A wealthy man spends 1 billion VND on legendary orchids.
A wealthy Hanoi real estate businessman spent over 1 billion VND to buy 5 pots of the legendary Phalaenopsis orchid, Tran Mong, to display during Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) and to give as gifts to friends. Satisfied with fulfilling his passion for flowers, he believes that this is all he needs for Tet.
In recent years, the Trần Mộng orchid has always created a sensation in the ornamental flower market during the Lunar New Year, with people eagerly buying it to display. This type of flower has a rare beauty, with clusters of emerald green or light green flowers that look like falling stars, stretching for meters.
Regarding the Tran Mong orchid, folklore recounts the story of King Tran Anh Tong, who one night dreamt of admiring a rare terrestrial orchid with greenish-yellow flowers (resembling the color of young rice seedlings), which was very beautiful and fragrant. Upon waking, King Tran Anh Tong was presented with a pot of terrestrial orchid identical to the one that appeared in his dream. Since then, this precious Sapa terrestrial orchid has been known as the King Tran's dream orchid or Tran Mong orchid.
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| Dendrobium nobile - the type of orchid that has been a sensation during Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) in recent years. |
To own a legendary Phalaenopsis orchid for Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), customers have to spend from several million to tens of millions of dong, or even over a hundred million dong per pot, depending on its size and size. Especially for the most beautiful orchids, customers have to order in advance; without money, it's difficult to buy one.
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoa, a dealer with many years of experience selling Dendrobium nobile orchids in Ha Dong (Hanoi), said that this year, the favorable weather has made the Dendrobium nobile orchids much more beautiful than last year. Currently, gardeners are focusing their efforts on caring for the orchids so that they can bloom and release their fragrance just in time for the Lunar New Year.
According to Mr. Hoa, this type of orchid has been on the market for several years now. Nurseries are also continuously expanding their orchid cultivation areas. However, the price of orchids has not cooled down, still fluctuating between 900,000 and 1,300,000 VND per stem, about 1 meter long, with 30 buds. The price per pot is calculated based on the number of stems in the pot.
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| Although this type of orchid is grown quite extensively in Sapa, its selling price to customers remains extremely high. |
“Around the Lunar New Year, buying orchid pots priced from 5 to 40 million VND per pot is quite easy because the supply is abundant. However, huge pots costing 60-70 million VND or over 100 million VND per pot usually have to be ordered in advance, with some people even placing orders six months in advance,” Mr. Hoa said, adding that around this time, customers are ordering many large Phalaenopsis orchid pots. Some customers even drive hundreds of kilometers to orchid gardens in Sapa (Lao Cai) to choose orchids for the Tet holiday.
"About half a month ago, after looking at the orchid pots, a wealthy Hanoi real estate businessman decided to buy five huge Dendrobium orchid pots for over 1 billion VND. He said that besides buying two pots to keep at home, he gave the remaining three to friends," Mr. Hoa revealed.
The reason these five pots of Dendrobium nobile orchids are worth over 1 billion VND is because each flower stem in the pot is up to 1.3 meters long with more than 40 buds. Orchids with such long stems and many buds are considered rare. Therefore, their price is calculated at 2.2 million VND per stem. Of the five pots, one has 78 flower stems, one has over 100 stems, and the remaining three each have nearly 100 stems.
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| To own these enormous Phalaenopsis orchid pots, many people spend hundreds of millions of VND. |
The price includes the cost of the pot, the base, and the shipping fee from Sapa to Hanoi and delivery to the customer's home. The most difficult part is transportation. With those huge orchid pots, it takes about 10 people working together to carry them onto the truck or into the house.
"He's one of my regular customers," Mr. Hoa revealed. For about the past four years, this customer has bought two huge pots of Dendrobium nobile orchids every year because he's captivated by the beauty of thousands of flowers blooming and releasing their fragrance at the same time. Therefore, this year, this wealthy customer decided to splurge, ordering five huge pots to enjoy himself and to give as gifts to friends.
According to Mr. Hoa, the Phalaenopsis orchid is quite long-lasting. Starting from the 13th day of the 12th lunar month, when the orchids begin to bloom sporadically, he starts delivering them to customers who have placed orders so they can display them in their homes. Around Tet (Lunar New Year), the flowers begin to bloom profusely, and customers can enjoy them throughout the holiday.
