Andhra Pradesh: 6,000 varieties of rose plants to be displayed in Rose festival

Vijayawada: As many as 6,000 varieties of roses are expected to be put on show during the three-day 36th National Rose Fest from December 23. This is the first rose show in the state and is being organised by the Rose Society of Andhra Pradesh, Haritha Priya Plant Lovers Society in collaboration with Vijayawada Municipal Corporation. The show will be held at the PWD grounds here.

Around 120 stalls will be set up to display roses from many interior places of India besides Pune, Bengaluru and Kadiyam. Amaravati Development Corporation, Urban Development Corporation, Rural Research Technology Institute ‘Srujana’ stalls will also be set up at the fest. The idea of the fest was mooted by the Rose Society of Andhra Pradesh to showcase possibilities in horticulture and gardening.

With the help of 125 members, the society planted 6,000 varieties of rose plan-ts on a two-acre site. Ms Totakuri Akhila Priya Rani, president of the Rose Socie-ty of Andhra Pradesh said the society expected about 60,000 visitors to the fest.

She said that the society was trying to invite Telangana State Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to inaugurate the exhibition. She said one of the highlights would be the Japanese Ikebana style. She said the horticulture sector was developing quickly in Vijayawada and Guntur and the fest was being held to encourage horticulture and organic products. “Besides roses, we are exhibiting many other things, including Bonsai, fruits and flowers and organic fertilisers,” Ms Priya Rani said. Visitors can see and buy hundreds of varieties of rose plants, said Ms Kandula Sarata of the Haritha Priya Plant Lovers Society of Vijayawada.