Chrysanthemum smiles
When we walked through the chrysanthemum villages of Vinh Liem and Liem Truc in Binh Dinh District (An Nhon City, Binh Dinh) in mid-December, it was cloudy and windy. Pots of chrysanthemums planted to celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit 2023 to serve consumers are full of flowers. There were bright smiles on the faces of the gardeners who planted chrysanthemums this year.
The “three-legged” truck is waiting to bring Mr. Tran Huu Van’s large pots of daisies south for consumption during the 2023 Lunar New Year. Photo: VDT
On the downtown concrete road next to Binh Dinh district industrial cluster, we saw a “three-legged” truck waiting to “eat” huge pots of daisies. This car was hired from a southern trader to transport large 90 cm diameter pots of daisies purchased from Mr. Tran Huu Van (born 1961) in Binh Dinh District to Ho Chi Minh City, to supply the Tet market.
Mr. Tran Huu Van, owner of nearly 2,000 pots of chrysanthemums of all sizes standing on a vacant lot next to the industrial cluster in Binh Dinh district, works with workers to push large pots of daisies onto the truck. Tired of hearing this, but when we asked about the production of chrysanthemums this year, Mr. Van immediately smiled “as fresh as chrysanthemums” and put his hands up to chat while panting.
Mr. Tran Huu Van (under the right cover) is with workers pushing huge pots of chrysanthemums onto the truck. Photo: VDT
According to Mr Van, he only planted more than 800 pots in 2021 because he was still afraid of the Covid-19 epidemic. Last year, Tet chrysanthemums were unexpectedly sold “as expensive as hot cakes”, the price was high, so this year he boldly planted 1,200 pots of daisies and about 700-800 pots of variegated conifers in small pots. Dai Dai Anh Van grows all pot sizes, pots with the smallest diameter are also 40 cm, larger pots are 50 – 90 cm, with the largest diameters are 1.2 m, the largest are pots with a size of 60 – 70 cm.
The price of chrysanthemums has also unexpectedly increased this year. Chrysanthemums planted in 1.2 m pots Mr. Van sold VND 4 million/pot at the farm; Pots with a diameter of 90 cm are sold at VND 3 million/pot; Pots with a diameter of 80 cm are sold for VND 2.5 million/pot; Pots with a diameter of 70 cm are sold at VND 1.8 million and chrysanthemums planted in pots with a diameter of 60 cm are sold at VND 800,000/pot.
Mr. Tran Huu Van next to a 1.2 m diameter pot of daisies, the flower buds have opened and promise to bloom in time for Tet. Photo: VDT
According to Mr. Van, thanks to this year’s accurate weather monitoring, his chrysanthemums are growing steadily, the flowers are dense and blooming on the occasion of Tet, so the selling price is about VND 200,000/pot higher than in previous years. This year the input costs are high, but thanks to the increase in sales prices, producers still have a good profit. Purchasing power is also very strong this year. A few years ago, Tet chrysanthemums in An Nhon were mainly sold to the central highlands, Phu Yen, Da Nang and the domestic market of Binh Dinh province. That year, traders in the south and west bought a lot, so Tet chrysanthemums were sold heavily.
“Currently, all the chrysanthemums I have planted have been bought from dealers. The pots of chrysanthemums that I load onto the other trucks can be bought from southern merchants. Merchants in the south and west only buy large pots of chrysanthemums because the people there are economically well off and entitled to buy expensive pots of chrysanthemums for Tet. Chrysanthemums grown in 1.2 m diameter pots I sell at the yard for VND 4 million/pot, but when they reach consumers it can be up to VND 6-7 million/pot.
The chrysanthemum pots that merchants in the province bought and sent back to the court will later carry them near Tet. 700-800 pots of multi-colored daisies grown in small pots cost 100,000 VND/pot, which I sell to balance labor and input costs, and the profit of 1,200 pots of daisies is the net profit of this year’s daisy harvest. Tran Huu Van.
