Xuan Mai village has many households with high income thanks to bougainvillea trees.

Initially, in Xuan Mai village, Ninh An commune, Hoa Lu district, there were only a few households growing bougainvillea for indoor decoration. Unexpectedly, some visitors came to visit and expressed their desire to buy and paid a very high price. Sensitive to the market, more and more villagers are learning and investing in growing bougainvillea on a large scale. Bougainvillea has become a commodity crop that brings high income to the people here.

Coming to Xuan Mai right in the most beautiful bougainvillea season of the year, we could not help but be overwhelmed by the poetic space, brilliant colors with diverse shapes and tree positions created by the skillful, diligent hands of the farmers in this countryside.

As one of the first people in Xuan Mai village to plant bougainvillea, Mr. Vu Van Lanh now owns a 2,000 m2 garden with hundreds of bougainvillea trees of different sizes. Among them, there are many trees that are decades old, with trunk diameters of up to 30 - 40 cm, heights of 4 - 5 m, and worth hundreds of millions of VND.

Mr. Lanh shared: His family has been in the business of growing ornamental plants for 20 years, but after a period of playing and learning about bougainvillea, he was fascinated by this plant. "Bougainvillea is an extremely easy-to-care-for plant, with almost no pests or diseases. In particular, its roots are also very beautiful, easy to shape, and the flowers bloom all year round with bright, eye-catching colors. Because of these characteristics, I decided to switch to specialized cultivation of this plant" - Mr. Lanh said.

The bougainvillea varieties that Mr. Lanh is growing are all original bougainvillea varieties with the colors of firecracker pink and white-pink. The main shapes are tea tables, gatekeepers, etc. In addition to growing and propagating himself, Mr. Lanh also searches for and collects ancient tree stumps from everywhere to care for, shape, and then supply to the market. With the current market price, excluding the initial investment costs for seeds, care, and fertilizer, bougainvillea trees bring in hundreds of millions of dong in income each year for the family.

Mr. Lanh said he also has a plan to use the beautiful bougainvillea garden to renovate the yard a bit, plant more water lilies and lotus flowers in the pond, and then come here to do check-in photography and homestay services to increase his family's income.

Xuan Mai village has many households with high income thanks to bougainvillea trees. — Colorful bougainvillea garden in Xuan Mai village.

Choosing bougainvillea to cultivate on his garden plot, Mr. Nguyen Van Tue shared: As an amateur, at first he had to invest a lot of time and effort to explore, learn and master the techniques. According to Mr. Tue, the most difficult thing about growing ornamental plants is to adjust and create shapes, which requires the gardener to have high skills. Although bougainvillea is known as "easy to grow", it is not easy to make the plant bloom in a concentrated manner, with rich and long-lasting colors. In the beginning, he had no experience so he encountered many difficulties. He had to struggle for a while, working and learning, gaining experience, and after 1 year he was successful.

"For this type of plant, you have to take care of it regularly, monitor and observe it regularly to shape the plant in time. In the winter in the North, when it is cold and the sun is low, bougainvillea usually has very few flowers. At that time, you have to use water cutting techniques, and you should not fertilize with too much nitrogen, but mainly fertilize with phosphorus, potassium and organic fertilizers to stimulate the plant to bloom" - Mr. Tue revealed some of his experiences in caring for bougainvillea.

Currently, in Mr. Tue’s garden, there are nearly 100 bougainvillea plants of all sizes and colors. Depending on the size of the plant, whether it is large, small, beautiful, or medium, the price ranges from 500,000 VND to several million VND per pot.

Party cell secretary and head of Xuan Mai village, Mr. Nguyen Manh Toan said: Up to now, the whole village has more than 10 households growing bougainvillea. Every year, these households create thousands of products that suit the tastes of consumers, and are welcomed by markets both inside and outside the province. Not only has the income of the people improved, but the landscape and environment in the village has also become more beautiful.

It is known that, in order to create conditions for people to develop the economy , Ninh An commune has recently planned a concentrated production area of 3 hectares for people to move here and expand the scale of production. This is the right direction, in line with the policy of converting the structure of crops and livestock to develop the agricultural economy according to commodity and specialized areas. Article and photos: Nguyen Luu

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