Friday, November 11, 2011

Aleyagarden has relocated to Phang Nga 35 km from Phuket airport, during the floods of October 2011.






At the end of October 2011 a huge quantity of water from the flooding Northern Thailand flows slowly to the Gulf of Thailand. Flooding is a known situation at every end of the rainy season ( October - November ) in several provinces but this year such levels and duration were not expected. The closure of the gates in Bangkok during a part of the crisis to protect its 12 millions inhabitants, hardens the crisis outside the protected perimeter, in such areas as the Ayutthaya or Nonthaburi provinces north of Bangkok. Access and shortage of supplies to hospitals are among the hardest problems to deal with. The release of crocodiles and venomous snakes from their farms in Nonthaburi are relatively more anecdotal events, though real.

Aleyagarden was set in Nonthaburi, where orchard production and a huge horticulture activity had been driven by a fertile land and the availability of water year round from the Chao Phraya river. Nonthaburi was also at the intersection of northern and southern routes.

During the floods Aleyagarden, in business since 11 years, lose their stock of plants by tens of thousands, some of which that had been propagated during the 8 previous years were unique specimens. Even if a small fraction of a stock is sold every year, a horticulture business cannot run without a big stock. This stock dies, rotting under 2.5 meters of water. Many partners of Aleyagarden face the same situation in Nontahaburi and other provinces too : they will have to relocate in order to stay in business.

Suvarnaphumi airport being almost at sea level the collect of cargo from the farms in the same province of the airport is bound to be difficult each year in October and November. It is worth mentioning that such farms would have to grow plants at a height above flooding level. This would be a problem regarding price competition.


Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com

Find all Aleyagarden posts on http://aleyagarden-blog.blogspot.com



A few years ago we had built on the farm a tiny bungalow 5 metres above the ground to accommodate family and team during a flooding situation. A safe raft with a roof would have been more expensive to build.
The bungalow allowed us to to work and rescue a few thousands of Hoya plants to be carried at very high transportation prices. We hanged the Hoya on trees along the road and carried them on a 4 meters long wooden boat over the Chao Phraya river to an opposite pier in Pakkret that would not be flooded for the next 24 hours. Each travel of the small traditional boat across the huge river was dangerous because of the higher current during floods. During one of the travels a snake appeared in the small boat, he was hidden in a bunch of Hoya plants.

In Pakkret a so long awaited 6 wheels truck was there for us to upload the rescued plants and some basic commodities for use on our new site in Phang Nga about 850 km south of Nonthaburi. The car and the van were left on a bridge in Nonthaburi with many other vehicles around.






In Phang Nga, only 35 km from Phuket international airport, Aleyagarden house, in the middle of a vast area of Hevea plantations that extend to a wild forest ( planned to become a national park someday ) looks over a natural environment at every angle. We were surprised to see only meters from our terrace an elephant running to the river before climbing the mountain where he is used to carry logs.









We start to hang the rescued Hoya, a few percents of the tens of thousands remained under the water. They are the rarest species we got over the last years. We use our Heveas to create a natural shade. Being less than 10 km from the sea ( 40 metres above it ) we enjoy nice winds in a very humid environment. The already hanged plants seem to love this setting.







The deserted river from the mountains runs at the end of the land, creating wild beaches of golden sand with wild tress and fauna behind.


This new growing site is remote and scenic. Trails to surrounding mountains and wild unvisited forest with waterfalls start just 2 km from our site. The so many trees would stop the flows of a landslide from the surrounding mountains. Let's hope that we are not exactly in the wrong place regarding earthquakes that are predicted to hit Southern Thailand, Burma and Malaysia.

As the number of partners in the horticulture activity is very limited in Phang Nga, Aleyagarden will specialize in a few sorts of plants : hoya, ferns and some flowering species. Part of the land will be allocated to the cultivation of trees for a non intensive cheese production.
Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on aleyagarden.com . Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Orders off site with calculations

After July 2011 at Aleyagarden they don't accept off site orders ( first orders and repeat orders ) if they don't include :
- plant name, price, quantity, calculation of subtotal, weight
- address, name, tel number ( address and name in Roman letters )
- instructions regarding packing ( without instructions packing is by default )
Repeat orders : Aleyagarden does not use records of your instructions and address to complete your orders. They must always come with the - calculated - order.

Orders must come with calculations so Aleyagarden and buyer can cross check results and minimize the risk of miscalculations in copy-paste operations and others.
Copy - paste from web-mail is never 100% safe.

Here is the page to select transport options and calculate transport :

http://aleyagarden-hoya-list.blogspot.com/2012/05/calculate-your-transport-cost-small.html



Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on hoya-aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com

Araceae : second certificate after control for Radopholus similis

Importers in the European Union must require since 2009 from their importers a second certificate in addition to the usual phytosanitary certificate : Araceae plants like Philodendron, and also Marantaceae, Musaceae, Persea spp and Streliziaceae must be controlled for the detection of Radopholus similis, a common parasite found in nurseries in the world. This control is a costly and time consuming constraint and the plants can only suffer as it is also exerted on roots. Each plant in a small shipment is controlled, not samples.


Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on hoya-aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com

Monday, February 7, 2011

Red Aglaonemas

At Aleya's garden they are often asked which Aglaonemas in their collection show the most beautiful reds. Here are two varieties.


Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on hoya-aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Synsepalum seeds : how long will it take to ship my order ?




At Aleyagarden the seeds are not stored : after a clients' order has been received they are collected fresh and prepared for shipping. Here in pictures are Synsepalum dulcificum seeds being prepared right after the collect : pulp is taken out and the seeds are thoroughly rinsed; then they will need some time for drying a bit before packing. From the time the order is received to the moment of packing a single day is not sufficient.

Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on hoya-aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com


Monday, September 27, 2010

Mandevilla and Urichites 10 days to Russia by EMS. Arrival was on a 25 September.













The whole plants should be put in a warm bath of water immediately after arrival if the travel was stressing. Putting only the root system in water will stress them more. ( only cut flowers, that are dead material should have the roots only in water )
















Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on hoya-aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com















Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Philodendron in envelopes : ready to go ?

These 2 philodendron ( codes AM, price 15.30 $ & ANGU 12.67 $ ) in aleyagarden shop can be advantageously shipped in one air envelope for the transport cost of 3 $ only !
( or in 2 envelopes for 2.3 $ each ).

The risk of non arrival is 100% on the buyer's side but to this day all envelopes sent as well as all the ones aleyagarden has received from abroad have arrived.

Nota : the leaves must be cut off : not to decrease weight but to avoid rotting.

The rate of survival of philodendron even after two weeks is very good. Most envelopes arrive within a week.

Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on hoya-aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com