Twoweeks before the busiest time of the year, gardeners in Hanoi's peachflower villages expect ideal blossoms, although torrential rains in thenorth months ago and lower consumption will likely cut into theirearnings.
"At around 14-15 degrees Celsius, we have both theflowers and the buds and that is perfect," said Do Thi Mai, a long-timegrower in Phu Thuong village of Tay Ho district, as she pruned her treesof withered early blossoms to spur fresh growth.
There are onlyabout 40-50 households growing peach blossom trees in the village, incomparison with hundreds in the district's Nhat Tan village. Those whostick to the trade are mostly middle-aged and elderly, and they must behardened: the blooms require an entire year of hard work to cultivatebut are sold for only a few weeks.
"We often count on the second and third rounds of blooms to have perfect flowers," Mai said.
Peach flowers are a must-have item for northern families during theLunar New Year, which this year falls on January 31. For the gardeners,however, the holiday is a nervous time, as a year of hard work andinvestment is on the line. If it's too hot, the flowers turn an insipidpink and if it's too cold, the trees can't blossom.
Mai said thisyear her household invested about 40 million VND (2,000 USD) for nearly1,000 square meters and hoped for a return of about 100 million VND(5,000 USD), but feared that many people would buy cheaper peachbranches to save money instead of splurging on a 10-million-VND tree.
"I'm a bit worried because the cost for temporary workers is about250,000 VND (12 USD) a day and I need to sell enough to pay them for ayear of work," she said.
Nguyen Van Duong, another gardener inPhu Thuong village, is even more concerned. Since his garden specialisesin large-root peach blossom trees, most people only rent them insteadof buying the entire tree.
Duong said some of the roots soaked uptoo much water and were affected by insects after lengthy rains in Julyand August; moreover, input costs rose by about 30-40 percent thisyear.
"Even though the flowers turned out to be great due to theweather not being extremely cold or too hot, I fear that selling will beslow because people want to save money for other things," he said.
In Nhat Tan village, 54-year-old owner Do Thi Hong was waiting forbuyers to come. Her garden boasts about 300 peach blossom trees. So far,she had sold mostly to companies, which tend to buy weeks earlier thanfamilies before office workers leave for Tet vacation.
Pricescould range from 2-3 million VND to 10-14 million VND, according toHong, who said some gardeners in Nhat Tan lost some roots in the rainyseason, which might keep prices high because buyers would have feweroptions.
"My flowers were not too affected by the rain because Iused lots of soil to protect the roots," Hong said. "If the weatherstays around 16 Celsius degrees like this, the flowers will be great. Ihope there won't be too much sunshine."
Chu Quang Duc, who hasbeen growing the trees for more than 20 years, hoped the economicsituation would not put a damper on holiday flower shopping.
"Ihope people will spend because it's only once-a-year occasion. It doesnot hurt to spend more to welcome the spring," he said.-VNA
"At around 14-15 degrees Celsius, we have both theflowers and the buds and that is perfect," said Do Thi Mai, a long-timegrower in Phu Thuong village of Tay Ho district, as she pruned her treesof withered early blossoms to spur fresh growth.
There are onlyabout 40-50 households growing peach blossom trees in the village, incomparison with hundreds in the district's Nhat Tan village. Those whostick to the trade are mostly middle-aged and elderly, and they must behardened: the blooms require an entire year of hard work to cultivatebut are sold for only a few weeks.
"We often count on the second and third rounds of blooms to have perfect flowers," Mai said.
Peach flowers are a must-have item for northern families during theLunar New Year, which this year falls on January 31. For the gardeners,however, the holiday is a nervous time, as a year of hard work andinvestment is on the line. If it's too hot, the flowers turn an insipidpink and if it's too cold, the trees can't blossom.
Mai said thisyear her household invested about 40 million VND (2,000 USD) for nearly1,000 square meters and hoped for a return of about 100 million VND(5,000 USD), but feared that many people would buy cheaper peachbranches to save money instead of splurging on a 10-million-VND tree.
"I'm a bit worried because the cost for temporary workers is about250,000 VND (12 USD) a day and I need to sell enough to pay them for ayear of work," she said.
Nguyen Van Duong, another gardener inPhu Thuong village, is even more concerned. Since his garden specialisesin large-root peach blossom trees, most people only rent them insteadof buying the entire tree.
Duong said some of the roots soaked uptoo much water and were affected by insects after lengthy rains in Julyand August; moreover, input costs rose by about 30-40 percent thisyear.
"Even though the flowers turned out to be great due to theweather not being extremely cold or too hot, I fear that selling will beslow because people want to save money for other things," he said.
In Nhat Tan village, 54-year-old owner Do Thi Hong was waiting forbuyers to come. Her garden boasts about 300 peach blossom trees. So far,she had sold mostly to companies, which tend to buy weeks earlier thanfamilies before office workers leave for Tet vacation.
Pricescould range from 2-3 million VND to 10-14 million VND, according toHong, who said some gardeners in Nhat Tan lost some roots in the rainyseason, which might keep prices high because buyers would have feweroptions.
"My flowers were not too affected by the rain because Iused lots of soil to protect the roots," Hong said. "If the weatherstays around 16 Celsius degrees like this, the flowers will be great. Ihope there won't be too much sunshine."
Chu Quang Duc, who hasbeen growing the trees for more than 20 years, hoped the economicsituation would not put a damper on holiday flower shopping.
"Ihope people will spend because it's only once-a-year occasion. It doesnot hurt to spend more to welcome the spring," he said.-VNA
