 |
Gladiolus flowers bloom late because of unusual rain and cold weather. (Photo: SGGP) |
Farmers anxious due to unusual rain
January 10 is the third day in a row that the Mekong Delta has seen heavy rain, making flower farmers extremely worried when the time to sell Tet flowers is near. At the ornamental flower capital of Sa Dec City in Dong Thap Province, Mr. Tran Van Tiep, Chairman of the I Love Purple Club, worriedly said that with the current weather situation, heavy rain prolongs, so it is hard to save blooming flowers. This is the second time in 40 years that the weather has been unusual like this. The most vulnerable flowers are marigolds, florist's daisies, and chrysanthemums of all kinds. After the rain stops and the sun rises, these two types of flowers are prone to be damaged. According to Mr. Tiep, because rainwater is acidic, when it is sunny again, flowers that have half-bloomed are prone to spots. The immediate solution is to wait for the sun to rise, then spray water to wash the rainwater. However, in the past 24 hours, it has not stopped raining, so the club members are sitting on pins and needles.
In Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, some households growing Tet flowers in Kim Dinh flower village in Ba Ria City and Phuoc Long Tho Commune in Dat Do District said that the weather at the end of the year was not favorable, with little sunlight, so the flowers were not beautiful. Moreover, it was still raining, so Chrysanthemum grandiflorum did not bloom, and many floriculturists had to return deposits to traders. To serve the Tet market, farmers in the province have sown about 100 hectares of flowers, an increase of about 20% compared to the same period last year.
Unfavorable weather will greatly affect the revenue of farmers.
Similarly, many Tet flower gardens in Cu Chi District in HCMC were also affected by rain in recent days. At his colorful flower garden, Nguyen Van Tai, living in Trung Lap Ha Commune, lamented that it was sunny, then suddenly raining continuously, causing Ochna integerrima flower buds to bloom early. Roses were battered by the rain, so he had to move them to another place so that buyers would not criticize his products. The selling price of roses ranged from VND150,000 to VND500,000 per pot, depending on the size, and that of Ochna integerrima flower was up to tens of millions of Vietnamese dong. However, because of the rain, the flowers were damaged, so he could not sell anything.
Da Lat: Flowers bloom slowly
In Da Lat city and surrounding areas, flower growers are worrying because unusual rains have slowed down the growth of flowers. In Hiep An gladiolus growing area in Duc Trong District, farmers sow about 160ha of gladiolus plants this year. However, up to now, the atmosphere is still quiet because traders in other places have not closed orders, and the number of flowers old enough to harvest is small. Phan Van Cong said that his family planted more than 25,000 gladiolus bulbs that were expected to be harvested before Tet. Unfortunately, due to the rain, cold weather, and not enough warmth, the plants have flowered late. Currently, the price of gladiolus collected at the garden is much higher than at the same time in previous years, ranging from VND32,000 to VND50,000 for a bunch of ten stems but gladiolus flowers are not available for sale.
Gardeners growing chrysanthemums are also anxious because of the cold rainy weather. Tran Van Cuong, living in Ward 7 in Da Lat City, said that his family planted more than 3,000 square meters of chrysanthemums, but the flowers have just begun to bloom. Due to prolonged rain, the plants did not have enough sunlight to absorb nutrients, they used artificial lighting and cleaned the plastic covers, but they could not save the situation. Chrysanthemums are expected to bloom on the 3rd and 4th of the Lunar New Year. At this time, Chrysanthemums will be extremely cheap, and not many people will buy them.
