At least 50 varieties of hi-tech flowers grown in gardens in Da Lat will be supplied to the market on the occasion of the Lunar New Year Festival (Tet).

Photo for illustration. (Source: vietnamtourism.com)

These are the most favored flowers to display on Tet, such as lily, chrysanthemum, rose, begonia and gerbera, but they have special variations in color, size, or type of bloom to offer something new from previous years. Flower varieties and farming methods applied are hi-tech.

According to the Lam Dong provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province has over 2,000ha of flowers to serve the market on Tet, of which about 70% of the area is growing traditional flowers such as gladiola, lily, chrysanthemums and gerbera.

The remaining area is planted with imported new varieties of flowers in greenhouses by large companies. This is a step to explore the market for upcoming Tet festivals. The prices of new flowers is from VND30,000 - VND100,000 per pot.

To serve this Tet, instead of growing lily, many companies have decided to import Japan’s chrysanthemum variety.

"Japan’s chrysanthemum variety was researched to ensure disease resistance, especially diseases on leaves, that local companies fail to meet the demand..The variety is also suitable to grow in small or large pots. Vietnam’s Chrysanthemum varieties mainly serve in branches for worship,” said a director of a flower company in Da Lat.

The company plans to supply 20 imported flower varieties, including 50% chrysanthemum varieties with variations in colors from yellow, red, white, blue or mixed together.

New flower varieties have to be imported because they are produced by prestigious biological companies in the world with huge gene banks of flowers which are continuously producing flower varieties different from available ones.

These companies also research the predilection of Vietnamese people to produce flower varieties suitable for Tet. New flower varieties appear constantly, even so many that it is difficult to remember their names. They can only be described based on the color and some other characteristics.

According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Son, Head of the Da Lat Flower Association, many people buy flower pots instead of flower branches because they can be displayed from one to two months. Serving the demand, the high-grade flowers like cymbidium, phalaenopsis are also imported and planted in smaller pots in comparison with the previous years.

Customers of Da Lat flowers are mainly from urban areas in Ho Chi Minh city, central and western regions. People in rural areas usually display popular flowers in their localities./.

( Compiled by VNF )