HÀ NỘI – As Tết draws near, most peach trees are, thankfully, not blooming early - thanks to the cold. With more than 10 days to go to the Year of the Dog, ornamental wholesalers are rushing to peach-blossom gardens in Hà Nội to choose their stock.

Because the flowers have not opened in most gardens, prices this year are predicted to be slightly higher than last year (double or more at flower shops), Nông Thôn Ngày Nay (Countryside Today) reported.

However, a well-known peach blossom commune in Như Thanh District in Thanh Hóa Province are upset because peach flowers there have bloomed earlier than expected, meaning slightly lower prices

Nguyễn Cảnh Tân, a peach-tree gardener in Tây Hồ District’s Phú Thượng Village, said he had more than 150 peach blossom trees and peach blossom bonsai trees and half of them were booked already. 

Small trees are being sold at wholesale prices from VNĐ400,000-600,000 (US$17.70-$26.60) per tree. Medium and large-sized trees cost about VNĐ2-10 million ($88.8-444), Tân said. 

Vũ Văn Phái, a seller who has rented a stall on Tây Hồ District’s Lạc Long Quân Street, said transporting a tree costs at least VNĐ100,000-300,000 over a distance of 7-12km.

Traders have booked most peach trees in Hà Nội’s gardens, helping push up prices over last year. Sơn La in the northern mountains has also pre-sold much of its crop. Along both sides of National Highway 6, the section through Vân Hồ and Mộc Châu districts, there are many places selling peach branches taken from trees in the wild, Việt Nam News Agency reported. Peach blossom sellers said that they had pre-sold most local trees and were now importing from Laos.

Each forest tree costs from hundreds of thousands of đồng to more than VNĐ10 million. Big trees with good shapes and covered in moss are more expensive. 

Lò A Nhà, a resident from Vân Hồ Commune, said peach blossoms this year were more beautiful than last year. Each year, he earns about VNĐ15-20 million from selling peach trees for Tết.

Forest peach trees have become popular in cities and provinces during New Year, so many ancient peaches in H’mông ethnic regions have been cut for sale. Lại Văn Thăng, a resident in Hà Nội, said he often went on business in northern mountain provinces at the end of the year and bought a forest blossom branch to decorate his home.

A Hanoian living in Thường Tín District, Bùi Văn Dũng, said in recent years, he often went to Sơn La Province to buy famous peach blossom trees named thất thốn for sale. These trees are not too high, have rough, exposed roots and plenty of mould. Flowers could grow from the middle of the root and the trunk and cost from VNĐ5-30 million per tree, Dũng said. 

Many growers in central Thanh Hóa Province’s Xuân Du commune, a well-known peach blossom commune in Như Thanh District, are upset because peach flowers there have bloomed earlier than expected, meaning slightly lower prices. Seventy per cent of the trees in the commune are in full bloom.

Nguyễn Thăng Trường, a resident with experience in planting the trees, said: “We have many ways to force flowers to fully blossom on Tết, but it is difficult for us if it blooms earlier.”

Last year, 80 per cent of trees in his garden were booked ahead of Tết, but this year most traders looked at the garden and shook their heads, he said.

Deputy chairman of Xuân Du Commune, Hoàng Ngọc Sơn, said the early blossoming could affect many local gardeners. Their income could be reduced by half compared to last year. - VNS