Long An Peach Blossom

Long An peach blossom village in Phu Tho ward is entering the Tet season with nearly 180 households participating in production, famous for its ornamental peach trees, bringing in hundreds of millions of dong in income each year. The atmosphere is bustling with activity as ornamental peach trees and rootstocks are being cared for, shaped, and transported, heralding a vibrant spring season.

Mr. Duong Van Chung takes care of his family's ornamental peach tree garden.

Visiting Long An peach blossom village in Phu Tho ward these days, amidst the cool winter weather, visitors will encounter peach blossom buds gently stirring with the breath of spring, and the Tet atmosphere gradually emerging in the vibrant colors of the blossoms. To obtain the desired peach trees and branches, according to consumer preferences, peach growers in Long An have devoted a great deal of effort, time, and dedication to providing customers with the most beautiful branches to welcome the Spring. Besides the villagers busy turning the soil, watering the flowers, and bagging them, traders have also arrived in the village to prepare to "buy up" goods to serve flower enthusiasts.

According to Mr. Tran Minh Hoc, head of the Long An peach blossom village, the peach blossom cultivation profession in the locality began to develop in 1984-1985, initially on a scale of only a few households. By 1995-1996, peach blossom cultivation had developed strongly thanks to the policy of encouraging the renovation of unproductive orchards and the conversion to crops with high economic efficiency.

Recognizing that peach trees thrive in the local soil conditions, the villagers collectively expanded the planting area. In 2013, Long An peach blossom village was recognized as a traditional craft village by the Provincial People's Committee and has since developed steadily. Notably, to date, approximately 70% of the village's peach trees have been purchased by traders, bringing joy to the peach growers for this year's Tet holiday.

The peach tree with the "Mysterious" shape belonging to Mr. Duong Van Chung from Long An peach village has been rented by a customer in Yen Bai for 12 million VND during the Tet holiday month.

Currently, nearly 180 households (almost 30% of the total households) in the village cultivate peach trees, covering a total area of ​​over 10 hectares. The average annual revenue from peach blossoms in the village is over 12 billion VND. This year, according to the village head, Tran Minh Hoc, the projected revenue is higher because many households have switched to growing ornamental peach trees for rent, resulting in higher profits. Previously, peach growers in Long An mainly sold peach branches, mature peach trees (small trees, potted, mainly for one season), and peach trees with a pine-like canopy. Now, the product range includes ornamental peach trees for rent.

Mr. Duong Van Chung is one of the leading bonsai peach tree growers in the area, currently owning nearly 250 large bonsai peach trees, of which about 150 are suitable for rent. Mr. Chung said that to create a beautiful bonsai peach tree, he has to search for "rootstock" in mountainous provinces such as Yen Bai, Ha Giang, and Lao Cai from the beginning of the year, then bring them back to care for them until they recover, before proceeding with grafting, hybridization, and flower induction. Currently, the rental price for bonsai peach trees ranges from 4-7 million VND per tree; this year alone, his family's rental revenue reached nearly 700 million VND.

According to Mr. Chung, several households in the village, such as those of Mr. Duong Minh Nong, Mr. Ha Van Tao, Mr. Duong Cong Minh, and Mr. Tran Van Lay, own a considerable number of ornamental peach trees for rent. At this point, most of the peach orchards have already been reserved by customers, so the growers don't have to worry about sales.

The village is preparing to plant peach trees for next year.

According to experienced peach tree growers in Long An, to cultivate beautiful peach blossoms that bloom precisely during the Lunar New Year, besides removing the leaves, growers must closely monitor the weather to "force" the trees to bloom if it's cold or "slow" the blooming if it's hot. Otherwise, if the peach tree sprouts new leaves instead of buds, the entire crop will be lost.

In Long An, there are various varieties of peach blossoms, including pink peach blossoms, light pink peach blossoms, and red-spotted peach blossoms, with single or double petals. Among them, the most beautiful and valuable is the red-spotted peach blossom (which the locals in Long An call "ancient peach blossom"). However, this variety is also very difficult to cultivate without extensive experience.

Therefore, to preserve and propagate this peach variety's genetic resources, Mr. Tran Minh Hoc and many peach growers in the village earnestly hope that specialized agencies will provide technical support and partial funding to restore and develop the peach variety. They also hope for a permanent location to display and introduce Long An peach blossoms, ultimately building a Long An peach brand. Besides peach blossoms, many households in Long An have also boldly started growing other flowers such as roses, chrysanthemums, peonies, marigolds, lilies, etc., diversifying their products and generating additional income throughout the year.

Quan Lam

Source: https://baophutho.vn/hoa-dao-long-an-247051.htm