Western raspberry chrysanthemums are bustlingly leaving their gardens to go to Hanoi to celebrate Tet early.

(Dan Tri) - This year, Ben Tre farmers planted about 1.5 million pots of chrysanthemums. The early blooming pots will be purchased by traders to sell in the Hanoi market.

"This year there was a lot of rain, but few pests and diseases, so the chrysanthemum crop was good. I planted 1,500 pots, each pot cost more than 30,000 VND, and sold for 80,000 VND. In the past few days, I have sold 200 pots, and the remaining ones have been ordered by traders. I am very happy and relieved now," said Mr. Tran Van Au (61 years old, living in Cho Lach district, Ben Tre province) while calculating the price of selling flowers with traders.

Pots of early blooming chrysanthemums are being taken out of the field (Photo: Nguyen Cuong).

Mr. Au said that growing chrysanthemums to sell for Tet is the main job of many households in the area. Chrysanthemums are the longest blooming flowers, and their prices are much higher than those of marigolds, cockscombs, etc. Every June, gardeners start planting. Growing chrysanthemums is very hard work, because in addition to fertilizing, farmers also have to cut off the tops of the plants many times so that the flower pots can branch out and flourish. Not far from Mr. Au's house, the family of Mr. Dang Van Thanh (47 years old) is also harvesting chrysanthemums. The men are in charge of bundling the flowers and bringing them from the fields to the shore, while the women cover the flowers with paper to avoid crushing them during long-distance transport.

Early blooming chrysanthemums will be transported to the Hanoi market for sale, because the climate here is colder, the flowers will bloom slowly (Photo: Nguyen Cuong).

"This year I planted 4,000 pots of chrysanthemums, costing 120 million VND. So far, customers have bought all of them at 85,000 VND/pot, making a good profit. This year there was a lot of rain but no pests or diseases, growing flowers is less expensive, and the flowers are more beautiful than previous years. The selling price is about the same as every year, but this year it is easy to sell," said Mr. Thanh. Working in the flower field with Mr. Thanh, Mr. Nguyen Van Liep is also actively wrapping flowers to deliver to traders on time. This year, Mr. Liep and his wife planted 1,800 pots of chrysanthemums, which have been sold out.

Farmers busy harvesting flowers (Photo: Nguyen Cuong).

The old farmer calculated that after 6 months of hard work, the chrysanthemum garden yielded a profit of over 80 million VND, enough for the couple to spend for the next year. "Not every pot of flowers in the garden is the same. There are beautiful pots, some not so beautiful pots, some blooming early, some blooming late. This year, about 90% of my flowers are of good quality. The pots that bloom early will be sold to traders to take to Hanoi, because in the cold weather in the North, the flowers will stop blooming or bloom slowly, lasting until after Tet. The pots that bloom close to Tet will be sold to traders to take to Ho Chi Minh City," said Mr. Liep. With more than 20 days left until the Lunar New Year of At Ty 2025, all the chrysanthemum gardens in Cho Lach are actively taking care of their products. For them, the money they spend for the next year depends on this month.

Chrysanthemums, like peach, apricot, and kumquat, have all become traditional Tet ornamental plants of the Vietnamese people (Photo: Nguyen Cuong).

According to statistics from the local agricultural sector, Cho Lach district has more than 6,400 households producing and trading ornamental plants and flowers. The main ornamental plants and flowers of the district include apricot, bougainvillea, bonsai, chrysanthemums, etc. This Tet season, Cho Lach residents produced more than 10 million flower and ornamental plant products for sale nationwide, including about 1.5 million pots of chrysanthemums. To honor the main industry of the locality, Cho Lach district has planned to organize the Ornamental Flower Festival from January 8 to 12 with many activities, the most prominent of which is the construction of a 15km flower street, setting a Vietnamese record.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/lao-dong-viec-lam/cuc-mam-xoi-mien-tay-tap-nap-roi-vuon-ra-ha-noi-don-tet-som-20250105152734817.htm