Rare giant plum tree in Sapa
The Photographer Nguyen Trung Kien, Deputy Director of Cat Cat Ecotourism Company (Sa Pa), said that this Ta Ly plum tree belongs to Mr. Le Xuan Thang's family, on So Than Street, Sa Pa Ward.The plum tree has a very large root, submerged in the ground due to the process of leveling the land to build the house by the family, now it has grown from the root to 5 branches as big as 5 trunks, the canopy is as high as a 2-storey house.
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Ta Ly plum tree over 60 years old usually bloom in late January and early February of the lunar calendar. Photo: Nguyen Trung Kien |
According to Mr. Thang's older sister, this plum tree was planted by her father in 1961. After the process of gardening and expanding the land to build the house, many plum trees planted on that time were cut down a long time ago, only one tree was kept to remain by the family. The special thing is that plum tree usually bloom late, usually at the end of January or early February of the lunar calendar. Therefore, when the fruit ripens usually in June, this is the end of the plum harvest season in Sa Pa, so the selling price is rather high.
As the Ta Ly plum type, the ripe fruit has an attractive light yellow color, the fruit is as big as a chicken egg, the seeds are small, and the flesh is soft and sweet.
This ancient plum tree grows older and produces more fruit, on average, the family collects about 500-600 kg of fruit each year, the most harvested year is more than 1 ton of fruit.
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In the cheap year, the price is 40,000 VND/kg, the highest year is 100,000 VND/kg, and the average price is 50,000 - 60,000 VND/kg, contributing to increasing the family's income.
The Photographer Nguyen Trung Kien said that this is a very rare plum tree in Sa Pa town, especially the late-ripening plum, delicious fruit, with a high selling price.
I hope the functional sector and the local government will do research and preserve the rare genetic resources of this Ta Ly plum tree so that it can be propagated to help many Sa Pa gardeners grow together.
