Hanoi (VNA) – Farmers of the Tay Tuu flower village, about 15 km from downtown ▨Hanoi are working hard in the flower fields to timely meet the capital city’s needs as Tet, the traditional Lunar New Year, is very near.

The Tay Tuu flower village in Bac Tu Liem district is now considered the biggest flower granary in Hanoi, providing a variety of flowers such as daisies, roses, purple heart-bells, and colorful carnations. Chu Huu Hien, a Thuong villager, told the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) his family has invested in more than 2,500 square metres 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 three months for daisies to be harvested but if it’s too cold it can take up to three 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,” Lam said. Covering an area of about 500 hectares, Tay Tuu is a big specialised flower plantation area of Hanoi. The career has helped the locals remarkably improve their living conditions. Bui Trung Hoa, deputy chairman of the 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 organised training courses for its members to become familiar with high-tech in flower farming, especially how to use pesticides and care for flowers.”-VNA