The number of people visiting shops to buy flowers and do price surveys has been increasing. Shop owners said that the market has begun warming up.

A mass of flowers, ornamental plants and fruits have streamed into Ho Chi Minh City to meet growing demand for the Lunar New Year Festival that will come in nine days.

Flower market at Gia Dinh Park, HCMC (Photo: SGGP)

Hundreds of Tet flower shops have showcased various types of flowers and ornamental plants along Phan Huy Ich Street in Go Vap District, Truong Chinh in Tan Binh, and Thanh Thai in District 10 since February 9, the 21st day of the 12th lunar month.

Orchid has been most attracted this Tet season. A moth orchid plant costs VND200,000-230,000 and a boat orchid plant is priced VND1.7 million.

Yellow apricot blossom prices range from VND400,000-1,000,000 a tree, bonsai yellow apricot is priced VND3-5 million a pot, and big root types are sold at tens of million dong.

Ornamental plants at a shop in Thanh Thai Street, District 10 (Photo: SGGP)

A punch of rose has the price of VND55,000-60,000, a punch of about 12 prairie gentian and dendrobium orchid stems are priced VND25,000 at Thu Duc wholesale market and Ho Thi Ky flower market in District 10.

The market this year sees a wide variety of import flowers such as yellow apricot branches imported from the Netherlands and boat orchid from South Korea.

Representative from a flower company in HCMC said that the company had imported 5,000 yellow apricot branches and thousands of orchid stems. The number of orders has increased far above expectations with prices rocketing about 20 percent over the same period last year.

The price of an imported yellow apricot branch approximates VND200,000.

Several orchid varieties are sold in HCMC on February 9 (Photo: SGGP)

Besides, unique and strange-looking ornamental plants and fruits have also been displayed at many shops in the city.

Minh Tam shop in Thanh Thai Street sells many kinds of strange plants such as air plants and finger citron imported from Thailand with the price of VND2 million a pot.

Many spots in the city have sold watermelons inscribed with calligraphy scripts wishing people well-off and lucky in the Lunar New Year.

Nguyen Van Thach, owner of a calligraphy watermelon shop in front of Ba Chieu Market in Binh Thanh District, said that his shop provided 600 kilogram of this fruit type, up 200 kilogram over last year.

Watermelons have been purchased from farms in the neighboring province of Long An for calligraphy carvers to inscribe on the fruit peel. A 5-7 kilogram watermelon is priced VND250,000-300,000./.

Complied by VNF