Dry firewood flowers often have great vitality, blossom brilliantly, and last long
Hibernating “dry firewood"
In recent years, the hobby of "dry wood flowers" for Tet decoration has become one of the favorite trends for many families. Surfing social networking sites, it can be seen that the hibernating dried firewood flowers are offered for sale quite a lot on the days close to Tet (Lunar New Year) with the promise that the flowers will bloom after 5 to 10 days of care.
The most popular varieties of hibernating "dried firewood flowers" can be mentioned: snow apricot, rhododendron, willow, forest peach, plum branch, pear branch... These flowers look like a bundle of black, scrawny dry firewood at first sight, but after a period of care, the "dry firewood branches" begin to "wake up" and dress in fresh green. After a period of hibernation, the beautiful and bright flower buds begin to sprout.
According to Mr. Hoang Nhan, Hue City, the core of enjoying snow apricot flowers is to experience the feeling of waiting a dry branch without flowers and leaves, which seems to be something thrown away, to bloom with marvel and vitality after a while."
According to the online "dry firewood flower" shop owners, after buying, the customer puts the flower branches into the bottle of water; on the 2nd day, the flowers will wake up and revive again. From the 3rd day, the buds will spread out and grow. On the 7th day, the flowers will be open. The buds cease spreading out after about 15 days.
Ms. Cam Anh, a longtime flower fancier shared, “In order for flowers to be fresh longer, the fanciers need to change the water for flower arrangement regularly. Besides, a little lemon juice and a crushed aspirin should be added to the flower arrangement water because these solutions have the effect of cleaning the water to limit the growth of harmful bacteria, helping the flowers stay fresh and last longer."
This flower variety blooms; after about 2 - 3 weeks, it begins to die out, and only bright green buds are left on the branches. For each different flower, the time for enjoyment can last 1 - 2 months. If not discarded, it can be kept as a dried flower or can be used for home decoration… depending on the intended use of each person.
Hobby at Tet
Originating from the Northern provinces, on the days close to Tet, people often buy the branches of pear, plum, forest peaches, and snow apricots to contemplate during Tet. This hobby is growing in popularity and spreads to the central and southern provinces.
On account of being a strange flower variety, it has only been on the Tet flower market for a few years, so there are rare flower-selling points. Therefore, online shops mainly receive pre-orders, partly for exploring customer tastes.
According to the survey, willow flowers cost 150,000 - 180,000 VND/bundle; snow apricot flowers range 140,000 - 200,000 VND/bundle; each bunch has 10 - 15 branches, and each branch is 50 - 60cm in length. Hibernating rhododendrons cost 55,000 - 70,000 VND/branch; forest peaches 400,000 - 800,000 VND/branch…
Also, the flower branches have a unique shape, priced up to one million VND /branch. As for the willow flowers, from purely white, this flower is also dyed into many different colors such as red, yellow, orange... to meet the needs of fanciers.
Ms. Thanh Xuan, Hue City said, “Last year, I also bought snow apricot for Tet decoration. It looked like a dry wood branch, but when put into water for a few days, it produced countless buds and snow-white flowers. This year, I continue to buy this flower variety for decoration partly because of my taste for contemplating flowers in bloom day by day, partly because of its reasonable price suitable for Tet."
Aside from diverse designs and eye-catching colors, the "dry firewood flowers" also meet the needs of fanciers and enrich the flower market on Tet holiday.
“Seeing many people spread the word about the dry firewood flower varieties with eye-catching colors and brilliant flowers in bloom after 10 days, I also found it strange. After consultation, I tried buying a bundle of willow for decoration. Hopefully, this flower will come out right at Tet so that more joy, luck and fortune can reach us,” shared Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu Ngoc, Huong Thuy Town.
Story and photo: Chau Bach