When Belizeans think of plants to brighten up their surroundings, one of the last things that might come to mind are miniature cacti. Well, that's exactly what the nursery called 96 Orchid Garden in Belmopan is known for, every variety from bulbous golden cacti to tiny flowering ones. Today we took a trip to Belmopan where we spoke to Mickey Cheng, the 29-year-old Taiwanese owner. He delighted in showing us all the strange and wonderful plants they had in stock:
Robin Schaffer reporting
Looking at 96 Orchid Garden from outside you might not expect a world of miniature wonder within. These miniature cacti are no bigger than an apple, and Mickey Cheng imports them from Taiwan where they are sometimes made into drinks, but here in Belize, they are primarily used for small gifts and decorations:
Mickey Cheng - owner
"These type of succulent cactus they are miniature; they are small. People tend to like those small things instead of having those big huge cactus."
"During Christmas time, during valentine's day, people buy them to give to their family, to their lovers, to their friends and sometimes we also decorate the cactus into an angel or into a cop or things like that and that attracts them."
Well, there are thousands of different cacti, but this garden has about 50. And while they may be known for miniature cactus arrangements, the company started out with orchids.
Mickey Cheng - owner
"When we start, we only start with orchids and later on with some of my friends, and my mom's friend, and we found out that the cactus was one of the - well she really like cactus, my mom who do all of those creative things."
These plants may seem easy enough to cultivate, but like everything else, it requires some patience and balance:
Mickey Cheng - owner
"Whenever the cactus or the succulent gets to a certain size it produces small ones, and from there we can produce and propagate them. And what we do is we prepare the soil and in a certain way we mix the sand, in a certain ratio."
And who buys this stuff?:
Mickey Cheng - owner
"The younger generations, they love it because they can always have it and then they feel it is interesting and fun to see them growing. That is the target group that we are aiming at; that is the target group that we have."
Mickey Cheng - owner
"I believe it is a successful business - especially the smaller ones. Every year when we go to a different show, for example agric show or the one at Spanish lookout, and those are the ones that the people like the most. We usually have a booth where people gather around and just stand right in front of the booths with the cactus, the succulent plant. And they love it."
Cheng says they get the most business in January, when orchids are in bloom.
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