A Dream in Bloom: The Peach Garden of Hiep Thanh Commune
For more than three decades, millennial farmer Tran Van Toan has carried forward his family’s legacy, turning a long-held dream into reality at Hiep Thanh Commune, Lam Dong Province. Spanning over 9,000 square meters, Toan Peach Garden now supplies the spring flower market with seed-grown Vietnamese peach trees alongside varieties developed from grafted Japanese peach branches.
A Vietnamese–Japanese Blossom Fusion
In late December 2025 (mid-November on the lunar calendar), Toan Peach Garden enters its busiest season. Dozens of workers carefully transfer trees from open soil into pots, applying special care techniques to ensure timely budding and blooming for Lunar New Year Binh Ngo 2026.
Operating under a “one tree cultivated, one tree harvested” model—with seeds sown immediately after harvest and a germination rate exceeding 90%—the garden has standardized a three-year production cycle for commercial seed-grown peach trees. Between the fifth and sixth lunar months each year, ripe peaches are selected for seed extraction and sown in sandy soil.
After more than a month, seedlings reach 10–15 cm in height and are moved into nursery bags. Four months later, they are transplanted outdoors. Following over two years of natural growth, the trees are ready for wholesale distribution to resorts, villas and retail customers both inside and outside Lam Dong Province during the Lunar New Year season.
A manager of a 30-hectare eco-tourism site said the resort has relocated hundreds of seed-grown peach trees of various ages and colors from Toan Peach Garden over the years, enhancing its landscape and drawing visitors each spring.
A northern mountainous eco-tourism operator remarked: “Mr. Toan’s seed-grown peach trees are vigorous, with vivid blossoms layered across well-balanced canopies. Their distinctive characteristics have helped our resort attract increasing numbers of visitors for spring sightseeing and check-ins.”
Cultivating a Blossoming Paradise
To expand his market network, Tran Van Toan recalls learning grafting techniques from his parents more than 30 years ago on a 6,000-square-meter garden in what is now Hiep Thanh Commune. At the time, he experimented by grafting double-petaled Nhat Tan (Hanoi) peach branches onto single-petaled Da Lat rootstocks. A survival rate of 30–40% was considered a remarkable success.
Back then, grafting was successful mainly with pink and deep-pink varieties, while pale pink-white peaches rarely survived. Each variety has distinct ecological traits, requiring precise timing—by season, month, even day. In particular, pale pink-white peaches need a longer dormancy period than other varieties.
Mr. Tran Van Toan – Owner of Toan Peach Garden in Hiep Thanh Commune
Over the past decade, having mastered grafting techniques, Toan expanded his garden to 9,000 square meters and began developing Vietnamese "That Thon" peaches and Japanese peach varieties. He officially introduced "That Thon" peaches in 2020 and Japanese peaches in 2023. Both lines are produced through a six-year process: three years for grafted trees to bear fruit for seed collection, followed by three more years of cultivation to reach commercial- grace standards.
Today, Toan Peach Garden supplies "That Thon" peach trees and Japanese peach trees annually to meet spring decoration demand in Lam Dong Province and across the country. Notably, its Japanese peach varieties have been showcased and awarded at the Spring Flower Festival at Da Lat Flower Garden, earning recognition from domestic and international visitors alike.
At the foot of Nui Voi Mountain in Lam Dong, 1,500 meters above sea level, Tran Van Toan continues nurturing his vision of a year-round peach blossom haven—a distinctive Vietnamese–Japanese floral fusion unique to Lam Dong, and a foundation for developing a future “peach blossom tourism” destination.