A grower strips the leaves from a peach tree to stimulate flowering in Xuân Du Commune, in the northern province of Thanh Hóa. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoa Mai

NORTHERN PROVINCES — With just over a month to go until Tết (Lunar New Year), peach growers across northern provinces such as Phú Thọ, Hưng Yên and Thanh Hóa are working around the clock to nurture and prepare their finest trees for the Tết market.

In Phú Thọ Province, the highland area of Đà Bắc has long been renowned for its ancient đào phai (light-pink peach) trees.

The local varieties are mainly selected from mountainous regions with harsh climatic conditions, producing blossoms of a vibrant pale pink hue, with fresh, resilient petals.

Đà Bắc peach trees are distinguished by their unique forms and floral characteristics, which are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

At Thanh Tú Peach Garden, dozens of workers are busy stripping leaves and pruning branches, carefully tending each tree.

Trần Thiên Tú, the garden’s owner, said the most crucial stage in determining a peach tree’s value is pruning, shaping and regulating flowering so that it blooms at the right time, ideally at temperatures of around 20 degrees Celsius.

“This year, leaf stripping began about 60 days before Tết," he said.

"The process requires great care and patience to ensure nutrients are concentrated on the buds, allowing the flowers to bloom at the right moment.”

The garden currently has more than 100 ancient peach trees and plans to expand further to meet Tết demand.

Prices range from VNĐ2-10 million (US$75-380) per tree, while some ancient specimens are priced at over VNĐ20-30 million ($760-1,140) each.

Meanwhile, at Nhà Nít Peach Blossom Craft Village in Hy Cương Commune, the atmosphere is at its busiest and most vibrant of the year.

Across the gardens, peach trees are being meticulously cared for, promising a successful flowering season to meet Tết demand.

The village currently has around 40,000 peach trees of various types earmarked for the market this year, all carefully pruned and shaped.

Lê Văn Lý, head of Nhà Nít Peach Blossom Craft Village, at this stage, growers water the trees daily to maintain soil moisture, combine fertilisation to retain warmth and stimulate bud development to achieve vibrant colours.

From now until Tết, if cold conditions persist, growers will closely monitor the weather and adjust fertiliser use to ensure blossoms bloom on schedule.

A grower tends to peach trees for Tết in Xuân Du Commune, in the northern province of Thanh Hóa.—VNA/VNS Photo Hoa Mai

In Hưng Yên Province, from early morning until late afternoon, farmers are busy stripping leaves, monitoring buds and fine-tuning each technical stage, hoping their peach trees will burst into bloom in time for Tết.

Mạn Xuyên Hamlet in Châu Ninh Commune is one of several areas that have developed concentrated peach-growing zones, applying scientific and technical advances to improve productivity, quality and economic efficiency.

The family of Đỗ Văn Hùng in Mạn Xuyên Hamlet is among the largest-scale growers, with around 9,000sq.m under cultivation and an estimated 2,000 trees to be supplied to the Tết market.

At present, all trees are undergoing leaf stripping to nourish the buds.

With more than a decade in the trade, Hùng noted that leaf stripping cannot follow a rigid formula but must be adapted to each variety, the age and vigour of the tree and weather conditions.

“Just a few days too early or too late can cause the flowers to bloom before or after Tết, directly affecting the entire season’s economic value,” he said.

“This year, we stripped leaves from the 8th to the 27th day of the 11th lunar month, starting with younger branches and finishing with older ones to ensure balanced growth. All work is done manually, requiring great care to avoid damaging the flower buds.”

In Thanh Hóa Province, the Xuân Du area has long been known for its light-pink peach cultivation. Xuân Du is one of the largest peach-growing areas in the province and the north central region.

Peach trees have become a key crop, playing an important role in local economic development and improving livelihoods.

Hồ Công Quyết of the commune said that about a month before Tết, local residents head to their gardens and hillsides en masse to strip leaves and tend their peach trees, a tradition that has endured for decades.

“The timing of leaf stripping is crucial and must be based on weather developments. If the flowers bloom too early or too late, the crop is effectively lost,” he said.

