Apricot and peach growers have been certain of a bountiful crop this year. The apricot and peach prices are estimated to be higher than during Tet 2010 (Vietnam New Year); however, it is still too early to say how high the prices will be because everything still depends on the gods.
Tet will come in a little more than a month, and many people have begun decorating their homes to celebrate. Of course, an apricot tree or a peach branch would be indispensable.
The heavy cold of this winter seems to come earlier than in previous years. Therefore, peach growers have begun pruning leaves and doing necessary things so that peach branches will blossom exactly during Tet.
Bien, the owner of a peach garden in the Nhat Tan flower village, said that in order to make peach trees blossom exactly during Tet, peach growers regularly prune leaves in mid November of Lunar Calendar. If it is hot growers will delay the pruning, but if the cold comes early they must prune earlier.
“Every individual has his ‘know-how’ of taking care of peach trees, but they still much depend on the gods. In general, the weather decides the crop. “If the current weather does not change much, and spring rain comes in a few more days, peach trees will blossom exactly on Tet.
If so, peach growers will have a bountiful crop,” Bien said. Bien said that until now, peach flower-buds have not appeared. Only wholesalers have come to place orders, while there have been very few individual clients.
The individual clients are “connoisseurs”, who come early, so that they can choose beautiful peach trees. Bien said that forest peach trees or stylized trees are limited and the prices are very high, about ten million dong.
Unlike peach gardens, apricot gardens in Tu Lien village have received many guests these days. Thanks to the good weather, all the apricot trees here are bearing good fruits. And now the only thing that farmers have to do is to take care for the trees, prune leaves before they bring the trees to the Tet markets.
The apricot garden of Nguyen Van Hung in Quang Ba ward has turned yellow with ripe apricot fruits. Hung, who has 200 apricot trees for sale, said that people have come to his garden since mid December to look to buy apricot trees.
The best sellers are the trees with the height of 2.5-3 meters and the diameter of one meter in leaf canopy. Such trees can be priced at 3-4 million dong. “The buyers of big trees are mostly companies or shops. They buy apricot trees at this moment to decorate head offices,” Hung said.
According to the owners of the apricot gardens, bonsai styled apricot trees will be very favored. A lot of people have come to place orders for bonsai styled trees. These trees are not high, but still can be sold for 2-4 million dong. Meanwhile, special trees can be sold for tens of million dong.
source: www.vietnamnet.vn