(VOVworld) –  Tet, the traditional Lunar New Year 2016 is very near. These days farmers of Tay Tuu flower village, about 15 km from Hanoi’s center are working hard in the flower fields to timely meet the capital city’s needs.

At the beginning of the 10th lunar month, Tay Tuu villagers begin preparations for Tet holiday. Daisies account for a majority of flowers grown in Tay Tuu. (Photo: vnexpress.net)

Tay Tuu flower village in the outlying district of Tu Liem is now considered the biggest flower granary in Hanoi, providing a variety of flowers such as daisies, roses, purple heart-bells, and colorful carnations.

Visiting Tay Tuu on the days before Tet, visitors will have an opportunity to see a variety of colorful flowers and how the locals, carefully care for the flowers to make them blossom exactly in time for Tet.

Beds of lilies in ready for 2016 Tet.

Chu Huu Hien of Thuong village said his family has invested in more than 2,500 square meters to grow daisies. To date, they have to take turns to prune and water the flower beds to ensure they will bloom beautifully.

Hien shared his experience of flower cultivation for Tet: “it often takes 3 months for daisies to be harvested but if it’s too cold it can take up to 3 and a half months. Generally, floriculture depends on natural conditions and it’s necessary to carefully calculate the time to grow flowers to avoid them from blossoming too far ahead of or after Tet, which will devalue the products. But my wide experience will help my daisies blossom exactly on Tet. It’s not sunny like in the summer so the flowers are very beautiful.”

In recent years, in addition to common varieties of flowers like daisies, gerbera, and roses, Tay Tuu villagers have planted more expensive flowers like lilies.

Nguyen Phan Lam, a Ha villager, said though lilies bring in high profits, they require a huge amount of initial investment and offer many risks during the cultivation process.

He noted that the recent cold spell has worried lily growers in Tay Tuu, who all hope that the weather will be better soon to have a bumper crop.

“Lily plantation depends very much on the weather. If the weather is good, lilies will bloom beautifully. Due to much investment, it’s necessary to determine the right time to grow lilies to be able to get the highest possible profits. The selling price now is at average of 2.25 USD a sprig,” according to Lam.

Covering an area of about 500 hectares, Tay Tuu is a big specialized flower plantation area of Hanoi. The career is helping the locals earn nearly 25,000 USD per hectare, remarkably improving their living conditions.

Tay Tuu villagers have now hired more land from neighboring villages of Thuong Cat, Lien Mac, and Xuan Phuong to grow flowers. In addition to daisies, roses are also a hard currency earner there. (Photo: vnexpress.net)

Bui Trung Hoa, deputy chairman of Tay Tuu People’s Committee, said the areas for flower growing have continuously expanded in recent years while the local cooperative is trying to support farmers by supplying enough water for flower fields.

Hoa said: “to prepare for Tet, in addition to the local cultivation of land, Tay Tuu villagers have hired more land in neighboring villages to grow flowers. Flowers are diverse. The local plant protection station has organized training courses for its members to become familiar with high-tech in flower farming, especially how to use pesticides and care for flowers.”