From about 100 initial seedlings, after nearly two decades of being associated with the ancient Hai Hau persimmon variety, Mr. Pham Van Cu (Hai Anh commune, Ninh Binh province) has successfully built a 2- mẫu scale planting model, bringing in billions of VND in revenue each year.
Previously, Mr. Cu used to invest in developing a pig farm. However, epidemics and market fluctuations caused the family's economy to struggle many times. Faced with difficulties, Mr. Cu decided to find a new direction, switching to planting and propagating the ancient Hai Hau persimmon variety.
From the initial small garden, I have now built an ancient rose garden with a total area of about 2 acres with thousands of large and small trees, including many old trees with beautiful shapes. The value of each tree varies depending on age, shape and number of fruits on the tree, ranging from about 3.5 million to 30 million VND/tree," Mr. Cu said.
Not only selling commercial trees, Mr. Cu can also earn extra income from tree roots. After transplanting trees for customers, the remaining roots in the soil will germinate a few months later, grow into seedlings and continue to be separated and nurtured into seedlings for sale, with prices ranging from 200,000 VND to 1.5 million VND/tree depending on age.
According to long-time ornamental plant enthusiasts, Hai Hau ancient persimmon has the characteristic of square fruit, citrus, seedless, when ripe it turns juicy red and can be hung on the tree for a long time. In addition to economic value, this type of tree is also associated with traditional culture and is favored for its rustic beauty, easy care and especially the ability to keep the fruit for a long time.
A special feature in Mr. Cu's garden is an ancient persimmon tree about 100 years old, over 3m high, with a canopy about 4m wide, bearing nearly 700 fruits each season. Although he was once offered half a billion VND, Mr. Cu still decided to keep it as a "treasure" to preserve the precious persimmon variety and create a unique mark for the garden.
Thanks to growing ancient persimmons, my family has a stable income and the economy is gradually improving. The more we do, the wider the market opens up, and more customers know about it. Therefore, I want to keep the 100-year-old ancient persimmon tree so that customers who come to buy persimmons can admire it," Mr. Cu shared.
