Peach orchards in Thai Binh are bustling as Tet approaches, with traders placing orders for entire orchards.

These days, peach blossom growers in Minh Tan commune (Dong Hung district, Thai Binh province) are busy preparing for the Tet holiday.

The weather is favorable this year, so the peach blossoms will be beautiful.

Minh Tan commune has long been known as one of the localities with a large and famous area for growing ornamental peach trees in Thai Binh province. At this time, in the gardens, people are busy taking care of flowers and ornamental plants in preparation for the year-end flower season to welcome the Year of the Snake.

Ms. Tran Thi Khue hired 4-5 workers to take care of ornamental peach trees in preparation for Tet (Lunar New Year).

Ms. Tran Thi Khue (46 years old, residing in Dinh Phung village), the owner of a peach orchard in Minh Tan commune, said that these days her family has about 4-5 people stripping leaves from peach trees to prepare for the Tet holiday. Currently, the flower buds are small, and this is also the suitable time to strip the leaves without affecting the buds on the tree.

According to Ms. Khue, this year's weather forecast predicts favorable conditions. To ensure the peach blossoms bloom in time for Tet, after the leaves are stripped, the trees will be watered regularly, and one month after the leaves are removed, they will be fertilized.

Ms. Khue's family has been growing peach trees for nearly 20 years. Currently, their orchard covers 4 sao (approximately 0.4 hectares) of peach trees, with 1 sao planted with seedlings and 1 sao with over 100 trees ready for harvest. From the time of planting the rootstock and grafting, to caring for the trees, it takes 2 years before they can harvest.

"Every year, after deducting all expenses, I earn about 100 million VND per harvest. My peach orchard with over 200 trees has already been completely sold out," Ms. Khue happily stated.

Ms. Trinh Thi Mo is tending to her ornamental peach blossom garden in preparation for the Lunar New Year.

Ms. Trinh Thi Mo (Hung Son village, Minh Tan commune) said that her family has a total of 4 peach orchards with more than 400 large peach trees to sell during this year's Lunar New Year.

Ms. Mo usually prunes the peach tree leaves about 2-3 times, pruning the leaves on the larger, longer branches first, and then the shorter branches about 10 days later, so that all branches bloom evenly because the young, long branches tend to bloom later than the older branches.

"This year, the weather near Tet is cold, with little rain and no frost yet, so the peach blossoms have many buds, promising to bloom beautifully right on Tet. However, peach blossoms are a bit scarce because many orchards were damaged by typhoon number 3 and haven't had time to recover," Ms. Mo shared.

According to peach growers in Minh Tan commune, stripping the leaves from peach trees must be done at the right time so that the trees have enough nutrients to nourish the buds and bloom beautifully in time for the Lunar New Year. Whether the harvest is profitable for the people depends not only on daily tree care but also on the leaf-stripping process, which is considered one of the most important steps.

The price of peach blossoms for Tet will increase slightly.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung (37 years old, Hung Son village, Minh Tan commune) shared that he has been involved in growing ornamental peach trees for 15 years. Although the work is hard, it provides a stable income, five times higher than growing rice.

According to Mr. Hung's experience, to have a beautiful and valuable peach tree, it's usually pruned three times a year, and up to four times in leap years. The most important step is planting, preparing the soil, and caring for the trees to ensure they always have sufficient moisture.

The peach orchards have already been reserved by traders, ready for sale to meet Tet holiday demand.

"In addition, the process of stripping the leaves from peach blossoms requires experience; the flower buds at the base of the leaves must be protected, each leaf must be plucked individually, and one should not strip them straight down from the top as this can easily damage the flower buds," Hung revealed.

According to Mr. Hung, peach tree cultivation is heavily dependent on the weather; however, with the skill of stripping leaves, success is still possible. Weather and human hands are factors that influence the flowering of the trees.

This year, many households in Minh Tan commune have seen their peach blossom trees reduced by 100-200 trees due to the severe impact of Typhoon Yagi , which caused trees to break, fall, and flood, resulting in 30-40% damage. Therefore, it is expected that the market for peach blossoms during Tet (Lunar New Year) will be scarcer and prices will be higher than last year.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung next to his family's peach orchard.

Due to the anticipated scarcity of peach blossoms, traders are now flocking to peach orchards to place orders. Although only in the leaf-stripping stage, many peach trees have already been reserved or purchased by people to decorate their homes for Tet (Lunar New Year).

"The rental price for a peach blossom tree here is currently around 1-2 million VND per tree. If sold, the price can go up to tens of millions of VND depending on the size, shape of the tree, and how many flowers bloom," Mr. Hung said.

Speaking with a reporter from Giao Thong Newspaper, the leader of Minh Tan commune People's Committee said that it is one of the localities in Thai Binh province with a long tradition of growing flowers and ornamental plants, mainly concentrated in 3 villages: Dinh Phung, Hoang Duc, and Hung Son, with a total area of ​​over 60 hectares of peach trees.

The ornamental peach tree cultivation business also provides people with a much higher income compared to rice farming in other localities in the area.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/vua-dao-thai-binh-tat-bat-vao-vu-tet-thuong-lai-dat-ca-vuon-192241218091442606.htm