“That’s why growers in Xuân Du closely monitor the weather to choose the right moment, some trees are left to shed leaves naturally, while others must be stripped by hand.”

The peak season also creates additional seasonal employment for local workers.

Đỗ Thị Duyến, 70, who works as a hired leaf stripper, said daily wages during peak periods range from VNĐ250,000 to 300,000 ($9-11).

Despite increasingly erratic weather in recent years, long-standing experience has enabled Xuân Du’s peach trees to grow steadily.

Beyond timely leaf stripping, growers also focus on fertilisation to ensure strong bud formation and long-lasting, vibrant blossoms.

Lương Thị Lưu, 60, of Xuân Du Commune, said her family has taken advantage of dry weather to tend their trees, hoping for favourable conditions so the blossoms bloom at the right time, sell at good prices and bring a more prosperous Tết.

An early-blooming peach blossoms signal that spring is just around the corner in Xuân Du Commune, in the northern province of Thanh Hóa.—VNA/VNS Photo Hoa Mai

Keeping pace with market trends

In Phú Thọ, the highland commune of Đà Bắc has in recent years developed into a concentrated peach-growing area, with more than 20 large-scale gardens covering over five ha.

The commune currently has around 5,000 peach trees of various types, mainly light-pink peach, deep-pink peaches and white peaches.

To keep pace with market demand, growers actively study consumer preferences and focus on shaping trees suitable for homes, offices and public buildings.

As a result, Đà Bắc peaches are increasingly attracting customers from within and beyond the province.

Đỗ Văn Thịnh, owner of Thịnh Đỗ Văn Peach Garden, said the light-pink peach market has become more vibrant over the past two to three years.

“My family targets the mid-range segment, with prices from VNĐ2-5 million ($80-200) per tree. Customers tend to favour styles such as dragon, cascading and pine forms,” he said.

Alongside supply preparation, growers are stepping up product promotion through information channels and social media platforms such as Facebook, Zalo and TikTok to reach customers nationwide.

In addition, Tết peach tree rental services are expanding, with prices ranging from VNĐ1-5 million ($40-200) per tree , including transport and maintenance.

Đào Đức Kiên, Deputy Chairman of the People’s Committee of Đà Bắc Commune, said peach cultivation has become an effective economic development pathway, helping to raise incomes and improve living standards.

To ensure a successful Tết season, the locality encourages growers to closely monitor weather conditions, apply appropriate technical measures so blossoms bloom on time, and strengthen promotion, expand production scale and apply science and technology to contribute to local socio-economic development, he said.

A corner of peach garden in in Xuân Du Commune, in the northern province of Thanh Hóa.—VNA/VNS Photo Hoa Mai

Lê Văn Lý, head of Nhà Nít Peach Blossom Craft Village, added that this year the village will supply three main product lines, consisting of early-blooming trees for offices and institutions wishing to display them ahead of Tết; trees that bloom during the Tết itself for household enjoyment; and peach branches for the Kitchen Gods Festival market.

This diversity allows greater flexibility in sales and caters to different customer segments, he said.

Peach prices this year are broadly stable compared with last year.

According to growers, cascading peach trees are priced at VNĐ800,000-1.2 million ($32-48) each; grafted trees using ancient peach rootstock range from VNĐ1-15 million ($40-600) depending on form and age; while peach branches sell for VNĐ200,000-600,000 ($8-24) each.

The village has also prepared adequate transport facilities, including trailers, cranes and pick-up trucks, to facilitate sales and delivery.

In Hưng Yên, beyond traditional peach varieties, some growers have boldly invested in rare and demanding cultivars to meet increasingly diverse market tastes.

Among seasoned flower enthusiasts, đào Thất Thốn, also known as the royal peach, is a prized variety, famed for its distinctive beauty and meticulous cultivation requirements.

Bùi Văn Thái of Ward 2, Hồng Châu Ward, is among the few growers who have successfully mastered this demanding variety.

Thái said the royal peach typically blooms only on the full moon of the first lunar month and requires five to ten years to mature into a tree that produces beautiful flowers.

This Tết, he plans to supply around 200 royal trees, along with 150 potted traditional peach trees and about 1,000 peach branches.— VNS