Strolling through Vi Khe’s peach-growing region these days, it’s impossible not to be struck by the early blossoms. But with more than 10 days to go before Tet, this premature blooming, driven by a leap year and erratic weather, is far from welcome.

Tran Van Khu, a longtime grower in Vi Khe, is facing a nightmare. His family cultivates over 500 flowering peach branches each year for the Tet market. This year, however, many trees began blooming as early as the start of the lunar December.

“There’s nothing I can do to stop it,” he said, visibly distressed. “About 90% of my trees have already bloomed. I’m sitting on a ticking time bomb.”

Normally, growers strip the leaves from peach trees about 50–60 days before Tet to trigger flower budding in time for the festival. But this year, natural leaf fall due to frost arrived before farmers could act. The result: trees blossomed too soon, and harvest plans fell apart.

“They look beautiful, sure. But to us, it’s heartbreaking,” Khu said. “If the flowers bloomed on time, I could sell a branch for $6–8. Now, I’m selling them at a third of the price, just to recover some costs. The rest I have to cut down to preserve the roots for next season. This year, my family is left with nothing.”

Khu isn’t alone. The early bloom has spread across Vi Khe, throwing entire communities into panic.

Trần Tấn Dac, born in 1956 and also from Vi Khe, planted around 1,100 peach trees between two and three years old. More than 70% of his crop has bloomed early.

“Growing peach trees is always a gamble with the weather. But this year’s hit us hard,” he said. “I used to sell one-year-old branches for about $6.50 and older ones for $10. But now, even with prices slashed, there are no buyers. Trees that are fully bloomed have to be cut down. All the work we did this past year - it’s gone.”

According to Do Dinh Diem, Deputy Secretary of the Vi Khe Party Committee, the ward has about 80 hectares of peach orchards. More than 20 hectares have bloomed early due to this year’s unusual climate patterns.

In response, local authorities have instructed the Farmers’ Union and agricultural cooperatives to closely monitor the situation, provide technical guidance, and help growers adapt their plans to reduce losses.

“We want to make sure our people can still enjoy the Lunar New Year, even in the face of this setback,” Diem said.

Trong Tung