Lotus at the market

[Cedric]

Lotus and water lilies sold as cut flowers at the market. Sorry about the quality i was using my cell phone, and yes it was pouring with rain. Buckets and buckets of water lilies in pink white and various shades of blue and purple, Lotus in giant doubles (zillion petal style) like the buds at top and more elegant ones like the single bellow, all in white red and lilac pink variations. They also had plants for most of the flowers on sale at about ten us$.

[Sunbeam56]

Do they do well cut? I've sort of imagined that they would wilt quickly...
Some of the blooms - like Colorata, don't last more than a day or two.

How do you keep them hydrated?
What kind of a vase? A bowl?

This is interesting!

[Timgod]

If you cut them early on the 1st day bloom, put them in water in the house just like any other cut flower.
They need to still have full sunlight for the opening and closing cycle.
With the AC temps in a house they will last the normal 3 days usually and sometimes due to the cold temps indoors will open a 4th day or just not close on the 3rd.
Remember at that point they are drawing no energy from the plant so they starve and sometimes cannot muster the energy to close.

Tim

[miguynmkoi]

Those pics bring lots of fond memories for me!  I love the flower variety available in Hong Kong!  When I visit the In-Laws its like candy land for me.  Now they're ready with vases and bowls for instant garden in their home.    I like to go through the flower stands myself to enjoy looking, marveling, and purchasing cut flowers. 

If only I could get some of the wonderful plants I find all over the world home with me. 

[Julles]

Who buys these flowers, at $10 a pop?  Forgive me for being naive, and a little stereotypical, but I thought most folks in China were working hard just to put food on the table, and not having lots of discretionary income.  Heck, I'm here in the U.S. and I wouldn't be spending $10 on something that would last only 3 days.

Who's the market for these flowers?

[Chevy Girl]

Sorry to just jump in here, But if I am not mistaken, it was the plants that make the flowers that were $10.00.

.

[Cedric]

Yes absolutely not the cut flowers for ten$ the plants themselves were going for ten dollars. Large plants with flowers and buds. The lotus are huge I could hardly get one into the back of my 4x4, even though pot size is always nice and little because they use clay soil. These are cheap cut flowers because they are local, there are many more expensive flowers like protea and heliconias and peonies etc, those can go for at least ten dollars or more US per bloom.

Besides, Hong Kong has the one of the highest number of dollar millionaires per % of the population in the world, so all in all extremely cheap for all concerned. Mainland China too has an enormous market of extreme wealthy people, they buy many apartments here, five million US and up for a decent apartment (nothing extraordinary) here is almost the norm, for that you wont even get more than three bedrooms, sometimes not even a balcony.

Mainland China also has many more poor people, and local plants and flowers are much cheaper there, import ones very expensive.

Water lilies and lotus do well as a cut flower, just depends on the variety and freshness, same as in the pond. Mostly bought just for the rich perfume. With those big top heavy "football" size doubles (million petals as they are called) lotus they also fold back each petal into an interesting shape like a large rose, cut of the stem and float it in a bowl, they can last like that for up to a month. Very popular in hotels for table decoration etc.

[Sandye]

Very interesting, Cedric!  It must be nice to live in a place where waterlilies and lotus are sold cheaply as cut flowers.  Does it rain like this most of the time, or is this just the rainy season? 

[Cedric]

Yes Sanya this is our rainy season. Summer is wet wet wet, our road becomes a river, so we need a 4x4. We don't have a shower then it clears up we have a month or two of solid solid rain and it is heavy heavy rain. It's monsoon season so we will also get a few typhoons coming in just to make sure. Our driveway (about four miles long) becomes impassible as trees fall and mud slides crash through the forests. We are forever chaining and dragging trees to clear it this time of year.

Who would believe we live in Hong Kong? Most people think of it as a large city. But I tell you its a jungle out there.

[Julles]

Cedric, I would love to see some pictures of your city - in a new thread, perhaps?

Also, can you explain what those millionaires do to earn their mucho money?

I saw on HGTV a show where people were house-hunting in Hong Kong, and it was very interesting, the styles of homes, prices, what's available and what's not available over there.  I spent some time in Japan, and their home styles were very different, even those marketed to the "western ex-pat" community.

And, also, just out of nosy curiosity, who is "we?"  Do you have a family?  Or does "we" mean the people in your neighborhood community?

[Cedric]

"We" is the "royal" we ,meaning residents of HK. Apartments here are pretty standard it's where most people live. Kitchens are usually terribly small and where the maid lives in a small back room. Other than that much the same as any where except much smaller and most without a balcony or outside area. Demand always outstrips supply, so also always expensive. The government strictly controls land availability and owns most of it, so the price of units is further inflated this way.

Most people make their money on the stock exchange, in the finance sector, shipping, import export, real estate/development and retail sector. Tourism is also big, especially with mainland China now added to the guest list. Industry is less important these days as most have moved over the border where cheaper labour is to be found. Many international companies have head quarters here as the the legal system is better than China and more secure so they use HK as a base for doing business in China, this has spawned quite a large service sector too.

Hong Kong is a very lively city and very photogenic I will see what I can do. I haven't taken a picture of the city for ages, you don't after you have lived here for awhile.