Peach blossom trees for Tet (Lunar New Year) cost hundreds of millions of VND in Ho Chi Minh City: Grafted from the trunk of a wild peach tree so large it takes a person to hug it.

Towards the end of the year, 23.9 Park on Le Lai Street (Ben Thanh Ward) has a dedicated area for selling Tet peach blossom trees imported from Hanoi . Thousands of peach blossom trees at the Tet flower market make people in Ho Chi Minh City feel like they've wandered into a Tet flower market in the North. This year, sellers say that peach blossom prices are stable, with many choices for people, ranging from a few hundred thousand dong to hundreds of millions of dong per tree.

What's so special about a 100 million VND peach blossom tree for Tet?

Mr. Pham Son (61 years old), from Nhat Tan village, a traditional peach blossom growing village, brought over 200 large peach blossom trees from Hanoi to 23.9 Park to sell during Tet (Lunar New Year). Among the more than 10 stalls selling peach blossoms here, Mr. Son's stall has many trees priced over 50 million VND, including one worth 100 million VND. What is so special about these expensive peach blossom trees?

Mr. Son has about 20 years of experience transporting peach blossoms from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City for sale during Tet (Lunar New Year).

Photo: Phan Diep

Mr. Son's peach blossom tree, valued at 100 million VND, is located in 23.9 Park.

Photo: Phan Diep

The trunk of the peach tree is so big it takes a person to hug it. Mr. Son said that the trunk was taken from a fruit-bearing peach tree that the locals planted on the mountain, and it is about 20 years old.

Photo: Phan Diep

From the rootstock of a peach tree bearing "giant" fruit, Mr. Son grafted Japanese peach blossoms onto it.

Photo: Phan Diep

The massive peach tree trunk is currently waiting for a wealthy buyer to finalize the purchase.

Photo: Phan Diep

The passion of a son of Nhat Tan peach blossom village.

Besides the peach tree priced at 100 million VND, Mr. Son also transported many "masterpieces" to Ho Chi Minh City, priced from 20 to 80 million VND. In addition to these "giant" peach trees, Mr. Son also has bonsai-style trees, traditional in shape but many years old.

Mr. Son said that he is passionate about collecting large, unusually shaped peach trees to cater to a niche clientele of "high-spending" customers. "Taking care of these trees is very hard work, requiring a lot of time and money to invest, but I really enjoy it," he said.

Having transported flowers to Ho Chi Minh City for nearly 20 years to sell during Tet (Lunar New Year), Mr. Son said that transportation costs and labor fees increase every year, but he always tries to keep flower prices stable. This year, Mr. Son believes the peach blossom season is good. In his garden, there are many pots of buds that will bloom profusely right on Tet, and also some that will bloom earlier to meet the demand for early Tet celebrations.