Porcupines almost spoiled El Día de los Muertos for some celebrants who were depending on marigolds from Texas Specialty Cut Flowers. A group of the large, prickly rodents moved onto the farm in Blanco, Texas earlier this year and dined on about 35,000 marigold plants — the vibrant flower prominently featured in decorations celebrating the deceased on the Mexican holiday, observed Nov. 1 and 2.

“It was like some kind of surreal plague,” says Frank Arnosky, who owns the flower farm with his wife, Pamela. “It almost looked like the porcupines were going to ruin our Day of the Dead celebrations.”

Add to the porcupines a drought and a heat wave, and the Arnoskys saw one of the hardest growing seasons in their 30 years in the business, they say. But they were able to bounce back and reap a bountiful harvest. A good thing, too, as they saw the highest demand ever for marigolds, Arnosky says.

Marigold Sales Bloom

Marigold sales increased by 35 percent over last year, according to Arnosky, whose farm sells exclusively to H-E-B, a Texas grocery chain. The demand peaked last week; when Arnosky and his staff bundled 300,000 blooms in 30,000 bunches in just one day.

Others also reported a notable increase in demand. Bill Doran Company, a wholesaler with 31 locations throughout country, brought in blossoms by the literal truckload.

“In our Houston market and our Dallas market, they both sold full semi-tractor trailer loads of marigolds,” says Scott Jewett, San Antonio branch manager. “It has been phenomenal.”

By Oct. 31, there were few Bill Doran marigolds to be found. The Bill Doran location in Houston had sold 6,562 bunches, Jewett says. At the Dallas location, they had processed 6,519 bunches. Even in San Antonio, which is a smaller market for marigolds, Jewett says there were only a couple bunches left.

“It was definitely more ,” he says.

More Celebrations

Arnosky believes the increased demand is due to the growing number of people celebrating El Día de los Muertos.

“People are taking a great deal of pride in their cultures right now,” Arnosky says. “One of the comments we get when people come to our farm is, ‘Our grandmother always put up an ofrenda, but we never did. This is going to be my first one.’”

To honor the dearly departed, celebrants traditionally set up altars with marigolds, known in Spanish as “cempasuchil,” food, and items the dead enjoyed while alive. It’s a beloved tradition for florist Lucy Angel Camarena, a first-generation Mexican American, and her family.

“Growing up my mom always had a simple altar at home for our ancestors and loved ones, and we would cut a few marigolds from our backyard to adorn this time of year,” says Camarena, who owns Campo Santa in Chicago. “I do the same and now with our shop. We build a more robust altar every year that includes cempasuchil in arrangements as well as just the heads.”

This year, sales of marigolds exceeded her expectations.

“This year, we opened pre-sales for cempasuchil bunches on our website and capped them,” Camarena said in an interview one week before the holiday. “Those are sold out and they sold out earlier than last year.”

While she was sold out online, Camarena saved some marigolds to sell in her store over this past weekend.

“I had limited bunches meant to last through Sunday, but sold out of all of them by end of day Saturday,” she said. “The majority were all utilizing for their ofrendas. Many were also making one for the first time this year.”

In Loomis, California, florist Jewel Ann Cusack made her first ofrenda. She had purchased about 10 bunches of marigolds and used a few to get in touch with her roots and honor her parents.

Cusack, owner of Heaven Scent Flower Company, says she didn’t expect to sell the rest of the marigolds, but on Monday night, a customer bought three bunches to celebrate her 30-year-old daughter who died four years ago.

Arnosky suspects Disney’s 2017 release of “Coco,” an animated film that takes place during El Día de los Muertos may have piqued the interest of people who previously hadn’t known of or celebrated the holiday.

He also points to COVID-related deaths over the past few years, which may have led some grieving families to embrace El Día de los Muertos and its cheerful — not sorrowful — traditions.

“It’s not a holiday about sadness and mourning,” said Arnosky. “It’s a holiday about joy and remembrance and celebrating.

Check out Fresh Choices in the July/August 2021 issue of Floral Management for additional flowers, colors and textures to use in El Día de los Muertos designs.

Laurie Herrera is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.