Mexico City cempasúchil harvest hits record 10 million plants before Day of the Dead
Mexico City growers produced a record 10 million cempasúchil plants for Day of the Dead, a 53.8% jump. See prices, where to buy and the Zócalo ofrenda.
Mexico City's government said on Oct. 20 that growers in the southern borough of Xochimilco produced 10 million cempasúchil plants for this year's Day of the Dead, a 53.8% increase over 2025 and the capital's largest crop on record.
Cempasúchil, the orange marigold whose scent and color guide families' altars on Nov. 1 and 2, is grown mostly on chinampas, the artificial islands and canal-side plots that shape Xochimilco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to Mexico News Daily, the city contributed more than 8 million pesos, about $428,100, to support 597 producers with technical assistance, pots, compost and seeds, plus road repairs and harvesting facilities. El Universal reported that output rose almost 50% from the 6.3 million plants grown last year. The harvest matters beyond the holiday calendar: flower sales are a main source of income for rural families in the borough and give growers a reason to keep chinampa land under cultivation. In the United States, where Day of the Dead has moved from family altars into museums, schools and city plazas over the past two decades, cempasúchil is the part of the ofrenda that most directly links a Mexican American home to Mexican soil.
Pots sell for 15 to 30 pesos, or roughly 80 cents to $1.60, at markets including San Luis Tlaxialtemalco, Madre Selva, Cuemanco and Palacio de la Flor, and at stands along Paseo de la Reforma, El Universal reported. A Green Seal label identifies flowers grown without agrochemicals on conservation land, which Excélsior reported covers some 20,000 productive hectares. Excélsior also reported that the Zócalo's monumental ofrenda will pair 100,000 cempasúchil plants with a 32-meter Catrina, and that 208 alebrijes will line Paseo de la Reforma. Cirse Camacho, Xochimilco's head of government, thanked the city for its support and stressed that the contribution helps the district's farm sector recover from flood damage. Mayor Clara Brugada called the holiday "the most Mexican and beautiful way we have of celebrating Day of the Dead, to defy oblivion."
Sales in the capital run through Nov. 2, and the city's Day of the Dead program runs from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2. It includes the Zócalo offering, a cempasúchil trail in Chapultepec Park and six theatrical performances at the Xochimilco piers, along with La Llorona shows and neighborhood celebrations in the borough.
Sources: Mexico City's cempasúchil production reaches record heights · Arranca venta de cempasúchil 2026 en CDMX; producción alcanza cifra histórica de 10 millones de flores · Xochimilco alcanza producción récord con 10 millones de flores de cempasúchil
This story was written with the help of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.
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