In the spring, one of the largest flower farms in the Alytus district is in full swing. There is no time to breathe. And so year after year for the 33rd year at the farm founded by Algimantas Žemaitis in Punia. During this time, a new generation grew up in the family business – all five children of Algimantas Žemaitis are involved in floriculture businesses. Son Eimantas helps his father firmly hold the helm of the business. He is interested in the latest fashion trends in floriculture and brings them to the farm in the Alytus district from world exhibitions. Some of the flower varieties available in Žemaica surprise even the most florist gurus – the Dutch.
Love for flowers – from childhood
“I have been in this business since childhood. I have been growing flowers since I was 6 years old, because I have always liked them for as long as I can remember. For a while, I even collected cacti,” said Eimantas.
Helping his parents in the flower farm was never difficult for Eimant, because it was always his hobby. According to the man, nothing has changed even now:
“I wake up and go to bed with the flowers,” he jokes, adding that spring is probably his favorite time of year, and he’s always sad in the fall, when all the flowers are ready for hibernation.
The crisis of the economy dating back to the age of Christ did not break
The love for flowers and the hobby related to them does not stop even when unfavorable economic laws arise, crises hit, which severely affect business.
And there were many such situations, unsuccessful decisions, as in every business. For example, the poinsettia plantations at the farm once attracted many visitors before Christmas. Unfortunately, they had to be abandoned because it became too expensive to grow these flowers.
It is the long-term experience of the founder of the farm, A. Žemaitis, that allows this floriculture business, which has been operating in the Alytus region for more than three decades, to withstand all the adversities that were exacerbated by the pandemic, then the war that started in Ukraine, which affected the jumps in oil and electricity prices.
One of the biggest challenges for the floriculture farm operating in the area was when gas prices jumped to unprecedented heights and bills for heating the farm increased tenfold. Unfortunately, you can’t make flowers ten times more expensive.
“It was really a difficult moment. We regularly paid 20 thousand for heating. euros per month, and suddenly the bill increases to 200 thousand. euros. Then we had to drastically save heat and slightly raise the prices of flowers. Finally, this period has already passed”, says E. Žemaitis.
He assured that the prices of flowers this year are the same as last year, but next year they will definitely be more expensive.
Despite the difficulties experienced in the past, over 40 employees are constantly working at the Žemaičiai farm, and during the active season, their ranks increase by another ten.
Fashion – and in the world of flowers
It turns out that fashions also exist in the world of flowers. According to Eimantas, now the long-lost, ancient flowers of grandmothers are coming back – pilaris, geraniums, buttercups, primroses.
Eimantas brings the latest fashion trends in the world of flowers from various international and global exhibitions.
“Recently, exhibitions are not really surprising with innovations. Maybe I would dare to say that we have something to surprise the same Dutch people from whom we buy seedlings, because when they come to us, they see some varieties of flowers for the first time”, assures Eimantas.
By the way, an interesting fact is that it usually takes twenty years for newly bred flower varieties to spread on the market!
Floriculture entrepreneurs in the family – the third generation
When asked if the popular folk saying that a cobbler is always without shoes also applies to entrepreneurs in the floriculture industry, Eimantas smiled:
“I’m just going to start landscaping around the house, because my family and I moved into our new house not so long ago.”
Eimantas is happy with the fourth offspring born half a year ago. Do the little ones already have a penchant for flowers? The man smiles again and shrugs:
“We’ll see where they turn, but yes, they like flowers now too.” Everyone likes flowers.”
If your business operating in the Alytus district, the products it creates, the services it provides have been evaluated by national and international evaluations, make the Alytus district famous or simply successfully establish themselves in the national and international segments, we invite you to contact the Communication Department of the Alytus District Municipality Administration by e-mail. e-mail komunikacija@arsa.lt and tell the residents, guests, and tourists of our region about it. Maybe your success story will inspire someone to create their own business.
Information from the Communication Department of the Alytus District Municipality Administration
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– 2024-03-29 19:25:13
