Since 2000, the country has implemented a series of policies to restore and protect wetlands, and water scene designs that bring people closer to nature in urban areas have also gained popularity and admiration. These factors have contributed to the booming sales of aquatic plants. "The aquatic plant market has been incredibly hot this year; over 100,000 aquatic flowers produced in February and March were all ordered, and more than 10 orders were declined. Some farmers have already started booking orders for next year," said Zhou Xiwen, the manager of Beijing Shuitian Garden Company. As for the situation in the southern aquatic market, from companies like Nanjing Yilian Garden and Ningbo Lianyuan, we learned that their aquatic plants have also sold out by the beginning of the year, just like in Beijing.
Industry experts note that lotus, water lily, water sentry, crested iris, spike rush, iris, cattail, lilyturf, fish mint, and waxy candle are the top-selling aquatic plant varieties in the past 2000 years. Among them, lotus, water lily, crested iris, spike rush, and water sentry are heavily used in landscaping projects across the north and south. In terms of market demand, large and medium-sized lotus varieties that can withstand deep water have always been in high demand. Most lotus varieties available in the market can withstand water depths of 0.8 to 1 meter, while those that can endure depths over 1.5 meters are scarce. Wang Qichao, the president of the Lotus Branch of the China Flower Association, said that wild deep-water lotus varieties that can withstand depths of 1.8 to 2 meters have been found in Northeast and Yunnan, and some companies are engaged in artificial breeding, expecting to see them in the market within a few years. Deep-water lotus will be a new highlight in the aquatic plant market. Ding Yuansheng, the chairman of Nanjing Yilianyuan, is more optimistic about the market for small water lilies, bowl lotus cut flowers, and water lily cut flowers. In 2002, the company began selecting and breeding these varieties.
Manager Wang Zhengyin of Beijing Huairou Junshen Garden believes that miniature aquatic plant combinations are an effective way to expand the sales channels for aquatic plants. The sales of a combination pot of floating leaves and emergent plants from Chen Village, Guangzhou, have been very火爆. He said, "Next year, people will try to launch 100 pots of combination pots featuring aquatic plants with different leaf colors." Wang Qichao pointed out that breeding lotus varieties that can bloom all year round is a shortcut to entering the home market. The 'Winter Red Flower', 'Nao Shuang', and 'Xue Li Hong Hua' series of winter lotus have been bred, which can bloom throughout the year in the south with a flowering period of about a week. In the north, lotus flowers can also be enjoyed during the National Day, and the market prospects are promising. With the simultaneous increase in production and usage, the price of aquatic plants is on a downward trend. Zhang Qiujun, General Manager of Ningbo Lianyuan, introduced that water rush, lythrum, and pickerel weed have dropped from tens of yuan per plant in 2003 to a few yuan per plant now, but the prices of varieties like German iris and rain lily, which have good landscape effects and are difficult to propagate, remain high. He believes that as the usage and production of aquatic plants increase, their prices will inevitably fall. Under market regulation, the prices of aquatic plants are becoming increasingly rationalized.