Hanoi, the capital of peach and kumquat cultivation, is bustling with preparations to supply goods for the Lunar New Year.

Although Typhoon No. 3 caused heavy losses to peach and kumquat growers, in the final days of the year, people are busy preparing for a 'honey-making season'.

Kumquat growers in Tu Lien are busy tending to the trees that survived the storm in order to supply goods for the Lunar New Year.

Following the severe damage caused by Typhoon No. 3, peach and kumquat growers in Nhat Tan and Tu Lien villages (Tay Ho district, Hanoi ) are working hard to restore their orchards in time for the Lunar New Year market. Despite the tight deadline, farmers are working day and night to care for and restore the peach and kumquat trees that were flooded or broken, hoping to bring about a complete and successful Tet season.

The 'sighs' after the storm: According to estimates from some orchard owners in Nhat Tan, Phu Thuong, Tu Lien, and Quang An (Tay Ho district), after typhoon No. 3, about 30 to 40% of the peach and kumquat orchards there were flooded, with estimated damages of about 90 billion VND.

For many years, the family of Mr. Nguyen Sy Hung (Nhat Tan, Tay Ho) has relied on peach blossoms for their livelihood during Tet (Lunar New Year). However, this year, the carefully tended bonsai and branch peach trees, prepared for sale during the Tet season, were almost completely destroyed when they were submerged in floodwaters.

Nearly three months have passed since the storm, but Mr. Hung still sighs as he recounts the days spent saving trees after the storm so that they could have a Tet holiday like every year.

Mr. Hung recounted that as soon as the Red River water receded, every household quickly pumped out the water and cleaned the mud from the base of each peach tree. Flower and ornamental plant growers carefully tend to the branches, so they meticulously check each root, cutting off any parts that are waterlogged in order to save the parts that can still survive.

Locals meticulously care for their peach trees "as if they were their own children" in preparation for the 2025 Tet harvest.

"With such flooding, the root system has been severely damaged. Once it dries quickly, we can apply root stimulants and continue to supplement nutrients to help the tree grow, trying to save it," Mr. Hung shared.

According to Mr. Hung, people in the area had to rush to Xuan Mai, Phu Tho, to Vinh Phuc, and to Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa to buy peach tree saplings for replanting. Due to the high demand for replanting peach trees after the major floods, the price of the trees has skyrocketed, increasing 7-8 times compared to previous years. Despite the high prices, many people still cannot gather enough trees because the supply is limited.

The kumquat growers in Tu Lien also share the same hardship. Ms. Tran Thi Quynh expressed her sorrow: "Seeing the heavy rain and rising river water, my family mobilized all resources to save the trees, but we could only save a portion. I went to the end of the garden to check, and when I came back in, the water had risen to my neck." With about 3,000 potted trees remaining, her family could only watch helplessly as the water submerged them, with estimated losses of several billion dong.

Since the flood, Ms. Quynh has had to hire workers every day to dig up damaged trees and plant seedlings. The kumquat trees that were left on the dike to escape the flood are now being transported back to the garden by crane, pruned, and prepared for sale during Tet (Lunar New Year).

Spring returns to the 'capital' of kumquat and peach blossoms. Visiting the peach and kumquat orchards around this time, you'll see people patiently tending to the budding flowers and fruits, signaling the approaching Tet holiday. Although the area planted with these spring-colored trees in the capital is not as extensive as before, vitality still remains in the peach and kumquat trees that the orchard owners have diligently cared for and nurtured.

From the end of November, orchards in Nhat Tan have been busy stripping leaves and "re-dressing" peach trees in preparation for nurturing buds to produce flowers for the Tet market.

Mr. Hung said: "There will still be peach blossoms this Tet holiday, but they will be expensive. I don't know what the market will be like." He predicted that the weather will be colder this year, but that wouldn't significantly affect the flowers because most people in the area have years of experience in caring for them.

The remaining peach trees in Mr. Hung's garden are close to their growth trajectory and will bloom like in previous years, promising that Nhat Tan peach blossoms will still be available on the streets this Tet holiday.

The kumquat orchards in Tu Lien are a vibrant green of leaves, mixed with the golden hue of ripening kumquats, anxiously awaiting Tet (Lunar New Year).

According to some kumquat growers in Tu Lien, growing kumquats is as hard work as growing peach trees, requiring a lot of care and dedication to produce beautiful trees. Currently, the orchards are in the final stages of preparing the kumquats so they ripen to a golden yellow in time for Tet (Lunar New Year). For bonsai kumquat trees, because they are grown in pots, they require even more care.

During this time, Ms. Quynh hires 2-10 workers to care for and shape the surviving kumquat trees so they will be ready for Tet (Lunar New Year). The gloomy grayish-brown color of the kumquat trees that died from flooding after Typhoon Yagi still flickers, but the green of the leaves, mixed with the yellowish hue of the ripening kumquats, are also waiting for Tet.

According to Ms. Quynh, despite the heavy losses, her family still has about 2,000 kumquat trees of various sizes to serve the Lunar New Year 2025. She is still selling the remaining old trees in her garden at the same price as in previous years, without increasing prices due to the general economic difficulties. Furthermore, most of the customers who come to her garden are regulars from previous years, so the selling price remains unchanged.

After the natural disaster, thanks to the perseverance and diligent care of the households in the "capital" of kumquat and peach blossom trees, people are still looking forward to this year's Tet holiday, when the colors of peach blossoms and kumquats will still be displayed in the streets of the capital and surrounding areas.

(Source: Vietnam+)

Source: https://baophutho.vn/thu-phu-dao-quat-o-ha-noi-ruc-rich-chuan-bi-hang-cung-ung-tet-nguyen-dan-224238.htm