Thousands of pots of Tet raspberry chrysanthemums were thrown away because of slow flowering

This year’s Tet flower crop, Mr. Nguyen Van Nhut Em bought more than 1,500 pots of raspberry chrysanthemums like yellow flowers from a facility he has known for many years in Long Thoi commune. The trees grow quite well and are green, with traders placing a deposit for nearly 160,000 VND per pair. However, up to this point, no tree has budded.

Worried that the tree wouldn’t bloom in time for Tet, Nhut Em had to call and pay the deposit to the trader in the past few days. To avoid additional investment costs, the garden owner decided to throw away 800 withered flower pots. The remaining amount is kept in the garden and continues to be cared for in the hope that the tree will bud soon.

“Not including land rent, fertilizer costs, and labor to take care of each flower pot is about 25,000 VND. With 1,500 flower pots, I lost more than 25 million VND. This year is considered the end of Tet,” Mr. Nhut Em said, indicating that the person My brother who planted nearly 3,000 pots of chrysanthemums also had a similar situation, the garden owner left the flowers to wither.

Two kilometers away, for the past few days, Ms. Le Thi Bich, 50 years old, has been watering in the hope that the garden will soon bloom. This year’s Tet flower crop, Ms. Bich borrowed nearly 30 million VND from an acquaintance to invest in more than 1,000 pots of raspberry chrysanthemums. However, because the garden does not bloom, her family is at risk of losing Tet.

“I water every day, and fertilize the flowers every 6 days, but with the current situation, the possibility of the tree blooming is only about 20%,” Ms. Bich said, adding that if in the next 10 days the tree continues to not bloom, The bud will have to be thrown away.

Sharing the same concern, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Huy, 32 years old, said that despite being fertilized and sprayed, 5,000 pots of raspberry chrysanthemums planted during Tet only had bare leaves. The garden owner later discovered that dozens of households buying seedlings from the same facility also encountered the same situation.

Up to this point, each flower pot costs about 20,000 VND for fertilizer and labor. For 5,000 pots, the garden owner has spent 100 million VND, including about half of the borrowed money. “Many people advised removing the flowers to avoid spending more money, but unfortunately, I tried to anchor the garden, still watering it, hoping the plants would bloom,” Mr. Huy said.

Many gardeners in Cho Lach district are asking the government to intervene so that the seedling supplier is responsible for partially repairing the damage.

Gardeners are impatient because the raspberry chrysanthemums sold during Tet are slow to flower

Mr. Le Thanh Khoan, Vice Chairman of Long Thoi Commune People’s Committee, said the whole area has about a million pots of Tet raspberry chrysanthemums. Of these, there are about 145,000 pots of raspberry chrysanthemums that have slow blooming. Initial verification, these flower varieties were imported by a facility in the commune, the growth cycle may be slower than traditional flowers.

Working with the Commune People’s Committee, the seed supplier said they imported this variety from another locality, of unknown origin. “The seed supplier himself also said he did not know this was a long-lasting variety, so he planted thousands of pots,” Mr. Clause said, adding that he would continue to clarify the case as well as the responsibilities of the parties involved.

Also according to Long Thoi commune leaders, due to frustration with slow flower blooming, a few households threw away the pots, then recorded videos and posted them on social networks. The locality has urged people to stay calm and try to keep the flowers and take care of them until the end of the month, hoping the plants will bloom to sell to the market in the province near Tet.

Cho Lach district, Ben Tre province is considered the “capital” of Tet flowers with 13,000 households growing flowers and fruit trees on more than 600 hectares, 15-17 million flower and ornamental plant products for Tet each year, specifically all kinds of flowers. About 8 million products bloom.

Hoang Nam