Flower growers are busy preparing for the Lunar New Year season.

From the beginning of the seventh lunar month, the flower-growing village of Binh Lam (Tuy Phuoc Dong commune) begins its Tet flower season. The entire village currently has nearly 200 households growing flowers on a total area of over 7 hectares, mainly crystal chrysanthemums and other types of flowers grown in greenhouses.

Mr. Van Tan Thanh (Binh Lam village, Tuy Phuoc Dong commune) is worried as his chrysanthemum plants for Tet (Lunar New Year) are suffering from wilting disease and dying in large numbers. Photo: Trong Loi

After more than a month of care, the plants were in a good growth stage when they were suddenly attacked by pests and diseases, the most worrying of which was bacterial wilt.

Mr. Van Tan Thanh sadly recounted: "I've been growing flowers for many years, but I've never encountered such difficulties as this year. The flowers, which were lush and green, suddenly wilted and died prematurely. I had to uproot them and replace them with new plants, but the disease still didn't subside."

Of the 300 pots of crystal chrysanthemums that Mr. Thanh planted, more than half were infected with disease; the cause may be due to purchasing seedlings that already carried the disease.

While he earned over 50 million VND in profit last year during the Lunar New Year season, this year his profits are expected to decrease significantly. To mitigate risks, he has allocated an additional 120 square meters in his greenhouse to cultivate other types of flowers such as pico chrysanthemums, daisies, marigolds, and chrysanthemum blossoms.

According to statistics, about two-thirds of chrysanthemum growers in Binh Lam are facing similar problems, making early-season care difficult. Despite this, the households are persevering in pest and disease control in the hope of securing a stable income for the upcoming Tet holiday.

In addition to growing flowers in the fields, some members of the Binh Lam Flower Service Cooperative are also pioneering the cultivation of tissue-cultured flowers in greenhouses with varieties such as tall gerberas, petunias, pico daisies, etc., in order to diversify the types of flowers to serve the Tet market.

In villages known for growing chrysanthemums for Tet (Lunar New Year), such as Vinh Liem (Binh Dinh ward), Go Sat (Van Duc commune), and Kien Long (Binh An commune), gardeners are busily tending to their flowers to ensure they are ready for sale during Tet. In Vinh Liem flower village, the atmosphere is quite bustling as Tet approaches. In recent years, the area dedicated to flower cultivation has shrunk due to land being allocated for residential development, but about 20 households remain determined to preserve this traditional craft.

This year, Mr. Le Van Tu (from Vinh Liem residential area) continues to invest in planting 300 pots of chrysanthemum. He imported all the seedlings from Da Lat, ensuring quality, so the plants are growing well and are less susceptible to disease. Last year, with the same number of pots, he earned over 40 million VND in profit. This year, he hopes that if the weather is favorable, the flowers will bloom beautifully and on time, providing a stable income for his family.

Farmers in Vinh Liem residential area (Binh Dinh ward) are busy tending to chrysanthemums for the Tet holiday.

Farmers in Vinh Liem residential area (Binh Dinh ward) are busy tending to chrysanthemums for the Tet holiday. Photo: Trong Loi

“There are still some cases of wilting, but they are insignificant thanks to my selection of the right variety and timely spraying of pesticides. Now the trees have been pruned for the second time, and we are preparing to stop using electric lights to adjust the timing of bud formation,” Mr. Tu said.

Along the bypass of National Highway 1 or the main roads of An Nhon Dong ward these days, it's easy to see people busy tending to their apricot blossom trees. Mr. Nguyen Van Hao, the owner of a large apricot blossom garden in Thanh Liem residential area, currently has more than 3,000 apricot blossom trees aged 4-5 years. With Tet approaching, he is preparing more than 1,000 high-quality yellow apricot blossom trees and over 300 bonsai apricot blossom trees to sell on the market.

“After two rounds of pruning and staking, now comes the most important stage – nurturing the buds. At this point, we can say that the weather is favorable for apricot blossom growers. This job is hard work, but it's rewarding because seeing the apricot blossoms bloom means Tet (Lunar New Year) has arrived,” Mr. Hao said.

According to Mr. Phan Long Hung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of An Nhon Dong ward, the ward currently has nearly 100 hectares of apricot blossom trees with about 2,400 households participating. Last year, the revenue from selling apricot blossom trees for Tet in the entire ward reached over 70 billion VND.

Local authorities are advising farmers to control the planted area to avoid oversupply, while promoting the model of growing clean apricot blossoms using biological products to both protect the environment and enhance the value of the product.

Despite facing numerous difficulties due to weather and disease, flower growers in the craft villages of the eastern part of the province continue to work diligently in their fields and gardens. For them, each potted flower is not only an economic product but also the culmination of their hard work, faith, and hope for a beautiful spring season that is fast approaching.

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