Apricot blossoms have "hot" prices during Tet

Every spring , flowers compete to show off their bright colors, however, there is only one flower that is known as the " King of Tet flowers", which is the mai flower . With its pure beauty, strong vitality and diverse designs, despite its expensive price, in recent years, mai flower has always received much attention and acceptance from connoisseurs during the Lunar New Year.

The "King" of Tet flowers

Mai chi, also known as white mai, is ranked among the "ten famous flowers", one of the rare flowers, difficult to grow and picky about the player . According to legend, Mai chi in the past often grew in remote places, rocky mountains with cold winters. White mai overcomes the harsh cold to bloom brilliantly in spring , symbolizing purity, innocence and strong vitality.

Apricot blossoms often bloom every spring. Photo: Tra Huong

Because of the miraculous vitality, pure white flowers, faint fragrance and slender body of the mai tree, our ancestors classified it as one of the four noble trees representing the spirit of a strong and upright gentleman and became a beautiful symbol in Vietnamese poetry since ancient times. In addition, placing this tree in the house every time Tet comes to Spring carries the idea of welcoming fortune into the house, bringing prosperity and wealth to the homeowner.

Having been attached to this precious flower for nearly 40 years, Mr. Nguyen Hai Son, Dong Thinh commune, Song Lo district is a famous apricot grower in the region. Currently, he owns a garden of thousands of apricot trees, supplying the market with 500 million each year. - 700 trees during Tet.

Sharing about the characteristics of this tree, Mr. Son said: “The most beautiful thing about the apricot tree is its shape, flower color and roots. The apricot tree grows slowly, has rough roots, and its trunk and roots are shiny black.

The mai flower is pure white, a flower usually has 5-6 layers of small petals overlapping each other, while special flowers will have 8-9 layers of petals. The mai flower has 4 colors from the time it buds until it fades, from green buds to pink buds, when it blooms it is white, when it almost fades it is purple pink, like the four seasons: Spring , Summer , Fall , Winter .

Plum blossoms when in full bloom...

...when it is almost done, it will turn from white to purple-pink. Photo: Tra Huong

The difficulty in growing mai chi is the grafting and care because the trunk and branches are very small and brittle. Mai chi is also a water-loving species but cannot tolerate waterlogging, and the soil must not be allowed to dry out. Mai roots are small and weak, so the soil must be airy for the roots to develop. Plants planted in the ground are easier to care for than plants grown in pots. The tree is also susceptible to sap flow and stem borers, so mai growers and mai players must always pay attention.

It is known that the mai tree is precious not only for its pure flower color, care, and elaborate shaping, but also for its characteristic of blooming twice. The first flower blooms around December 25. until the full moon of January. After that, flower players strip the leaves, trim the branches to shape the apricot tree so that it blooms again around the second lunar month. Thanks to this uniqueness, the apricot tree is sought after more during Tet, especially apricot trees with unique shapes that symbolize luck, happiness, and fortune.

"Hot" price still attracts customers

Currently, the Tet flower market in the Ho Chi Minh Square area, Vinh Yen city is selling mai trees with different shapes and sizes , priced from several million to several tens of million VND. Mai trees here are mainly imported from Lao Cai, Lai Chau provinces or some famous garden houses in the province in Song Lo district , Phuc Yen city .

Although the price is not cheap, this type of mai still attracts visitors to visit, order and rent trees. Many gardeners also create shapes and forms for the mai flower pots as well as graft mai branches onto the rough, mossy "giant" tree trunk to make the mai flower pots more attractive.

Many guests were engrossed in admiring the flower pots with unique shapes and forms. Photo: Tra Huong

According to Ms. Thanh, the owner of Ha Thanh garden selling mai flower at the Tet flower market, said: "Currently, although there are still 2 weeks left until Tet, nearly 500 mai flower trees of the garden have been ordered by many customers. For bonsai mai flower pots (4 years old or older) with upright, double-tree, curved, waterfall shapes... the price ranges from 3 to 5 million VND.

Mai pots grafted onto peach or plum roots and covered with green moss cost from 5 million VND to tens of millions of VND depending on the age and origin of the tree. In addition to selling, the garden also provides a service to rent mai trees with a rental price of 1.5 - 3 million VND or customers can buy the tree and hire someone to periodically take care of it at home.

Along with peach blossoms, mai flower is one of the symbols of Northern spring and is increasingly popular in the market . In the drizzling spring rain, mai flower buds bloom with white flowers and green buds, carrying the idea of growth and development, bringing prosperity to flower-loving homeowners.

Thao My

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