South America 2026

Visited a rose farm -- amazing!
Ecuador exported 390 tons of roses to the US this past valentine's Day. That was 1/3 of the annual exports!
It can be only 3 days from when a rose is cut to it landing on someone's desk in another country:
Day 1 - am: roses are cut; pm: they're sorted & packed; eve: they're placed in a refrigerated space.
Day 2 - am: they're flown to Miami for the US & Canadian markets, distributed to stores.
Day 3- purchased & gifted.
Ecuador's cut roses last up to 3 weeks. Their uniqueness is their long, straight stems & lack of scent -- the latter was a genetic modification to prevent insects (who are attracted to flowers by smell) from destroying them. Oftentimes the scent from 'scented' roses are sprayed onto the cut roses to satisfy the customer's expectant nose.Leia mais