Pattoki: kissed by a rose

Area is famous for its flowers which are grown abundantly

LAHORE: Owing to their beauty and refreshing fragrance, roses have been grown throughout Pakistan’s history. Recently, however, their cultivation has massively plunged. District Pattoki – known as the “City of Flowers” – is considered the main centre for flowers in Pakistan. It is the place where the various types of Indian roses, including gladiolus, jasmine, and night-blooming jasmine, are cultivated.

Dozens of villages in Pattoki cultivate roses and the district has the highest number of nurseries. Running them and cultivating flowers is the main source of income for 40-50% of local families in Pattoki, while an overall 700,000 people in Pakistan are associated with the profession.

Nadeem Mustufai, a local resident in Pattoki, told The Express Tribune that the region is highly fertile for the cultivation of flowers. People have stopped cultivation of various crops and vegetables and are instead focusing on different types of flowers.



This is because, owing to a growing demand, the business of cultivating and selling flowers all over the country has made local people richer and more prosperous. Over the last few years, the trend of flower gardening and running nurseries is increasingly gaining popularity across the villages of Pattoki.

Rose, jasmine, night-blooming jasmine, gladiolus petals are some of the flowers decorated in vases during wedding functions, conferences, meeting halls and various functions. Apart from their popularity and use within the country, flowers cultivated in Pakistan are not only sent to Asian countries but also to European countries.

Rose and gladiolus are largely cultivated in Pakistan. At present, over a 100 types of roses and several types of gladiolus are cultivated in the country. The seeds of these flowers are imported from Holland and also prepared locally.

According to flower venders, cut flowers are highly preferred across the country and flowers cultivated in Pattoki are sent to Karachi and Islamabad as well as Afghanistan and other countries.



Saqawat Ali, associated with the nursery business for several years, shared with The Express Tribune that the nurseries adventitiously began 25-30 years back. An aged man in Pattoki cultivated a twig of a flower flowing in a stream opposite to his settlement which sprouted in few days. This incident led to the beginning of nursery in the area and today, there are several nurseries in dozens of villages in Pattoki.

Ali also explained that in India, roses are widely cultivated and chemical injections have to be administered to the plants in order to obtain different colors of flowers from a single plant of rose.

“We in Pakistan, however, do not have any such practices here. We are cultivating flowers through conventional ways,” he said.

He further added that various types of roses are cultivated in Pattoki on nearly 5000 acres of land while gladiolus are cultivated on a 400-acre land. He also said that around 100,000 to 150,000 seeds are sown on a single acre of land.

The seeds are placed in chaffs maintaining a two-foot distance between them. Growing gladiolus on a one-acre land costs about Rs500,000 and generates a profit of 300,000 to 500,000.

Local cultivator, Syed Afzal Hussain shared with The Express Tribune that there is a dire need of innovation and research in the flower cultivation sector.

“Pattoki – which is the biggest center for cultivation of flowers in Pakistan – has no research center nor any cold storage to keep the flowers safe,” he said. “The lifespan of flowers is only a couple of hours because of which a huge number of flowers are spoilt during transportation. This loss can be prevented with cold storage,” he opined.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2019.