A Rose is a Rose

When we hiked up a hill behind our hacienda a few days ago, we could see the translucent white greenhouses of rose plantations stretching for miles and miles across the countryside. Today, we had a different view. A quick walk from our hacienda took us to a medium-sized plantation, where about 200 people work year-round. In preparation for Valentine's Day, however, 200 additional temporary workers have been hired, and workers were busy in the processing plant washing, stripping leaves and thorns, and classifying roses - up to 80,000 a day during such a peak period (usually the plant ships 40,000 roses a day). Xavier, the director of processing quality for the plantation and our guide (and also a balladier! He has a youtube video), explained the cultivation, harvesting, and post-harvest processing for the roses. He led us around the processing plant and many of the greenhouses, answering all of the excellent questions the girls posed. We learned that the organic roses take 8 days to get from the plant to the clients, that Russians (the largest market, along with Americans) prefer longer stems and larger buds than Americans do, that an entry-level worker makes approximately $292 per month for a forty-hour work week, and that the hot new flower in American markets is a whitish green rose that will be in florist shops in six to eight months. Xavier plucked a rose for us right off the bush, and the scent was overwhelming and delicious - much stronger than the roses in a florist shop. But since tomorrow is the last day to send roses for Valentine's Day to the US, maybe one of you will receive a sweet-smelling rose that came from the plantation we visited today.
With love and roses,
Allegra