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About Sharjah: Saying it with plants, flowers

A thousand varieties of ornamental, seasonal and fruit-bearing plants are blooming in Sharjah this winter, spreading their fragrance and captivating the hearts of nature lovers. And all this on a kilometre stretch of land near Sharjah’s Al Jubail Bus Terminal.

Approximately a hundred collectors and lovers of ornamental, seasonal and fruit plants are patronising this horticulture market, of whom 83 per cent are families and 15 per cent are companies.

They love nature and are always in search of indoor and outdoor plants.

The horticulture market, fondly called nurseries market, have 11 shops, mostly owned by Emiratis.

But, it all started 32 years ago when an Iraqi man’s love for flowers and plants made him lease the entire area as his nursery farm, from the Sharjah Municipality.

As he grew older, he started giving up the shops to those sharing the same interest and business acumen. No one remembers his name today, yet, his love continues to grow here.

The Ali family from Pakistan now runs two shops in this market. The Pak Arab Nurseries LLC, is among the oldest in the UAE’s horticulture business, having started in 1977.

According to Omer Mubarik Ali, his father, Mian Mubarik Ali, started his business on a private-owned plot on King Faisal Road 37 years ago. “When the Sharjah Government set up the market and the Iraqi man gave up a shop, we moved here and in the course time, expanded by leasing another shop from an Emirati.”

Mubarik Ali said that the horticulture business was very lucrative then, especially when only their shop was around. “Our profit used to be 100 per cent. As many have joined the business we hardly get 20 per cent profit and, in some cases, only five per cent.” Ali said that Arab families, mostly Syrians, Jordanians, Iraqis and Egyptians, are their top clients, followed by those from the subcontinent, and then comes Emiratis and corporate clients.

“Normally, Emiratis buy a fruit plant, which can be a date, a lemon or an orange to be planted in the facade of their villas. But, between 15 and 20 Arab expatriates come here daily to purchase a variety of plants. They either come in the morning after dropping their kids to school or in the evening after picking them up.”

Winter time is the best time, said Ali. Families particularly come to buy between October and March when flowering plants are in full bloom. But, the shops here are doing retail business. Their greenhouses are located in Dibba Oman and plants are sold in their two shops in Sharjah, one in Dubai, one in Al Ain and one in Ajman.

According to Ali, growing these plants is not profitable all year round as some Dh20,000 - 30,000 worth of imported plants die out every year during the summer months.

“We can manage to avoid losses by preserving locally-grown plants. But, imported ones cannot survive the long summer heat.”

All shops in the nurseries market import indoor plants from Holland, Iran and Sri Lanka and ornamental and outdoor plants from Bangkok.

Ornamental and seasonal plants can cost anywhere between Dh1.25 and Dh1,500.

Ali has the most expensive ornamental ‘Legnum’ in his shop for sale, a big tree that grows about two meters in height and has blue flowers.

“In our greenhouse in Dibba, I have a hundred pieces, one of which is 22 years old and costing Dh12,000.

The most popular among indoor ornamental plants is the ‘Scindapsis’ popularly known as ‘money’ plant.

Bamboo sticks arranged in various shapes are also popular and the prices range from Dh15 to Dh600 depending on the height and the arrangement.

lily@khaleejtimes.com