BENGALURU: The Republic Day flower show is set to begin Thursday at Lalbagh, enthralling lakhs of visitors. It is the product of gardeners and horticulture department officials putting in month-long efforts to ensure that the changing weather, pests, and plant diseases posed no threat to the spectacle.
In a fresh challenge ahead of the R-Day flower show, officials lost close to 2,000 marigold flower pots to rodent attacks and a few hundred witnessed overgrowth.Despite the losses, officials are confident the flower show will be at its colourful best when it begins. The show is themed ‘Vishwaguru Basavanna and Vachana Literature’.
Sources in the horticulture department told TOI the department gardeners had raised more than 3,000 pots of marigold flower plant for various decorations at their nursery in Lalbagh. Of these, close to 2,000 were destroyed by rats and squirrels.
“The moment plants begin to bud, rats and squirrels attack marigold. They don’t eat any other plants, only marigolds because of their sweet, soft sap. They nibble away at the buds and flowers, affecting the growth of the plants. Due to this, plants look stunted with hindered growth,” explained M Jagadeesh, joint director of horticulture.
To prevent such rodent attacks, the gardeners experimented with multiple repellents, both organic and inorganic. But nothing could blunt the impact. “We tried tablet, paste and powder repellents. But nothing controlled the damage. While rodents attack at night, squirrels invade the flowers during the day. It is impossible to guard flowers in the outdoor conditions,” said a gardener.
Wherever there is a shortfall, the officials have managed to source a similar number of marigolds from private nurseries.
Similarly, the gardeners had difficulties in raising chrysanthemums at the nurseries because of the fluctuation in heat sensitivity. “Chrysanthemum requires maximum duration of light conditions and it is impossible to maintain such bright conditions inside our nurseries. The private nurseries induce artificial lighting and ensure the timely bloom of chrysanthemum. Hence, we’ve got 4,000 pots of chrysanthemum from outside nurseries. This apart, special chrysanthemum (yellow, white) has been brought from Kolkata,” another official clarified.
Toothpicks to stabilise flowers
The replica of Anubhava Mantapa, which is under construction at Basavakalyan in Bidar district, is being created at the flower show this time. It is the tallest floral structure ever installed inside the Glass House of Lalbagh, according to G Kusuma, deputy director of horticulture.
“The width of the central aisle inside the Glass House is 40ft. The mantap sits on a 36-ft-wide space with a height of 34ft. It is covered with close to 5 lakh flowers, including roses, chrysanthemum and Gomphrena globose (globe amaranth),” explained DS Ramesh, director, horticulture department.
While the roses and chrysanthemums are easier to stabilise against floral foams, it was tough to attach globe amaranth flowers to the foam. “The labourers used more than 2.5 lakh wooden toothpicks to attach the dark pink (magenta) coloured flowers on top of the mantap, resembling a linga,” said Satyapal Aggarwal of Sneelu Flowers, who is supervising the decoration. Similarly, a replica of the historic ‘Aikya Mantap’ at Kudalasangama has also been recreated with 3.5 lakh roses and chrysanthemums. Hybrid varieties of imported orchids from Europe and Canada will decorate the statue of Basavanna.
Sri Bhagyalakshmi Flowers has also put up a floral structure of ‘Ishta Linga’ with 10 different varieties of flowers and plants.
In a fresh challenge ahead of the R-Day flower show, officials lost close to 2,000 marigold flower pots to rodent attacks and a few hundred witnessed overgrowth.Despite the losses, officials are confident the flower show will be at its colourful best when it begins. The show is themed ‘Vishwaguru Basavanna and Vachana Literature’.
Sources in the horticulture department told TOI the department gardeners had raised more than 3,000 pots of marigold flower plant for various decorations at their nursery in Lalbagh. Of these, close to 2,000 were destroyed by rats and squirrels.
“The moment plants begin to bud, rats and squirrels attack marigold. They don’t eat any other plants, only marigolds because of their sweet, soft sap. They nibble away at the buds and flowers, affecting the growth of the plants. Due to this, plants look stunted with hindered growth,” explained M Jagadeesh, joint director of horticulture.
To prevent such rodent attacks, the gardeners experimented with multiple repellents, both organic and inorganic. But nothing could blunt the impact. “We tried tablet, paste and powder repellents. But nothing controlled the damage. While rodents attack at night, squirrels invade the flowers during the day. It is impossible to guard flowers in the outdoor conditions,” said a gardener.
Wherever there is a shortfall, the officials have managed to source a similar number of marigolds from private nurseries.
Similarly, the gardeners had difficulties in raising chrysanthemums at the nurseries because of the fluctuation in heat sensitivity. “Chrysanthemum requires maximum duration of light conditions and it is impossible to maintain such bright conditions inside our nurseries. The private nurseries induce artificial lighting and ensure the timely bloom of chrysanthemum. Hence, we’ve got 4,000 pots of chrysanthemum from outside nurseries. This apart, special chrysanthemum (yellow, white) has been brought from Kolkata,” another official clarified.
Toothpicks to stabilise flowers
The replica of Anubhava Mantapa, which is under construction at Basavakalyan in Bidar district, is being created at the flower show this time. It is the tallest floral structure ever installed inside the Glass House of Lalbagh, according to G Kusuma, deputy director of horticulture.
“The width of the central aisle inside the Glass House is 40ft. The mantap sits on a 36-ft-wide space with a height of 34ft. It is covered with close to 5 lakh flowers, including roses, chrysanthemum and Gomphrena globose (globe amaranth),” explained DS Ramesh, director, horticulture department.
While the roses and chrysanthemums are easier to stabilise against floral foams, it was tough to attach globe amaranth flowers to the foam. “The labourers used more than 2.5 lakh wooden toothpicks to attach the dark pink (magenta) coloured flowers on top of the mantap, resembling a linga,” said Satyapal Aggarwal of Sneelu Flowers, who is supervising the decoration. Similarly, a replica of the historic ‘Aikya Mantap’ at Kudalasangama has also been recreated with 3.5 lakh roses and chrysanthemums. Hybrid varieties of imported orchids from Europe and Canada will decorate the statue of Basavanna.
Sri Bhagyalakshmi Flowers has also put up a floral structure of ‘Ishta Linga’ with 10 different varieties of flowers and plants.