Counting branches to collect money, orchid arrangers pocket 3 million VND/day

With more than 20 days left until Lunar New Year, flower shops in Ha Tinh city are bustling with customers ordering flowers. These days, orchid arrangers are busy preparing flower pots according to customers’ requests. Most of the florists are working at full capacity.

A worker’s workday starts at 8am and ends at midnight. On peak days, flower arrangers in Ha Tinh city have to work day and night.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoan - owner of a famous flower shop in Ha Tinh city - said that her flower shop is hiring 5 professional orchid arrangers (part-time and year-round). Phalaenopsis flower arrangers are highly skilled, experienced, have aesthetic sense and must "catch the trend".

“For seasonal workers, when the orchids are arranged in a vase, the worker will be paid 15,000 VND/branch. On average, each worker will arrange about 200 branches/day. Seasonal workers will pocket about 3 million VND/day. As for the shop’s employees, the highest paid worker I pay is 60-70 million VND/month during the peak Tet holiday,” said Ms. Ngoan.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Bong (living in Can Loc district, Ha Tinh) is considered by flower shop owners to be a skilled person. Mr. Bong can arrange many orchid styles according to customers' requests. Photo: TL

Mr. Bong said that he has been involved in the flower arranging profession for more than 12 years. In recent days, he and other workers have had to work day and night to meet customer orders.

“I work as a florist all year round at a flower shop in Ha Tinh city. Near Tet, I arrange Phalaenopsis orchids and the owner of the shop arranges a place to rest, eat and drink and pays me 60 million VND for the Tet month,” said Mr. Bong.

Ms. Ngoan said: “Currently, there are people who order orchid vases for 100 million to give to partners. A beautiful orchid vase does not necessarily lie in the number of branches but in the artistry and pleasing perspective. At the shop, each worker will have their own strengths. To create beautiful vases, the worker must put all their mind into each petal, how to satisfy even the most demanding customers.”

Mr. Thanh (residing in Thach Huong commune, Thach Ha district) said: “Arranging Phalaenopsis orchids requires carefulness, not simply arranging the branches, but sketching out the layout, with artistic quality. The size of each vase depends on the number of branches and the arrangement. People prefer odd numbers, so very few people arrange orchid branches in even numbers.”

Ms. Le Thi Huong (owner of a fresh flower shop in Ha Tinh City) said that in order to select "skilled" workers to meet the Tet flower market, she had to deposit workers several months in advance.

“There are more than 20 days left until Tet, so the 5 orchid arrangers have to work day and night. Learning from previous years, recruiting flower arrangers near Tet is very difficult, so I have to find workers and “make offers and close the deal” several months in advance. My workers are recruited from many provinces and cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Nghe An … and there are also workers in Ha Tinh,” said Ms. Huong.

This year, at the invitation of the flower shop owner, Mr. Tam (born in 1994, residing in Thua Thien Hue province) went to Ha Tinh to arrange phalaenopsis orchids.

“The boss hired me to arrange flowers seasonally and paid me by the product. I just counted the orchid branches and calculated the money. The shop owner paid me 15,000 VND/branch for each Phalaenopsis orchid branch. On average, I arrange about 200 branches per day, earning 3 million VND/day,” said Mr. Tam.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/dem-canh-thu-tien-tho-cam-hoa-lan-ho-diep-bo-tui-3-trieu-dong-ngay-2361107.html