Apricot blossom growers prepare for the new season.

(GLO) - After a turbulent Tet flower season, apricot blossom growers in An Nhon Dong and An Nhon Bac wards (Gia Lai province) are busy entering a new care season. Major procedures such as leaf removal, pruning, and soil replacement are being carried out urgently, with hopes for a more prosperous Tet flower season next year.

Get back on your feet and prepare for the new flowering season.

From the 7th day of the first lunar month, the apricot blossom gardens in Thuan Thai residential area (An Nhon Dong ward) are bustling with the atmosphere of "reviving" the trees. Three-wheeled carts and trucks carrying apricot blossom trees of all sizes line up to return to the gardens. Some pots still have buds, others have just finished blooming; all are brought back for pruning, repotting, and rejuvenation.

On their more than 2 sao (500 ^m² /sao) of land planted with apricot blossom trees, Mr. Bui Xuan Tan (50 years old) and his wife, Mrs. Ho Thi Hanh (49 years old, residing in Thuan Thai residential area), have been diligently working for many days. With nimble hands, they cut off old branches and remove all the green leaves. Mrs. Hanh said they have to do it early so the trees have time to recover.

"The whole thing was a failure," said Mrs. Hanh. Her family owns over 800 apricot blossom trees, mostly the 'mai giao' and 'mai cuc' varieties, aged 4-10 years. After two storms and floods at the end of 2025, many trees withered, bloomed prematurely, had broken branches, and damaged pots. Despite their best efforts to save the trees, they only managed to sell 26 pots, earning a meager 12 million VND, while the investment cost was over 60 million VND.

Ms. Ho Thi Hanh (Thuan Thai residential area, An Nhon Dong ward) is pruning old branches and removing all green leaves from her apricot blossom tree after Tet. Photo: Trong Loi

Mr. Tan sighed, "There were times I thought about giving up, but what else could I do? I still have plenty of trees in the garden, and I'm not young enough to start over." With that thought in mind, he and his wife continued pruning, repotting weaker trees, changing the soil, mulching with coconut fiber or rice husks around the base, fertilizing, spraying pesticides, and shaping the trees according to a schedule. As long as there's life, there's hope; they'll make up for lost money next year!

Next to Mr. Tan's garden, Mr. Tran Van Vinh (45 years old, residing in Loc Ngai village, Tuy Phuoc Bac commune) and his brothers are also busy removing leaves from nearly 800 apricot blossom trees. This past Tet season, the entire garden only brought in less than 9 million VND.

“It’s a failure! But I can’t give up, so I have to borrow money to keep going. Sometimes I don’t want to go to the garden, but then I think, if I don’t take care of it in time, the plants will wither. If things don’t go well next year, I’ll probably consider closing down,” Mr. Vinh said sadly.

"Major surgical" techniques and the market challenge.

In Trung Ly residential area (An Nhon Bac ward), Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hien, with 22 years of experience in the profession, is considered fortunate to have sold nearly 200 out of 3,000 plants during the recent Tet flower season. "In recent years, purchasing power has gradually decreased, and this year it has dropped particularly sharply," he remarked.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hien (Trung Ly residential area, An Nhon Bac ward) replaces the soil around his apricot tree, hoping it will thrive. Photo: Trong Loi

According to statistics from An Nhon Bac ward, the locality has about 150 hectares of land for growing apricot blossoms, but the revenue from the Tet flower season of the Year of the Horse 2026 only reached 89 billion VND, a decrease of about 40 billion VND compared to the previous year.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Dung, Chairman of the People's Committee of An Nhon Bac Ward, said that this is one of the most difficult years for the local apricot blossom industry.

"It's not just due to reduced purchasing power, but also the double impact of storms and floods at the end of 2025, which damaged many areas of apricot blossom trees, resulting in flower quality not meeting expectations. When people's incomes decrease, spending on apricot blossom trees after Tet also tightens," Mr. Dung commented.

For the time being, the An Nhon Bac Ward People's Committee is guiding residents to focus on caring for the existing area and not to expand. In the long term, the ward will review and re-plan the planting area, prioritizing the old Nhon Hanh area; at the same time, it will analyze the market and assess economic efficiency to have a more sustainable development orientation.

In An Nhon Dong ward, which has 131 hectares of land dedicated to growing apricot blossoms with over 800,000 trees, the recent Tet flower season saw a sharp decline in demand, resulting in slow sales. Instead of setting up stalls along the National Highway 1 bypass and inter-ward roads as in previous years, many gardeners had to transport their apricot blossoms to other provinces to find buyers.

Mr. Phan Long Hung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of An Nhon Dong Ward, revealed: The market for Tet apricot blossoms is sluggish due to successive natural disasters in 2025, along with diseases (including African swine fever) which have significantly affected purchasing power.

After the Lunar New Year, local authorities advised farmers to focus on taking good care of their existing orchards. In addition, many gardeners also offered post-Tet apricot blossom care services to regular customers to generate extra income.

As the Lunar New Year flower season draws to a close, the apricot blossom trees enter a new phase of care. Despite lingering worries, apricot blossom growers in the "capital of Central Vietnam" quietly remain in their gardens and fields. For them, preserving the shape of the apricot blossoms is also preserving hope for an even more vibrant spring to come.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/nguoi-trong-mai-chuan-bi-vu-moi-post580918.html