Gardeners from southern provinces and HCM City’s suburban districts of Hoc Mon
and Thu Duc are hoping that their hard work to meet customers’ demands for the
coming Tet (Lunar New Year) festival will pay off in handsome profits.

Foreign hybrids seem
to be increasingly favoured over traditional flowers, said Tran Van Tiep, owner
of a farm in Dong Thap Province’s Sa Dec Town.

“This year Sa Dec
expects to sell 4 million flowers and plants of different kinds, many of them
foreign hybrids from Australia, the Netherlands and the US.”

“For the foreign
hybrids, we hope to attract vendors from HCM City and northern provinces who
prefer quality and exotic flowers, even if they are expensive,” he said.

For Tet, Tiep and his
colleagues have invested several millions of dong in new foreign hybrids as well
as the more traditional flowers.

Traditional Vietnamese
flowers like daisies, carnations and roses are selling at VND20,000 – 40,000
(US$1-2) a bush/pot, around 15 per cent higher than last year.

Dealers from HCM City
and Ha Noi have shown greater interest in buying foreign hybrids such as tulips
and lilies at prices ranging from VND10,000 per flower and VND50,000 per pot.

Florist Nam Tien of An
Giang Province’s Hoa Binh Town said: “This year Hoa Binh’s 40 farmer households
are offering 350,000 different traditional flower plants and pots.

“We hope urban
customers change their minds and that we can sell the more traditional flowers
as the festival draws nearer.”

Business blooms: Gardeners throughout the country are ready to meet customer demand for flowers and bonsai trees for the up-coming Tet (lunar new year) festival. (Photos: VNS)

Local farmers in Thu
Duc and Hoc Mon said ochna flower prices will increase about 20 per cent
compared to last year.

Truong Van Du, who
owns a farm in Thu Duc, said he has cultivated more than 2,000 ochna trees and
expects to sell them at about VND500,000 – VND2 million a tree, VND100,00 to
400,000 higher than last year.

“Because of good
weather, the ochna flowers would open in time for Tet. I hope God will bless our
farmers,” he said.

In Ha Noi, people
prefer peach blossoms, typically grown in the famous flower village of Nhat Tan,
and will pay about VND1 million for a big branch, while a peach bonsai may sell
for VND20 million or thereabouts.

Gardener Vu Van Lan of
Tay Ho District, who plans to sell 400 mandarin trees in Ha Noi, hopes he can
get VND1 million for a quality tree and that prices would go up further during
the last few days of the holiday.

Traditional flower
fairs in HCM City and Ha Noi are expected to attract the participation of
hundreds of local and provincial florists and hundreds of thousands of
residents.

As in previous years,
HCM City has designated Nguyen Hue city Street as the “Flower Street,” where millions
of flowers from all over the country will be assembled to depict an overall
theme chosen every year.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News