The weather favors chrysanthemum growers
When we visited the chrysanthemum area in Vinh Liem District, Binh Dinh District, we saw that the pots of daisies displayed on the green roadside were all bright, and thick flowers opened their buds. Ms. Le Thi Thanh Ha in Vinh Liem district sits and crouches to tie the leaves neatly to make the pot of daisies more beautiful.
Ms. Le Thi Thanh Ha ties leaves to make the daisy pots cleaner and more beautiful. Photo: VDT
During the work, Ms. Ha shared, “This year, she and her husband made only 200 pots, mainly planted in pots with a diameter of 40-60 cm. This year we predict people will do better than last year.” will be expensive and will sell well, but since there is no place to put the pots, my husband and I can only make 200 pots with our best efforts manufacture.
According to Ms. Ha, 1 month after planting, the chrysanthemum must break the tip for the first time, then you need to expand the pot to make the chrysanthemum grow. When the electricity is cut off, the daisy pots need to be expanded to allow the chrysanthemums to prevent disease. This year she and her husband only planted 200 pots, now they have been bought by traders. Some will be sold to traders in Phu Cat (Binh Dinh) district, some will be sold to traders in Phu Yen, some will be bought from traders and transported to Ho Chi Minh City and after December full moon (January 6, 2023) sold. transported, sold within the province, after December 20, they will all carry them. Chrysanthemums grown in 50cm pot for several years, the highest price is only VND 300,000/pot, this year sells VND 400,000/pot, 60cm pots sells VND 700,000-800,000/pot…
Most of the farmers’ daisies give flowers in time for the 2023 New Year of the Rabbit. Photo: VDT
This year the weather is very favorable for chrysanthemum growers. Chrysanthemum growers are watching the weather forecast and knowing that the rainy season will be long this year, afraid that cold rain will make the chrysanthemum bloom late, not in time for Tet, so gardeners pay attention to the time of sowing to bloom earlier than usual. Unexpectedly, in the rainy season, it was not cold and the weather was warm, so most of them gave early buds. If in early December there was no cold snap that lasted more than half a month, but now chrysanthemums with bright yellow flowers have bloomed, it means that gardeners will lose their income, because there is still half a month to Tet.
In addition to the general joy of Vinh Liem Chrysanthemum Village, Mr. Huynh Minh Thai is also eagerly awaiting Tet with nearly 400 pots of daisies and 150 pots of raspberry chrysanthemums. At that time, traders would go to Mr. Thai’s garden shed to put down a deposit to buy all of his buttons.
Although hard work, but this year Tet chrysanthemum has a high price and heavy consumption, so garden owners are delighted. Photo: VDT
Unlike other households, Ms. Tran Thi Hieu’s family does not grow large daisies, but specializes in growing small potted chrysanthemums and dwarf crystal chrysanthemums for Tet sale in Vinh Liem. Ms. Hieu shared: “This year, my family planted about 300 pots of dwarf crystal chrysanthemums, raspberry daisies and 1,000 pots of crystal chrysanthemums in 20cm pots.
Chrysanthemum cultivation requires careful, daily weather monitoring to take proper flower care measures. When it’s cold, turn on the power to warm the tree and encourage growth. When it is sunny and hot, we must take every measure to slow down the growth and help the flowers bloom on the occasion of Tet.
According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Dung, chairman of Binh Dinh Municipality People’s Committee, there are currently more than 70 households in the municipality that specialize in growing chrysanthemums for Tet sale. Everyone has 10-15 years of chrysanthemum growing experience, focused on 2 neighborhoods of Vinh Liem and Liem Truc. Every year chrysanthemum growers in the area plant about 20,000 pots of all kinds of chrysanthemums, most are daisies and chrysanthemums, on average each household grows 400-500 pots/crop. This year, Tet chrysanthemum has both strong price and consumption, surely the households growing daisies in the area will have a warm Tet with income from the pots of chrysanthemums.