained, 18 from Aibonito, the rest are from towns such as Mayagüez, Las Marías, San Juan, Las Piedras, Gurabo, Caguas, among other municipalities that come here to sell their products.”
“In Aibonito there are about 25 flower growers; in the past we had more than 30 because many have retired and have not been lucky enough to have family members who continue their legacy,” he confessed, highlighting that, “among the gardens that participate are find: Emanuelli, La Jalda, El Nuevo Rancho, Collazo Plants, which is the only one that has bonsai, and La Ceiba, among others”.
On the other hand, López Cardenales assured that they are already preparing for the 54th edition of the massive activity that will take place from June 28 to July 7 on the Festival grounds located at kilometer 6.6 of the PR-722 highway.
This space, according to the property manager, “remains operating all year round as it is rented for different private events. For this reason, the operation generates six direct jobs,” and about 120 seasonal workers who work directly with the main event.
For details: 787-735-4070.
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