Sánchez Family Farm Produces Two Million Marigolds for Day of the Dead

The Sánchez Farm in Plant City harvests about 2 million marigolds each season, roughly 16 to 24 metric tons of fresh cempasúchil at an average weight of 8 to 12 grams per bloom.

Carolina López and her husband, Fidel Sánchez, planted their first acre of the flower in 2019 using savings. Half that first crop failed. They adjusted furrow preparation and irrigation, and by 2020 they were selling the harvest. Their first day of sales ended by about 9 a.m., and they moved three full truckloads before the season closed.

The operation now spans seven acres and draws wholesale buyers from Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Carlos López, who has handled sales at the farm since 2021, said Atlanta buys among the largest shares of the crop. The farm employs about 60 people during the season, most of them Hispanic, he said.

Fidel Sánchez pushed the business beyond flower sales, adding handicraft stalls, food vendors, horse exhibitions, jaripeo and traditional dances. Cultivation planning begins in August with soil conditioning, irrigation work, sowing and fertilizing. About four months of field work precedes the harvest.

Iván Pliego, Mexico's consul in Orlando, visited the farm and described the cempasúchil as part of a tradition with pre-Hispanic roots tied to the memory of the departed. He said the flower's orange color marks the path for those returning to their families' memories. "It is a devotion to the memory of those who came before us," Pliego said.

Pliego also said the growth of businesses like this one reflects the presence and contributions of Mexican and Latin American communities in Florida. He committed to continued consular work connecting the community to opportunities.

Carolina López said the flower's purpose traces to the tradition her grandparents taught her, preparing offerings to welcome loved ones during Day of the Dead on Nov. 1 and 2. In Florida, she and Fidel set out to grow the flowers they once bought for altars in Mexico. Six years on, the farm sells the harvest to families from Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador.