Fragrant lilies usually sell well over the Lunar New Year holiday for their symbolic connotations, but have been in especially high demand this year for a surprising reason — to test for COVID-19, flower vendors said on Saturday.
This week, new year lilies fetched about NT$200 for a bouquet of cut flowers and NT$200 to NT$260 for a 5cm planter.
The price has not changed much from previous years, yet they have been selling far better, vendors at Changhua County’s Tianwei Highway Garden said.
Photo: Chen Kuan-pei, Taipei Times
Phoenix Garden owner Hsu Tsai-sheng (許再生) said that lilies usually sell well over the holiday, as their name in Chinese, xiangshui baihe (香水百合), recalls an auspicious phrase commonly said during the holiday, bainian haohe (百年好合).
They also exude a pleasant odor that many people find soothing, but ever since a cluster of domestic COVID-19 cases emerged last month, people have been finding them useful for another reason, Hsu said.
As some COVID-19 infections connected to a cluster at a hospital in Taoyuan might have visited public locations, many people who develop a fever, sore throat or other typical symptoms have become extremely cautious, he added.
Since one of the telltale symptoms is loss of smell, some have been buying fragrant flowers as a COVID-19 test, Hsu said.
Each lily blooms for about 10 days, Hsu said, adding that planters can stretch the lifespan to a month or longer, as they contain three buds that bloom in succession.
In a regular year, Hsu said that he sells 1,000 to 2,000 planters daily over the Lunar New year holiday season.
However, this year, he has already sold all of the flowers that are to bloom by the first day of the New Year, which is Friday, leaving only those that would not bloom until at least five days later, Hsu said.
Even flowers meant for honoring the Taoist Lord of Heaven on the ninth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, Feb. 20 this year, have sold out, Hsu said, adding that he has never seen anything like it before.
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