Sikkim to host international flower show next month

Flower growers from Australia, New Zealand, Holland, the US, Taiwan, Nepal and Thailand along with farmers from Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and seven northeast states will participate in the five-day exhibition beginning February 23.

Sikkim horticulture secretary S Pradhan said the show is being organised to promote floriculture marketing, buyers and sellers meetings between Indian and foreign floriculturists.

The theme of the flower show is 'Sikkim, nature's own garden' while the 'cymbidium orchid' will be the theme flower during the flower show to be held near Gangtok.

Exotic varieties of nearly 4,500 species of flowers, native to Sikkim, will be showcased before the national and international audience.

The Northeast state is home to around 5,000 species of flowering plants, 515 rare orchids, 60 primula species, 36 rhododendron species, 11 oak varieties, 23 bamboo varieties, 16 conifer species, 362 types of ferns and ferns allies, eight tree ferns, and over 424 medicinal plants.

Nearly 81 per cent area of Sikkim comes under the administration of its forest department which is highest in the country.

Pradhan said Sikkim can meet the demands of domestic flowers market in the coming years by developing floriculture as a full fledged industry.