Streets in Thanh Hoa City, such as Trinh Kiem, Lac Long Quan, Nguyen Duy Hieu, Bui Khac Khac, and Lam Son Square, are crowded with many trucks carrying flowers and ornamental trees, such as pomelos, kumquats, peach blossoms, and yellow lemons.
An owner of a stall selling pomelos on Nguyen Duy Hieu Street revealed that traders bring the plants to the city early because it takes a lot of time to prepare for transportation, stabilize the tree in the pot, and display them, especially bringing them to the street early to create a festive atmosphere, signaling that the Lunar New Year is approaching, and also allowing sellers to test the customer demand.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tho, the owner of Phu Giang Ornamental Plant Garden in Thanh Hoa City, said that this year, his family has rented five places to sell ornamental plants in Thanh Hoa City and Sam Son City, with the main types of plants being pomelos, oranges, yellow lemons, and kumquats.
To attract customers, his family has chosen pomelo species that can last many days and have beautiful shapes and then grafted them with the Luan Van pomelo in Tho Xuan District to create beautiful and eye-catching pomelo trees. Luan Van pomelo is a rare, unique, red-skinned grapefruit. In the past, this pomelo variety was used to offer to the king during Tet holidays.
Currently, the price of a small-sized pot of ornamental pomelo ranges from VND2 million (US$79) to VND4 million (US$158), a medium-sized pot is priced from VND6 million (US$236) to VND8 million (US$315), and a large-sized pot is valued from VND12 million (US$473) to VND20 million (US$788). Additionally, customers can hire ornamental trees at a price equivalent to about 60 percent of the selling price.
Mr. Trinh Van Phong, owner of a store selling peach trees on Lac Long Quan Street, said that this year, he ordered more than 200 Son La peach trees and brought them to Thanh Hoa City from the beginning of the 12th lunar month. Most of the peach trees are more than 10 years old. The ancient moss-covered trees very much attract seasoned collectors. The gardener has rented out these peach trees at the lowest price of VND10 million (US$394) per tree, including the pot.
