Flower villages are bustling with activity for the Lunar New Year.

The flower villages are bustling with activity.

Following the success of the first Sa Dec Flower and Ornamental Plant Festival, Dong Thap province will continue to organize this event later this year. Currently, many farmers in Sa Dec ward (Dong Thap province) are busy preparing flowers and ornamental plants to serve the festival and the market for the New Year and the Lunar New Year of 2026.

*The flower garden of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy (Long Binh ward, Ho Chi Minh City) is preparing to serve the market for the Lunar New Year 2026.*

From the beginning of November, farmers have been planting short-term flowers such as marigolds, pico daisies, and gerberas, while traditional chrysanthemum varieties have been sown since September. Mr. Nguyen Van Tam, Chairman of the People's Committee of Sa Dec Ward, shared that Sa Dec Ward has about 2,000 varieties of flowers and ornamental plants, including characteristic types such as chrysanthemums, tiger daisies, gerberas, sunflowers, cockscomb, petunias, impatiens, and various types of roses… Currently, local farmers have about 100 hectares of flowers and ornamental plants to serve Tet and festivals at the end of 2025.

Since September 2025, Mr. Huynh Thanh Tuan (Sa Dec ward) has been cultivating flowers on an area of approximately 8,000 ^{square meters} , with over 30,000 flower baskets of various types such as new-colored marigolds, phoenix flowers, and yellow lotus; of which, yellow lotus accounts for about 20,000 baskets. This is the second year that Mr. Tuan has grown a large quantity of yellow lotus plants for the market and is one of the few establishments in Sa Dec Flower Village that has successfully cultivated this flower variety.

Mr. Tuan revealed that the turmeric lotus is a new variety, originally called the Thai tulip, with the seeds purchased from Thailand. Once successfully cultivated in Sa Dec, the flower was given the new name "turmeric lotus" because its bloom closely resembles the Vietnamese lotus. From seedling to flowering and ready for sale, the turmeric lotus takes 75-90 days, with the flowering period lasting about a month. Currently, Mr. Tuan's lotus garden is continuously in bloom, with sales expected from now until Tet (Vietnamese New Year). Each basket of turmeric lotus sells for an average of 50,000 VND; the flowers are mainly sold through traders for distribution to the Ho Chi Minh City market and wholesale to flower and ornamental plant shops in Sa Dec ward.

In Cho Lach, the "flower and ornamental plant capital," farmers in Vinh Thanh, Phu Phung, and Hung Khanh Trung communes ( Vinh Long province) are tending to over 12 million ornamental plants, primarily chrysanthemums. For varieties like the "pom xoi" chrysanthemum, Thai chrysanthemum, and Taiwanese chrysanthemum, growers must prune the tops five times to ensure even foliage and beautiful blooms, sometimes even working at night with lights. If the weather is favorable, each pot of chrysanthemums can sell for 80,000-90,000 VND, yielding a profit of 40-50%. In Cho Lach commune, Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc is preparing about 500 yellow apricot blossom trees for the 2026 Tet holiday, priced at 1.5-2 million VND per tree, with traders already placing deposits exceeding 30%. According to Mr. Phuc, the weather is gradually stabilizing these days, and farmers are diligently fertilizing and watering the trees, awaiting the day to supply the apricot blossoms for Tet.

According to Mr. Tran Huu Nghi, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Cho Lach commune, the entire commune has 3,500 hectares of agricultural land, specializing in growing seedlings and ornamental flowers. This year, local farmers are preparing about 2.5 million flower and ornamental plant products, a 10% increase compared to 2024. Of these, chrysanthemum plants meeting OCOP 3-star standards account for 1.2 million products, with the remainder being marigolds, yellow apricot blossoms, and many other types of flowers. About 70% of the production has been purchased by traders, especially those in Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast region, while the rest are sold retail by the farmers at Tet flower markets.

Introducing new varieties of apricot blossoms.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy (Long Binh ward, Ho Chi Minh City) owns a ^20,000m² flower garden. She has just planted various ornamental flowers such as marigolds, chrysanthemums, kalanchoe, and cockscomb to supply 50,000 flower baskets to the Ho Chi Minh City market and some neighboring provinces for the Lunar New Year. Ms. Thuy said that her garden has maintained its loyal customers thanks to a strategy of keeping prices reasonable, accepting reduced profits to share with consumers. Simultaneously, Ms. Thuy also utilizes social media to reach new markets. “Since promoting on Facebook, more people know about my flower garden. Some customers just see the photos and place orders; I pack and ship them,” Ms. Thuy happily said.

Mr. Le Huu Thien, Director of Binh Loi Yellow Apricot Blossom Cooperative (Binh Loi commune, Ho Chi Minh City), shared: “I currently cultivate 10 hectares of apricot blossom trees and nearly 1,000 potted apricot blossom trees. This Tet holiday, I expect to supply the market with about 3,000 apricot blossom trees and several hundred potted apricot blossom trees. To date, the number of orders has reached over 50%.” According to Mr. Thien, apricot blossom cultivation requires meticulous work but provides a stable income. With careful tending, the owner can earn billions of dong annually. With an apricot blossom garden spanning tens of hectares, current care and monitoring are greatly aided by the application of science and technology. Through smartphones, farmers can observe the garden and water the trees. In addition, the garden has a "surveillance system" to warn against theft and protect the valuable apricot blossom garden.

We met Mr. Bui Ngoc Duc, owner of Huu Duc apricot blossom garden (Binh Loi commune, Ho Chi Minh City) on the last afternoon of the year. Pointing to his garden of over 20,000 apricot trees, spread across his family's 4-hectare area, Mr. Duc said that yellow apricot blossoms have helped local people earn much higher incomes compared to growing rice and sugarcane before. This Tet season, he has prepared thousands of apricot trees of various sizes, including high-quality bonsai apricot trees, for customers and traders from all over the country to choose from. Small trees range in price from 300,000 to 400,000 VND/tree, while larger trees and some bonsai apricot trees cost 500,000 to 700,000 VND each. Yellow apricot blossoms priced from several million to tens of millions of VND are also very common in his garden and in the Binh Loi apricot blossom village.

According to Mr. Bui Ngoc Duc, in recent years, the demand for yellow apricot blossoms during Tet (Lunar New Year) has been quite high among people in the northern provinces, especially Hanoi. Binh Loi yellow apricot blossoms, having been introduced to the market for many years, have established a strong brand, particularly in terms of flower quality and the expertise of the growers, leading to many orders from customers in the North.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Gon, Chairwoman of the Farmers' Association of Binh Loi Commune (Ho Chi Minh City), said that Binh Loi's yellow apricot blossoms stand out thanks to their vibrant color, thicker petals, and longer-lasting blooms (3-7 days). This Tet season, Binh Loi is also introducing new apricot blossom varieties such as the grafted super-blooming Binh Loi apricot blossom and the super-blooming clustered apricot blossom, promising to create a highlight in the market.

Source: https://htv.com.vn/lang-hoa-tat-bat-vu-tet-222251212092415994.htm