Initially, in Xuan Mai village, Ninh An commune, Hoa Lu district, only a few households grew bougainvillea for indoor decoration. Unexpectedly, some visitors expressed interest in buying them and offered very high prices. Sensing the market, more and more villagers began researching and investing in large-scale bougainvillea cultivation. Bougainvillea has become a cash crop, bringing high income to the local people.
Arriving in Xuan Mai during the most beautiful bougainvillea flowering season of the year, we were overwhelmed by the dreamy, vibrant atmosphere and the diverse shapes and forms of the trees created by the skillful and diligent hands of the farmers in this rural area.
As one of the first people in Xuan Mai village to introduce bougainvillea cultivation, Mr. Vu Van Lanh now owns a 2,000 m2 garden with hundreds of bougainvillea trees of various sizes. Many of these trees are decades old, with trunk diameters of up to 30-40 cm and heights of 4-5 m, valued at hundreds of millions of dong.
Mr. Lanh shared: "My family has been in the ornamental plant business for 20 years, but after spending some time learning about bougainvillea, I became fascinated with this plant. Bougainvillea is extremely easy to care for, almost free from pests and diseases. In particular, its root system is very beautiful and easy to shape, and it blooms year-round with vibrant, eye-catching colors. Because of these characteristics, I decided to switch to specializing in growing this plant," Mr. Lanh said.
The bougainvillea varieties that Mr. Lanh is growing are all original varieties with colors like firecracker pink and pink mixed with white. The main shapes are tea table and gatehouse styles. Besides growing and propagating them himself, Mr. Lanh also buys and collects ancient bougainvillea plants from all over to care for and shape before supplying them to the market. At current market prices, after deducting initial investment costs for seedlings, labor, and fertilizer, the bougainvillea plants bring in hundreds of millions of dong in income for his family each year.
Mr. Lanh said that he also has plans to further improve the beautiful bougainvillea garden, planting more water lilies and lotus flowers in the pond, in order to offer photo check-in services and homestay accommodation to increase his family's income.
Nguyen Van Tue, who also chose to cultivate bougainvillea on his garden plot, shared: "As a self-taught grower, I had to invest a lot of time and effort in the beginning to research and master the techniques. According to Mr. Tue, the most difficult part of growing ornamental plants is pruning and shaping, which requires a high level of skill from the gardener. Although bougainvillea is known as 'easy to grow,' getting the plant to produce concentrated blooms with rich, vibrant colors that last is not simple at all. In the early stages, lacking experience, I faced many difficulties. I struggled for a while, learning as I went, gaining experience, before finally succeeding after a year."
"For this type of plant, consistent care is essential, along with regular monitoring and observation to shape the plant in a timely manner. In the winter in Northern Vietnam, the weather is cold and there is little sunshine, so bougainvillea usually produces very few flowers. At that time, you must use water restriction techniques, avoid applying too much nitrogen fertilizer, and mainly apply phosphorus, potassium, and organic fertilizers to stimulate flowering," Mr. Tue revealed some of his experience in caring for bougainvillea.
Currently, Mr. Tuệ's garden has nearly 100 bougainvillea plants of various sizes and colors. Depending on the size and beauty of the plant, the price ranges from 500,000 VND to several million VND per pot.
According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Toan, Party Secretary and head of Xuan Mai village: "Up to now, more than 10 households in the village are engaged in growing bougainvillea. Every year, these households produce thousands of products that suit consumer tastes and are well-received by markets both within and outside the province. Not only has the income of the people improved, but the environmental landscape in the village has also become more beautiful."
Reportedly, in order to create favorable conditions for people to develop their economy , Ninh An commune recently planned a concentrated production area of 3 acres for people to relocate to and expand their production scale. This is the right direction, consistent with the policy of transforming the structure of crops and livestock to develop agricultural economy in specialized, commodity-based areas. Text and photos: Nguyen Luu
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