The demand for buying, selling, and cultivating wild orchids has led to the relentless hunting of this precious flower in nature. Today, wild orchids in Vietnam are crying out for help before the threat of extinction in the forests.
On the Brink of Depletion
Dong Nhan village (Hoai Duc district, Ha Tay) is famous for its thriving wild orchid cultivation and extraction industry. Nearly a dozen households in the village are engaged in this profession, making it a significant supplier of orchids not just in the North. Thanks to orchids, many families have become prosperous. Wild orchids are typically sourced from mountain dwellers, collected, and transported down to the plains. The orchids come in various types, often sold in bulk by weight. Rare species are sold individually. Some gardens invest hundreds of millions of Vietnamese Dong in building and purchasing wild orchids. The most experienced household has been in this business for over 15 years.
Ms. Tran, the owner of one of the largest orchid gardens in the village, recalls that this profession has flourished over the past decade. People have started to show interest in ornamental plants, especially orchids. Villagers now travel across mountainous areas to establish supply networks.
Once the orchids are brought back, they are tied to wood or boards and hung up, watered, and nurtured until they root and bloom before being sold. Alternatively, some orchids are hung upside down, and those interested can purchase them directly.
Villagers also take orchids to Bưởi Market or Hà Đông Market to sell whenever it’s their turn. This method allows quick capital recovery, though profits are lower. The highest profits come from exporting large batches to gardens throughout the country or abroad. Despite the presence of many industrial orchid varieties in the market, wild orchids are still favored for their diverse species and floral types.
Since orchids grow slowly, after sorting and caring for them, sellers must quickly sell them to maintain cash flow, keeping only a portion in the garden for nurturing. Thus, the work of these gardeners remains focused on caring for healthy plants for sale rather than breeding more orchids.
During peak seasons, each garden receives several shipments of wild orchids monthly, ranging from dozens to hundreds of kilograms. When multiplied by the number of gardens across the country, the annual depletion of this valuable resource from the forests is significant.
According to scientists, a natural population of wild orchids can regenerate after being fully harvested, but it takes several years under favorable conditions. Sadly, with the shrinking of primary forests, will we still find orchid species in nature? Some rare orchid species have already disappeared from Vietnam, leading people to shift their focus to forests in Laos or Cambodia.
How to Preserve?
Until now, there has been no facility in the country that dares to undertake the risky business of orchid breeding, nurturing them until they flower and are ready for sale. Orchids are slow-growing and require special care conditions when young. The nurturing process is fraught with risks. Therefore, most garden owners operate under the aforementioned “topping” business model.
“It’s very challenging, with many risks, and takes a lot of time, but it’s not impossible,” asserts Master Pham Tuan Anh, an official at the Experimental Biology Center of the Institute of Applied Technology. The process of breeding Vietnamese wild orchid species is progressing quite favorably here. The current issue is not a technological barrier but the time and costs involved in cultivating orchids compared to those harvested from the wild.
For example, to cultivate a mature Dendrobium orchid ready to bloom, we must spend over a year for the pollen to germinate in a test tube and develop into a seedling suitable for transfer to an external environment. After that, it takes over three years in a greenhouse for that orchid to mature and bloom normally as in nature. In total, that’s five years, along with the investment and care costs.
The center is currently implementing a breeding project to experimentally produce several wild orchid species. Some entities have already reached out to sign contracts for purchasing seedlings. The genetic material is sourced from pollen in the fruit of parent orchids, which is then sown in test tubes. The first batch of seedlings generated in the test tube has been two years old and is developing very well in a mesh house. According to Mr. Tuan Anh, the advantage of this breeding method is that many seedlings can be produced simultaneously from a single pollen grain, making large-scale cultivation feasible.
Currently, the trade of wild orchids still occurs openly or covertly. However, as Vietnam fully integrates and laws are strictly enforced, only certified cultivated products will be able to “legitimately” enter international markets.
Preserving and developing the gene pool of orchid species in Vietnam is not only scientifically significant but also lays the foundation for us to regenerate a resource that is being exploited recklessly. Therefore, we must act before it’s too late.
